Making Subtraction Fun

 

Online games can be a great tool for educators to provide their students with meaningful learning activities according to the authors of “Exploring the Factors Influencing Learning Effectiveness in Digital Game-Based Learning” (Fu-Hsing, Kuang-Chao, & Hsien-Sheng, 2012). Because of this, the goal for this assignment was to look for an online game that is fun, inviting, and age appropriate to elementary students.  As a result, the group members found the online game, “Balloon Pop Subtraction.” The game is for, but not limited to, children in the first and second grade.

     After reviewing the game, the group was tasked to create a rubric for the online game. The task was not too difficult because of the online resources that were provided.  For example, California State University has an online game rubric software on their website where an individual can plug in their grading for each criteria provided by the software.  At the end of the rubric, there will be a total calculation button that will automatically add all your points once it is clicked by the user. 

     Aside from the software making it simple to build the rubric, the most challenging part of creating the rubric was figuring out what criteria best fits the online game that was chosen.  To decide which was best, the group assigned two specific people to conclude which criteria would best fit the game.  As the two group members decided the criteria, they introduced the rubric to the entire group.  Then the group made an overall decision on which criteria should be included and which should be eliminated.  Once the decision was made, the final rubric was created.  

     In order for the group to accelerate the process of deciding on a rubric and other group tasks, they decided to use “Wiggio,” an online group collaboration website.  This website allowed the group to communicate efficiently without having to physically meet with each other. “Wiggio” was the main source of communication for the entire group.  For instance, when one of the group members missed class, “Wiggio” was used to update them about all the content that was covered during that day. Also, transferring and sharing files of group work was easy because of the file share feature provided on the website.  

     Because of “Wiggio,” the group was able to decide which technology would be the best to present their findings for the online game.  The group decided that the website creator, “Weebly" would be the best way to clearly explain and interact with the class during the presentation.  “Weebly” provided a simple way to access all the content for the presentation.  Specifically, if there were any changes that needed to be done, the group member could use the login credentials shared by the group to make any additions to the presentation. 

     After reviewing all aspects of the online game, “Balloon Pop Subtraction” is specifically aimed for math.  Although the content is math related, other educators in different content areas could use this tool as well.  For example, if an educator in the health department is teaching a class about nutrition and they see that their students are having trouble subtracting their daily calorie intake; the educator could provide the class with the link of the online game, “Balloon Pop Subtraction.” Instead of giving the students a written homework assignment on subtraction, the online game would give them a fun way to practice subtracting different numbers without having to perform the typical pencil to paper method.  In conclusion, this practice would encourage students to engage in the process of schema construction which could improve their learning capacity, according to an article on spatial distributed instruction (Jang, Schunn, & Nokes, 2011). 

References

Fu-Hsing, T., Kuang-Chao Y., & Hsien-Sheng H. (2012). Exploring the factors influencing
      learning effectiveness in digital game-based learning. Journal of Educational Technology     

      & Society, 15(3), 240–250.

Jang, J., Schunn, C. D., & Nokes, T. J. (2011). Spatially distributed instructions improve learning
    outcomes and efficiency. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(1), 60–72. 

    doi:10.1037/a0021994