EDTECH 536: Mobile Game Reflection

Bumps Arcade: link
Summary - This would probably be considered a strategy or physics game. It does have a storyline connected to it to get the player involved. Aliens came and captured all the creature on the planet (balls) and encapsulated them in a bigger ball. Only a few balls were not captured and it is their mission to capture all the keys to let out all the others. There are several different levels to the game. It starts out fairly easy by rolling a ball on ramps to capture the keys. It gets harder fairly quickly. Then balls are dropped to push other balls to bounce and roll to capture the keys.
Educational Uses - This is something I could actually use with my second grade students with our forces and motion science unit. It shows the effects of gravity by placing the ball on different points on the ramp. It show the user what happens when other objects are pushed. I am sure there are some higher level science or math classes that could use this as well. Students could even draw illustrations of the game level to show what happens. They could be required to try each level in several different ways and record that information as well. Generalizations could then be made. Younger students might only do one or two levels while older students could do more. (I teach second grade and always think young.)

The Secret of Grisly Manor: link
Summary - This is an adventure game where the player needs to go to Grisly Manor to find the missing grandfather. There is a good deal of problem solving in this game. When you click on certain items a message will appear that often gives clues to finding items that will be needed to solve the mystery. Personally, I love mysteries, but games like this kind of drive me crazy. I don't like to feel like I am wandering from room to room and outside just clicking on things to find items I might need. However, I am sure there are many who enjoy it,
Educational Uses - This would be a great game for reading and following directions. The reading level is fairly low so younger students could use it. It would also be great to tie in to maps. It would be very helpful to map out the inside and outside of the house and mark locations of items and items that will need to be revisited. I think students could work with a partner to map it out and find all the objects. Writing out the sequence of events or procedures would also be great.

Balloon Pop: link
Summary - This is an action game that is very simple. The object is to pop ballons of the right color. There is one balloon to the right that changes color. As it changes you need to pop that color.
Educational Uses - This could be appropriate for very young children except that it might move a little to quickly for them. It could be used for color matching. It would be beneficial if they could play with an adult to verbalize the color names as they were playing. The adult could also call out the needed color and they could pop those balloons.