We are testing now our game in schools and we face a dilemna. We have to adapt our game to the school market, and this, without losing the intrinsic value that lies within the game: that means it is fun.
We had a big challenge until now: make a real game, make a game where players learn specific mathematics, and now we need to take into account the classroom setting and how the teachers can make best use of the game.
A typical classroom setting is 45 minutes or 2 x 45 minutes course. There are precise learning goals to reach and teachers need to measure what is learned.
These are very strong constraints.
We have now to strip the game from too difficult levels in order to be able to have shorter sessions of 45 minutes where the player can show after 30 minutes what she has learnt on paper.
It is really painful for me to modify the game in that direction. I feel it will be frustrating for players to stop playing and go back to traditional schooling. Worse, I fear that we will lose fun, and motivation from pupils, making the game neither fun nor effective.
Even if we love to say that our game is really effective, efficiency is not the end there. To try to solve problems never encountered before has a huge value in mathematics and in life.
But that type of challenges are too time demanding for many in a school context. It requires high level thinking and creativity.
Time shouldn’t be a constraint, especially in a formative process.
But here we are again. To sell our product to schools, we need to document that our product is effective, and then we have to teach for the test, even if our very first objective is to share knowledge and pleasure about maths.
Solving new challenges requires high level thinking and creativity, and the school setting is such as it heavily promotes reproduction talent. Teachers haven’t time to let students think, and students haven’t time to think of new problems.
To be able to solve new challenges requires to be used to face new situations, have good self esteem and confidence. Teaching about math should be about challenges and new situations and building self confidence in maths.
I don’t have the impression I teach that way, and if I do, many students complain.
Do I sell my soul to the devil if I remove all high level thinking and creative challenges from the game?
Jean
Hi Jean, I might have a suggestion. Some professors (university-level) grade their class not through traditionnal points but through experience points, the logic being that if you get enough XP points, it means you have acquired the necessary part of the body of knowledge the class should cover. I haven’t seen a gameplay vid of dragon box yet, but the problem you mention would seem to be solvable by doing a mod on the game. On one side you would still have your classic game, without the alterations that you’re not happy about, and once the player plays through enough levels, he unlock a sort of “frenzy” fast mode with extra scoring and all kinds of craziness (think fruit ninja classic vs fruit ninja arcade mode). This frenzy mode could be the way to test newly acquired skills in a time constrained and controlled manner. For each “unit” of progress in the classic mode, there would be one or several crazy levels unlocked, each allowing the student to self-evaluate. In terms of business model, modding would probably be quite positive as well, as while anyone can play outside of the classroom, special teacher tools could be sold as a premium tool – and I imagine your homemade analytics on player behavior could find a monetization there. As a fellow game designer, passionate about science too (molebular biology degree), and how to gamify many real life processes including learning, I hope you find a cool solution to this problem, and that your game rocks! Good luck to you all!
Hi Jean, a fantastic GAME!
You should by no means remove the bigger challenges from the game. I do understand that some schools in some countries are very strict about the issues you mention in this post – this is not the case in my Country (Norway) – at least not in my school
I’ve tried the iPad version of the game and I must say I miss some challenges. By now there is 5 stages, would it be possible to add more stages or new “worlds” with more stages and levels in. This way you could do one world in one lesson (or one stage in one lesson) – if it absolutely has to fit in one lesson…
Hi Jean! I think it is fair what the School Education System is saying – the real benefits of your app need to be tested before they can incorporate it. I would “play them at their own game”. For example, arrange and create a “test case” with a chosen school. In Week One the class is taught Algebra using traditional means and is given a “paper test” at the end of that week – the marks are then correlated. In Week Two the same class is exposed to DragonBox “gaming and learning” and is then tested again in a written exam at the end of the week. When the second set of results are set against the first set then they and you have “the answer”. And I am quite certain DragonBox would come out on top. Simple and effective – just like DragonBox!
I realize the schools market is huge and would pay big, if you cut the game to suit it. But it’s a dinosaur. The future of education is in homes and businesses, mainly homes. Aim at parents with the full version; they and their children will then be better equipped for the future.