Games

toc Games are structured play for amusement or educational purposes. Games can be electronic systems with user interface (human-machine interaction).

= = =About= Using games in the classroom...

=Specific Tools=

Copyright Game
This handy interactive game is called "Copyright Airway" and is used to help you understand that you have a fair amount of leeway to use copyright material/media without obtaining permission from copyright holders, as long as you can follow certain guidelines.

Copyright Game is an idea drawn from a site that Baruch College/CUNY created to help faculty determine the appropriate copyright guideline they must follow to use different types of copyright protected media in their course. This game is designed to test copyrighted audio, images, and audiovisuals. Most media are copyrighted and you should assume they all are unless you can prove otherwise. Copyright law doesn't require a notice, so those that do not carry the copyright logo may still be copyright protected. To learn more about determining whether or not a work is copyrighted, refer to common creating logo in the upper toolbar.

"Copyright Airway" is an interactive guide structured as an "Airway" to your destination. The objective is to work your way from checking-in at arrival to your destination of choice in the United States. However, along the way you will be asked questions about your work as you travel through a mystery storm. Depending on your route there will be a mystery delay.

First, think of a specific audio, image, or audiovisual you would like to use in your PowerPoint. Examples: a song, picture, or video. As stated before, you will be asked a variety of questions about your work. Your personal answer choice will determine which path you will take. If you make it to your destination of choice, you may use the item as long as you follow all guidelines to your personal reference.
 * How to use**

Once you finish "Copyright Airway," take 4 to 5 minutes to answer the feedback survey questions. For further assessment, on the class diigo site students should find a resource that discusses copyright and fair use. After you have done that, students should upload it with website and explain what they have learned overall about copyright and fair use.

Was the work you plan to use legally made acquired? YES OR NO.
 * Question #1**

For example, if you bought a DVD off the streets, or if you bought a bootleg CD of a rapper/pop artist, it was probably unlawfully made. However, if you purchased a DVD or tape from a retail store, such as national chain stores, you can assume that the work was legally made and acquired. If laws were broken in the making or acquisition of the work, then it was not legally made and acquired.

If you answered "YES," you move on from checking-in arrival and bags

If you answered "NO," SECURITY PLEASE!! Attack Alert. Since the work was not legally made and acquired, student cannot use it. Therefore, this is the end of the journey and the student is in for questioning.

Do you have permission from the work's copyright holder to use the work the way you want?
 * Question #2**

Sometimes you can have the copyright holder's permission to use it. Examples would be if the publishing company for student's textbook sent you a software/video to use for your course or if your school has an educational license to use certain media. If you have the copyright holder's permission, you can use it the way you plan to use it.

If you answered "YES," you are finally to your destination of choice with no hassle, delay.

If you answered "NO," (Delivery Method) Classroom or Online?

From here, you need to decide if you are going to display or perform work in a classroom setting or plan to transmit it online

COPYRIGHT GIVES YOU MORE LEEWAY WHEN USING WORK IN CLASS THAN ONLINE

Under copyright law you are allowed to perform or display any type of media in the class without permission from the copyright holder. For instance, you may play music, display images, or show a rented movie to your classmates as part of your presentation.
 * Classroom**

Exception: When the work you plan to use (displayed) is a program recorded from television, there are additional guidelines to follow.

Is the work you plan to use a program recorded off television? YES OR NO.
 * Question #3**

If you answered "YES," - CAUTION!!! Mystery weather: Sleet.

Guideline: Showing recorded programs broadcasted on television is likely to be fair use as long as you follow certain guidelines. Broadcast television includes all stations transmitted without charge for reception by the general public, such as ABC, NBC, PBS and so forth.

If you answered "NO," congratulations, you have made it to your destination of choice!

Since you will only use this work in the classroom for face-to-face instruction, and since it is not a program recorded off television, you are allowed to display or preform the work for your classmates, as long as it is directly relevant to the classroom curriculum and learning objective. This means, among other things, you can show all parts of a movie you rented or bought, images you downloaded from the internet, songs from a CD you bought or borrowed from a friend, and programs you recorded off the radio, as long as the works are relevant to the lesson and were legally made and acquired.

Edheads (multiple games)
// Note: The content in VHRS may be more graphic than some students may be comfortable with, so that should be taken into consideration before use. // Edheads is a non-profit that strives to make hard-to-comprehend science and math understandable and free of cost. One of the games presented by Edheads is Virtual Hip Replacement Surgery, which is recommended for Grades 7-12+. Virtual Hip Replacement Surgery (VHRS) introduces various aspects of surgery through simulation.

Edheads has a simple and easy to navigate website. All of the games have a similar structure. On the Edheads website, there is a tab at the right corner of the site where you can choose from a (still growing) list of programs. VHRS is an easy to navigate game with plenty of supplementary resources. There is a section for additional information where students can get a glimpse of the careers that many of the games display.
 * How to Use**

iCivics (multiple games)
iCivics has created a rich variety of games covering a range of topics that all involve American government and civics. This nonprofit organization was founded by retired Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor in 2009 after she recognized a lack of knowledge base in the forgotten subject of civics. Since its launch,the 16 different interactive games have been played over two million times in each of the 50 states of the U.S. iCivics is considered to be the nation's most comprehensive and standard-aligned civics curriculum that can be accessed for free on the web. Some of iCivics' most popular games are listed below.

Win the White House
Win the White House is an iCivics game about running for the office of President of the United States. By playing the game, students learn about political parties, campaign strategies, and election timeline. There are three levels of difficulty based on elementary, middle, and high school grade level. There is also a tutorial option to have a campaign manager help you through the first part of the election. The full game takes you through 10 of the campaign trails up until election day.

Branches of Power Branches of Power is an iCivics game that focuses on the three branches of government and running them all at one time. This game focuses on being able to run all three branches of government but maintaining balance between them all. By playing this game, students will learn about what each branch of government is in charge of and the different steps to create laws that surround different issues. Also the students will be able to create laws about issues that interest them. The game is about 30 minutes long and will take the students through different scenarios to effectively balance the branches of government.

Pandemic 2
Pandemic 2 is a flash game by DarkRealmStudios. The game can be found on multiple game websites (listed on the game's page), but the main distributor is Crazy Monkey Games. This health-related strategy game involves driving the development of a biological agent in order to spread disease and wipe out the human race. The game utilizes biological and medical terminology, so it can be great for learning about and understanding the spread of disease, as well as diseases themselves. The game can help address distinctions between viruses, bacteria, and parasites, and their effects on larger and more complex organisms. The idea of superbugs can also be discussed. For older students, the questionable ethics of creating such diseases can be discussed.

Players begin by choosing whether to create a virus, parasite, or bacteria, each of which has various advantages and disadvantages. Throughout the game, the player manages the symptoms and vectors of transfer for the disease.
 * How to Use **

Spree Games (multiple games)
Spree Gamesis a learning resource to search digital K-12+ educational games. Teachers, parents, and students alike can search games. There are copious subjects, including math, science (biology, chemistry, environment, health, physics, and technology), social science ( civics, geography, history, and social studies), and language (critical thinking, English language arts, English as a second language, information literacy, spelling, and writing). Games are also classified by age level. Users have the ability to upload and write reviews on the different games.

Here is a screencast about Spree Games that also highlights how to play iCivic's "Win the White House."

Spelling City is a website that can be used to help English language learners in a fun way. There are different games that can be played to practice spelling, vocabulary, and grammar. Spelling City can also help teachers with assessments and homework. Teachers are able to start their own web page and through it keep track of student grades and accomplishments during the extra activity assignments and homework. Students can also print a hard copy of the assignment to bring to class.
 * Spelling City (ESOL) **

Nobel Prize Games
[|Nobel Prize] is an interactive website to inform people on subjects that have received a Nobel Prize. This site not only provides information on each of these award-winning topics but also has an interactive game to learn a topic of choice in a more enjoyable way.

Malaria Games There are two games from the Nobel Prize website that allow the audience to actively learn about Malaria from the perspective of a mosquito or from a parasite.

**Stronghold 2**
Stronghold 2 is a real-time strategy castle simulator. It was released in 2005 by 2K Games for Microsoft Windows. The gameplay is highly focused on developing the infrastructure of a medieval castle and the surrounding village and includes mechanics such as peasant happiness, public health, and taxation. There is also a strong emphasis on the construction of fortifications and the conduction of sieges. In an educational context, Stronghold 2 may be used to construct a medieval setting, such as a castle or village, which can then be used to teach the concept to a class. The game may also be used to simulate historical situations and battles.

Starfall
Starfall is a free online website offering elementary educational games. The website focuses on teaching phonics and literacy skills to preschool and kindergarten age children. The website also offers a Common Core section for first grade math and reading skills. []

Other Suggested Sites
> > FunBrain.com > Learn4Good > > > >
 * iPhysics

English

 * Students can play games on the website [|English Flash Games]. The games on this website will help students learn verbs, vocabulary, and spelling through different types of games that make English fun.
 * An interesting social play on both storytelling and video games: []

Mathematics
> Students can find many different kinds of math games on [|Math Playground]. For example, students can find the game [|Penguin Jump] which is a game one can play with friends, where one is a penguin and you race against friends, or a computer, by jumping on ice blocks, with the right answer to a multiplication question. > > > Funbrain.com is an online site from Pearson that provides games for various subjects. The games are sorted by grade level. One feature that I like is in the math arcade. It allows you to choose a level, 1-8, and adjusts the problems according to your level chosen, so the level 3 problems will be easier than the level 6 problems.

> [|__http://justkidsgames.com/play.php?MakingChange__] >
 * The game "Making Change" from justkidsgames.com is perfect for students practicing the subtraction of money in a real world scenario. It also has a simulation of a cash register and students will hear the sounds that it makes while also interacting with coins and bills.

Science

 * Students can play Pandemic 2 to explore differences between viruses, bacteria, and parasites, and to examine general principles of health and disease.
 * Students can play the mosquito game or parasite game to learn prevention methods from Malaria and how Malaria multiplies in our body, respectively.
 * Students can visit the Fun Science Games webpage to play free interactive activities online: []

Social Studies

 * Lawcraft by iCivics ...
 * Students can play [|Real Lives 2010], which is a game that allows students to experience someone's life in another part of the world. Students will be born in a country that is not as well off as America and will have to grow up in that county, finding ways to survive. Students could be born in China as a woman, where women are looked down upon; they will have to figure out how to survive in a country were it will be hard to get jobs due to the increasing population. One could marry a rich man by making the Chinese woman fashionable and physically fit. Or one could leave the country and go to America, try to get an education, and survive in the U.S.A. There are natural cause of death in the game, and accidents such as getting hit by a car at the age of eight do occur. Another game scenario might be that you were born in an affluent family, but your parents die, and there are no more relatives that will look after you, thus you are put in an orphan home. This game will give the students the best ability to see how different countries and cultures work compared to America.
 * Here is a sample lesson plan incorporating "Win the White House" into a high school American Government class.

Health & Medicine

 * Edheads' Virtual Hip Replacement Surgery can be used to give an introduction to a possible medical career or to discuss aspects of surgery.

**General**

 * Some websites that host games suitable for classroom use may also host explicit or inappropriate games that are not suitable for students. Some of these sites allow games to be added to a personal website, which would be a preferable option for providing students with the game(s). Otherwise, discretion is highly advised, especially if the website hosting the game is not a dedicated education site.
 * Not all games can be standalone activities . Many games require supplementary instruction or further exploration to be used effectively in education. However, with the right structure, games can really enhance learning and engagement.
 * English**
 * There are not many English video game websites, and if there are, the games are not that presentable. English games can also get boring after a while and can make one not want to return to that game to play again.
 * Mathematics**
 * Math games seem to have the best games due to the fact that it is easy to make a game around math problems. Math games also seem to have better effects when it comes to helping students develop better math skills.
 * There seems to be not many math games for higher level math. Most games are very simple, such as multiplication, division, and fractions. However, if one would want ti go further and do i higher math, there are not many games, or fun game, one can used. Thus, the majority of math games are for novice mathematicians.
 * Science**
 * There are good science games for children who are in elementary or middle school science classes. However, like math, it is difficult to find higher level science games appropriate for secondary or college levels.


 * Social Studies**
 * Social studies games are those like English games and are very dull when it comes to free-to-play games. However, games like Age of Empires, and the Total War series, are more fun, and one can play as famous historic character, which makes the game a lot more fun to play and learn about history.