Platform: Web Games
Subject: Civics
Grade Level: 4th grade and up
Focus: Awareness, Learning

Introduction: iCivics is a web-based education project designed to teach students civics and inspire them to be active participants in United States democracy. iCivics does a nice job of integrating instruction through gameplay and promotes civic awareness through a variety of interactions. The games cover a wide range of topics such as, “Citizenship and Participation”, “The Constitution and Bill of Rights”, “Budgeting”, “Foreign Policy & National Defense”, “Separation of Powers”, and all three branches of government (Legislative, Executive and Judicial). Read More

Web Game, Mathematics, 4th grade and up, PEMDAS

Overview: For students looking to perfect their utility of basic math skills while blasting robots, look no further than PEMDAS Blaster.  A well designed drill game, Blaster assumes prior knowledge and seeks to sharpen response time to basic math operations. Speed is paramount as evil robots come toward you with the intent to harm. The only way to destroy them is to solve each of their “access codes” (math problems). PEMDAS Blaster has a variety of engaging rewards that allow you to upgrade your weapons, throw grenades, and put up road blocks. The varied reward structure leads to prolonged engagement even for repetitive play. Read More

Are educational iPad apps valuable for learning? Until recently, no studies had put iPad learning apps to the test. This month GameDesk released a study, led by USC Prof. Michelle Riconscente, on an iPad fractions game, Motion Math, for elementary-school aged children. The study, which applied a controlled experimental design, evaluated whether playing Motion Math led to increases in children’s fractions knowledge and attitudes. Over 120 participants played the game for 20 minutes daily for five days, for a total of 1 hour and forty minutes of game play. Among the main findings were that fractions knowledge increased an average of 15%, and participants gained confidence in their fractions ability and reported liking fractions more after playing the game. Changes on all outcome variables were statistically significant compared to a control group.  full story

Bill Nye the Science Guy, recently joined the GameDesk team to build a library of digital science curriculum and games. Most recently, he has been working with us to build version 2.0 of the aerodynamics game, Aero!, for the iPhone. Bill has been helping the team understand how wings deflect air, proper equations required for a correct simulation of flight, and the coupling of yaw and roll. “O, it was big fun. I’m having a great time working with the Institute. Lucien and his team know what they’re doing. They’re top-notch, first-cabin, and are serious about complex science learning.” Bill has joined the Board of Directors for the GameDesk school and stated that he and GameDesk are now planning a series of science learning games and apps for release in 2012. full story

As part of its Science and Entertainment Exchange, the National Academy of Sciences announced that the GameDesk Institute is the winner of the 2011 Science, Entertainment and Education Grant. The grant will support GameDesk’s Science in Motion project, an “embodied” game for the iPad, Xbox Kinect, and SMALLab system covering middle and high school geoscience standards.

The project benefits from the support of multiple collaborators—the GameDesk Institute, LucasArts Entertainment, University of Southern California, Tectonics Observatory at Caltech, California Science Teachers of the Year, and the New York Hall of Science. “To date, there have been very few efforts to create genuine partnerships among the scientific, entertainment, and education communities,” said Ralph J. Cicerone, President, National Academy of Sciences. “Our review panel believes that the Science in Motion project is an excellent opportunity to bring together those communities to build a very unique and powerful educational experience.”

Press Release Article and Interview

GameDesk was featured at Variety’s Venture Capital & New Media Summit as  a “Technology All-Star”, within a consortium of key companies that have proven that strong ideas can thrive, attracting today’s digital consumers.  GameDesk, alongside other new and successful technology companies, shared their stories on the road to success.  GameDesk CEO Lucien Vattel introduced the audience to his ideas on an effective pipeline from research to product.  Variety’s New Media Summit hosted the Duke and Duchess of Wales, who sent the clear message that their first U.S. stop wasn’t about fun and celebrity but about serious business and philanthropy. The talk focused on innovations and the possibilities of technology and new media.  Lucien Vattel of GameDesk remarked, “Right now, within our current circumstances, education is the only product that any parent should be concerned about.”

TakePart and Participant Media released an article and video on the vision and work of GameDesk. Check out the entire article here.

LOS ANGELES, CA, January 14, 2011 – An innovative, game and media-based charter school is being planned to launch in the greater Los Angeles area in August 2012 by the GameDesk Institute through funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  The GameDesk School’s pedagogy will revolve around authorship practices, harnessing the appeal of games, mechanical and electrical tinkering, and film and media creation to engage underrepresented urban youth in STEM fields.

“We will create opportunities to marvel and offer meaningful learning in the form of play and creation,” explained Lucien Vattel, GameDesk Executive Director.  The school will open in the fall of 2012 with approximately 80 sixth graders, expanding to cover grades 6 through 12 in subsequent years.  The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has funded the planning of the school and the development of novel curriculum design tools for the school’s rollout in the coming year.

LOS ANGELES, CA, Sept. 30 – World Cyber Games (WCG) kicked-off a four-day competitive gaming competition today at the Los Angeles Convention Center, celebrating 10 years of uniting the best computer and videogame players from around the world.

As part of the WCG 2010 Grand Final kick off, WCG donated Samsung SyncMaster computer monitors to the GameDesk Institute through the Los Angeles County Education Foundation (LACEF) to enhance STEM-based GameDesk pilot courses and after-school programs.

“Games and technology are a great way to engage at-risk kids,” said Madeline Hall, director of the Los Angeles County Education Foundation. “Having access to the best tools in our classrooms will help disadvantaged students experience the opportunities available for them in the broader world.” “This is a generous contribution, the Institute will put this technology to work right away,” stated Lucien Vattel, GameDesk’s executive director. GameDesk’s mission is to change models of learning though the engagement of games and technology authorship. The Samsung technology will be used in math and science pilot programs at various schools throughout LAUSD and in the after-school lab projects within the Institute.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Jul. 12 /CSRwire/ – The Motorola Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), today announced the 2010 grant recipients of its signature Innovation Generation program, which provides more than $7.5 million to K-12 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education programs across the country. Among those recipients was GameDesk, Inc. GameDesk’s Math Game Curriculum will enable students to synthesize and extract mathematical concepts through a sequence that allows the students to gain a sense of control over the math as a tool for multiple uses. Students will work through their own ideas, pulling from hobbies, cultural interests, personal experiences and scientific challenges to develop out their own projects.

Check out the entire article here.