Learning from Candy Crush Saga

Today I want to take a look at Candy Crush Saga, they have been very successful at attracting the casual market. their game is played by people from every age group.

For educational games, it is very important that the graphics are attractive and fun in order to get kids full attention.

Backgrounds:

 Notice how the background of the main level has a board game style, also it has many different elements like stars and pictures of your friends.


Characters:


I am not much of a fan of this 2D art, they obviously try to emulate a Popsicle show, but it seems a bit limited to me.

Messages:


Perhaps one of the best visuals the game has is the "Sweet Message" this message appears when the player gets many points in one move. this immediate feedback is great to motivate the user to continue playing as they are doing a good job.

This visual comes next to a sound effect that also congratulates the player.




This visual appears when you finish a level. Some times the user takes days or weeks to finish a level, it is important to give them a great positive message congratulating them and leading them to the next level.

Level:


The items in the level have a great shinny look. notice the highlights in the green and blue candies. also notice how the hud is very simple, most of the visuals is the game board.
The combination of colors also works really well.


My Thoughts:

-Have shinny and Bubbly elements.
-Congratulate the user after a big effort.
-Have constant positive messages for minor achievements.
-Sound effects really help you motivate the player.

Learning About technology in the Classroom

Here is an interesting video about using technology in the classroom

"Technology will not replace teachers, but teachers will be replaced who don't use technology"

Important Notes:
-Students Love it
-Engages the four key components of Learning
-Professional Development
-Makes life easier for teachers
-Improves test scores
-Helps students with low attention spans
-Learn from the experts
-Encourages completion of homework
-Saves Money
-Remove Obstacles


My Thoughts:
-Kids love looking at animations, interacting with the screen, listen to nice sounds and feeling in control of what they are doing and watching.
-Games will allow kids to compete with fellow students, collaborate with them and measure their own progress while playing the game.
-Technology literacy is crucial in today's world. and there is no sign of that changing any time soon. Kids can quickly learn new technologies, while adults are much slower to learn new things. This is why it is very important to teach them how to use technology early on.
-Teachers will soon learn that technology is nothing more than a great tool for them. it reduces tedious tasks and it assists them in learning about their students.
-Technology will adapt to the student needs, this will help them learn at their own pace, keep them motivated and this will result in kids ultimately learning.
-I don't believe too much in labeling students as low attention, I think they are just kids, and they get bored from class, it just makes sense they want to do fun things.
-Technology will open the world to knowledge from all parts of the world. This has been a main reason for my passion for educational games. I want every kid on the planet to have equal opportunity to learn.
-Homework can definitely be much more fun this way.
-A lot of free apps, will change the business of schools.
-Apps can adapt to any disability the kids may have.

Learning from Conrad Wolfram

Today I watched a TED talk video from Conrad Wolfram and I just wanted to share some thoughts on what he has to say:

Important Notes:
-"No one is very happy with math today"
-"Stop teaching calculating, start teaching Math"
-Why teach math? (jobs, living, logic)
-80% time doing Computation in schools
-What is math? (question, formulation, computation, verification)
-Don't make computers teach kids how to do math by hand
-If you really want to check if you understand math write a program to do it.


My thoughts:
-Math is a very unpopular subject in schools, the majority of students tend to think that it is too hard or that they are too dumb to understand this. I am completely against this idea, I think math is something everyone can understand if they are presented with the information in a fun way and they are given time to understand at their own pace.
-Calculating is boring, long, and can easily lead to making mistakes. and it doesn't really proof that the student knows math. they just know a part of it.
-I really like the logical part of math. it is perhaps why I feel it was my favorite subject, it just makes sense, and it helps you start thinking logically
-Check out this website for computation! https://www.mathway.com/
-I liked the definition of math that he gave. for me it is crucial to pose the right question.
for example, if there is a family of 4 and they have $2,000 per month, how should the money be distributed?
in this case, a very basic math mentality, would simply divide $2,000 by 4 (giving each member $500 to spend), but a real math solution would look at factors that are not just right there, it would lead to more questions, like how much rent do they pay?, debt?, school? it would look at a problem with a broader view.
-This one really gave me something to think about, in the past I have worked on making games teach calculation, when I could be trying to make the games be more of applying math logic to play.
-Here is a great link for those of you that want to give this theory of programming math a try!  http://projecteuler.net/

Learning Game: Math Basics

Math is known for being a very tough subject in school. Many students struggle to learn and master the subject. My next game will attempt to identify when students have a problem with addition, subtraction, multiplication or division and it will adapt to help them practice and solve their issues.

The game should also be used to help teachers motivate their students and help them identify when students are having problems.