Name: Samantha Johnson

CRITICAL EVALUATION OF EDUCATIONAL GAMES & SIMULATIONS

EDU 741 Survey of Educational Technology Dr. Dan Beltramo

Game or Simulation Name & address:

http://www.classbraingames.com/2012/07/before-they-were-president/

Purpose for Game or Simulation:

Can you tell which US President is in the childhood photo in this free history game? You are to choose the correct President and learn a little about his life and times in the White House in Before They Were President.

Blooms Digital Taxonomy

What levels of Blooms Digital Taxonomy are addressed by this Game or Simulation? Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, and Evaluating

Educational Game & Simulation Evaluation Checklist

X X X X X X X X Use of game or simulation is relevant to the purpose and student needs Help or tutorial is available in the game or simulation Content is appropriate for the student Information is error-free, factual, and reliable Content can be exported, copied, or printed Game or simulations settings and/or content can be customized History is kept of student use of the app Design of app is functional and visually stimulating Student can exit app at any time without losing progress Game or simulation is free of charge No in- game or simulation purchases are necessary for intended use of app Game or simulation loads quickly and does not crash Game or simulation contains no advertising Game or simulation has been updated in the last 6 months Game or simulation promotes creativity and imagination Game or simulation provides opportunities to use higher order thinking skills Game or simulation promotes collaboration and idea sharing Game or simulation provides useful feedback

Total s The more checks, the better the app is for education

Educational Game & Simulation Evaluation Discussion

1. How do you see using this game or simulation being used in the classroom? This game would be great to use in MITs ELAH (English Language Arts/Humanities) teachers. In fact, I could create a cross curricular project which features information about the music and culture of each time period of the Presidents featured in this game. The culminating project after students learn about the history of our nation could be one where students create skits or short films/videos acting out the fads of that time and explaining the music and popular artists of that time period.

2. What would be the value of using this game or simulation as a learning tool? Once you get the correct answer you are given information on speeches made by that President and other historical facts relevant for that time period. Students also learn about each President and what they stood for while campaigning for the Presidency and could compare and contrast the needs and values of each time period and how they changed through the decades to the economic changes of our nation.