Gaming for Grades: Edutainment Titles for the Wii

Most parents probably haven’t heard the term “edutainment” yet they have certainly experienced it.  The term, which has worked its way into the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, is a combination of the terms education and entertainment.  It refers to any form of entertainment that is also educational, albeit usually in a subtle way.  The edutainment trend has become popular in all forms of entertainment that is directed to kids.  The current generation, termed as Generation Y or the Digital Generation, is a tricky group to engage as they have grown up being surrounded with technology and expect everything to be immediate -- be it gratification, praise, or access to information.  Kids of this generation, even those as young as four or five years old, also expect to be entertained while getting their information because of the very nature of the technology with which they have grown up.  Therefore, the creation of edutainment was a natural blending of the needs of these kids – they get their information served to them in a way that is familiar.  One format where edutainment has become a mainstay is in the gaming world.  Most video game platforms offer titles that can fit in the edutainment category.  As the Nintendo Wii is one of the most popular platforms and one of the most interactive, the following list represents a sample of the titles that are available – all of which will engage kids and encourage them to learn.

1.     American Mensa Academy – Using age-appropriate, Mensa-level questions with the capability of playing against friends, this game pushes players to solve problems in five academic areas.  The game features a variety of graphics and characters that take the player through the questions.  All tests, revered to as “challenges” by the game, are scored immediately and are able to be tracked by players to see growth as they work with this “brain trainer” game.

2.     Reader Rabbit series – Reader Rabbit is a mainstay in edutainment titles.  There are games that target each grade level.  Parents can select a level above, a level below, or at grade level depending upon the needs of the child.  The player works through different games that work on skills in language, reading, science, math, and problem solving.  The difficulty of the games can be changed in order to challenge players and grow with them as their abilities become more developed.

3.     National Geographic Challenge -- Players must answer questions to claim territories in this game.  Played as a single-player game or with up to four players, players not only must come up with the correct answer, but they also must use problem solving tactics to stop their opponents who may be questing for the same areas.  In addition to the questions about geography and history, there are several different puzzles and challenges to help players achieve more territory. This game provides players with the opportunity to learn history and geography in a manner that is interactive and not based solely on memorization.

4.     Carmen Sandiego Adventures in Math series – Aligned to the grades four and five math common core standards, these games set players up as detectives being sent out on different missions depending upon the game selected.  Players must solve math problems and follow clues in order to catch the villain and win.  Players can practice and play in single player mode or can challenge other players in multiplayer mode.  Players will encounter challenges in several areas of math including fractions, geometry, and logic problems.  Players will be using math skills in a fun, interactive manner that will help them be more able to perform on common core-based curriculum and tests.

5.     SimCity Creator – By building cities, players can create a variety of environments then allow natural disasters to destroy their creation so they can begin anew. Players must make several choices in regard to buildings, roads, and infrastructure to make their cities as complex or as simple as they want.  The SimCity games have become so popular in the area of edutainment that there are competitions around the country for elementary and middle school students to build a working city on the game with the help of adult mentors.  The ability to practice at home would give students who are involved in the SimCity competitions the chance to try out different situations without using up critical group work time.  Even if students do not participate in the competitions, they are still able to benefit from the problem solving and special reason skills needed to play this game successfully.

6.     I Spy series – Based on the books of the same name, the I Spy series is truly popular with kids of all ages.  The games for Wii require players to find objects in pictures just like in the books, but the images on the game are 3-D with interactive objects in each game.  Seek-and-find games are always popular and offer kids the chance to work field-ground differentiation and attention to detail, both of which are essential for reading, science, and math success.  While the game is set up as a single player game, several players can play as a team to complete the boards.

Kids in Generation Y truly are the Digital Generation, having been surrounded by technology their whole lives.  Many parents may see video games as playing and not able to permit any serious learning.  However, the way Gen Y learns is different than previous generations and, to get their attention and keep it, they must be entertained and interact with the technology.  Whether edutainment games are used to support what kids are learning in school, to challenge able learners, or to enhance a homeschool curriculum, all of them will provide learning opportunities for plugged-in kids.

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