Gaming and Learning

Gaming and Learning

Since finding Third World Farmer, I have found some other great educational simulations. I am putting together a course on Gaming and Learning. I usually keep this blog for SL, but I felt obligated to share these wonderful educational simulations I found in my research. As educators, I hope you find these resources helpful in your classrooms and helping your students to learn. The following are what I found on the web that were online (No downloads needed) and FREE and help to support the curriculum by using technology as an instructional tool: Design Your Own Satellite: http://www.eduweb.com/portfolio/designsatellite/ Help Jimmy and Susan watch TV by developing a satellite that will help get them television signals. Your satellite will need to: Get into Orbit, Make Power, Point at Earth and Relay Signals. The people of Littleton can help you with suggestions. Very cute and not as easy as it looks. :-) Space Walk: http://www.discovery.com/stories/science/iss/i_spacewalk.html This simulation was developed by the Discovery Channel. You are an astronaut in space and must attach two cables to the Space Shuttle. The cables are for communication and data. You will have to gather the cables, use the shuttle are to transport, attach yourself to the shuttle and walk. If you do not work quick enough you may find that the sun sets and hope you remembered to bring a flashlight with you. :-) Virtual School Simulation: http://devvirtualschool.ncsl.org.uk/ This is very creative and a great simulation for professional development. It allows the professional to pick their school, sex and educational scenario. The way you deal with each scenario will determine the staffs moral. Very cool simulation and seems to provide a great leadership training showing how decisions impact moral and school communities. ;-) You even get a secretary as an assistant and helper and an office in this simulation. The picture above is a collage of some of the computer screens for this simulation. :-) Jamestown Online Adventure: http://www.historyglobe.com/jamestown/ This is a great simulation. It allows you to make the decisions for the voyage and landing, as well as interaction with the Native Americans. Then it compares your choices to the historical ones made. Above are some screen shots of the Jamestown simulation.


Viking Quest: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/launch_gms_viking_quest.shtml
Play the game of 'Viking Quest', which takes you back to AD 793. Can you build a ship, cross the seas, loot a monastery and return home to claim your prize? Your chief has set the challenge, it's up to you to respond. Very cool simulation. If you fail you are banished from the Viking community.


Death in Sakkara: An Egyptian Adventure: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/launch_gms_death_sakkara.shtml Egypt, 1929. Journalist Charles Fox plunges into a darkly sinister world of intrigue, murder and mysticism in the hunt for a missing archaeologist. Multi-layered and fiendishly challenging!
Above are some screens from this simulation.


Investing Simulator: http://www.investingonline.org/isc/index.html This simulator helps understand economics and investing in stocks. Excellent for a 12th grade economics class. The goal of this simulator is a training to invest online, but it also shows how stocks are sold and how people can gain and loose money in the blink of an eye. Virtual Garden: http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/htbg2/virtual_garden/ Okay - who does not just love an English garden???? Well this simulation lets you design a garden and see if it is functional for growing plants and flowers. Very cool and deals with a lot of graphing concepts. Not as easy as it sounds. You need a virtual green thumb for this simulation. :-) Battle for the Planet: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/antenna/climatechange/ In this simulation you are in the year 2100. You return to the year 2007 and make daily life choices to determine your carbon emissions and how they will effect the future. City Creator: http://www.citycreator.com/ This site requires that you provide an email address to be a member of the community. It allows you to design a city with roads and buildings and see how functional it is, along with pick community members. Once the city is complete it joins the larger community of created cities designed by other members and people can even use their city designs as wallpaper on their computer. Dumptown Recycle Game: http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/gameintro.htm You are Dumptown's new City Manager! When you start to play, you'll see Dumptown at its worst — it's littered, polluted, and nothing is being recycled or reused. There are many trash cans and dumpsters, but no recycling bins. That means all of the trash is going right into the landfill just outside town, where it isn't doing anyone any good.

In your new position, you can start programs that encourage Dumptown's citizens and businesses to recycle and reduce waste.

You have 10 programs to work with. Each time you try out a new one, you can see immediately how the Dumptown landscape changes. You also see how much waste you are saving from going into the landfill.

Virtual Solar System and Planet:http://www.planet-science.com/wired/?page=/planet10/ This is two games in one: Solar System - Explore the planets, comets and asteroids on an interactive virtual fly-through. Zoom in close on a particular planet or choose a different orbit view to see the whole system from afar. The data sheets let you discover more about some of the elements that make up our Solar System. World Builder - Work your way through each of the creation screens, but make your choices wisely, only certain conditions will ensure your planet is a successful place to grow and evolve.

If you have any educational simulation URL's you would like to share, then please add a comment with the URL link and game name.

Regards till my next post,
Dembe ;-)