BrainPOP's Matter Sorter

Title: Matter Sorter

Publisher: BrainPOP

Subject Area: Science

Summary: Sort falling objects on their state of matter before time runs out.

Ease of Use: Easy. A child can use it with minimal help.

Program Design Features: Review/Help, Levels of difficulty, Individual Use, Record keeping, Scaffolding.

Program Comments: The objective is to differentiate and recognize different states of matter. The game is similar to Tetris, in the sense that the various objects fall from the top and the player has to place them in its corresponding slots. Unlike Tetris, in Matter Sorter there is only one correct slot for the object. The game is simple and very intuitive, it is fundamentally a matching game. The game give you quick feedback, if you match an element incorrectly, it lets you know that it is wrong through a red color (green when it is correct), and later the same element shows up again.

Problem Solving Skills: Multiple solutions, Identifying relationships, Organizing information, Identification of patterns and sequence, Breaking complex problems into smaller parts.

Fun Factor: Good. What makes it enjoyable it that it get harder as you progress. It become an ejoyable challenge.

Matter Sorter is related to the educational video: States of Matter. The video describes the main states of matter, plus other less known states of matter like the Bose-Einstein state. The video uses the element of water to describe various states, and in addition to this it illustrates how water is transformed from one state to the other. The game succeeds at making students think about the different states of matter, but does not address the transformation of mater. 

Build a Solar System

Title: Build a Solar System

Publisher: BrainPOP

Subject Area: Science

Summary: Build your own solar system. Discover how gravity can create very different system of planets and stars that change over time.

Ease of Use: Drag and Drop planets.

Skill Set: Click and drag. Mouse.

Program Design Features:

Control of Pace: Yes

Ability to Backtrack: Yes

Levels of difficulty: No

Physical Interface: No

Speech Features: No

Childproof: Yes

Individual Use: Yes

Scaffolding: No

Program Comments: The screen has the sun in the center. Above the screen we have seven planets, and an additional sun. The player has to drop the planets into the main screen. The planets (or sun) start rotating around the initial sun. Depending on the relationship of distance and size between the planets the system works or gets destroyed because of a collision caused by gravity.

Problem Solving Skills: Multiple solutions, Using a model, Identifying relationships, Hypothesis formation, Stimulate imaginative thinking, Identification of patterns and sequence.

Fun Factor: The program is enjoyable. The graphics are acceptable. Every time you play it can feel different depending on where you place each planet. Unexpected things can happen and that is fun. It can be challenging and that can make children want to play it more times.

Supplementary Material: BrainPOP educational videos.

Type:Rider

Title: Type:Rider

Publisher: BULKYPIX

Subject Area: A typographic videogame.

Summary: Encourages players to learn about type by exploring a world of fonts. It’s a Mario-style game. It has amazing graphics and music.

Ease of Use: It is relatively easy to use. It’s is the kind of ipad game that is easier for children than for adults; very intuitive. 3 different control modes.

Skill Set: Basic skill is to know how to read, and very basic gravitational understanding might help, but not required of course.

Program Design Features:

Pace might be a little slow, but learning about fonts takes time!

Tutorial is great and fun.

Player can loose, you keep trying until the player overcomes the obstacle

Good track keeper, show progress.

Program Comments:

The most impressive aspect of the game is its graphics and music, which makes sense because the games is about fonts! It is very engaging and makes you want to keep coming back. It can be frustrating, but it comes with several gratifications. It is very clear what they are trying to teach, and also very clear abut the ‘gaming’ aspect of the application. In other words, the whole design is intended to be easily understood. It combines technology (ipad) with tradition, the text is meant to be as if it is on paper by its look and sound.

Problem Solving Skills:

Identifying relationships

Reasoning

Gathering information

Procedural thinking

Record keeping

Stimulate imaginative thinking

Braking complex problems into smaller parts

Fun Factor: High, because it engages into a world of its own, still highly connected the real history!