Digital Learning Day: Five Game-Based Learning Tools for Success Through Play

As the education technology world continues to evolve, exciting new products and services are emerging to strengthen and create unique learning experiences for leaners of all ages. Digital Learning Day was established in 2012 to spotlight the many different facets, tools, and applications that support and empower teachers and students. It applauds educators who are getting creative with their digital resources to open up a whole new world of discovery. In honor of Digital Learning Day, we’re sharing some game-based learning tools we’ve developed with a few of our partners.

We’ve been in the educational media industry for over 20 years. Throughout this journey, we’ve held on to our belief in the power of learning through play. This roundup of resources offers a look at immersive play in diverse content areas including history, civic engagement and reading, logic, financial literacy, leadership, resiliency, and social emotional skill building. Players learn and develop skills as they play exciting roles of daring explorer, investigative journalist, and even a wily con artist.

We’d love to hear and learn from you! Share how you’re implementing game-based learning tools in the comments below.

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Zoombinis, TERC
Make me a pizza! Through Zoombinis, players learn important life skills including algebraic thinking, data analysis, and theory formulation in a fun and engaging setting. With 12 puzzles and four levels of increasing difficulty in each, players are constantly challenged, improving their problem-solving skills as they advance through the game. Play the revamped classic game you know and love!

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Con ‘Em If You Can, Commonwealth
Con 'Em If You Can is a fun, interactive strategy game developed to help players learn how to spot and avoid investment fraud. The game turns the tables and players are cast into the role of fraudster, learning key techniques – phantom riches, reciprocity, scarcity, social consensus, and source credibility – to scam the residents of Shady Acres and thwart the Fraud Fighting Agency!

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Operation: REACH, Boys & Girls Club of America
Players set sail on the SS Chelonia to rescue crewmates stranded along a mysterious island archipelago. Aboard the ship, players work with the Captain to navigate and mediate interpersonal conflicts among the crew that threaten the success of the mission. Only with communication, resiliency, collaboration, and empathy will they be able to gain the strength and knowledge to face the final mystery of the Fog, and return safely home. Players gain social emotional learning skills by utilizing tools to keep their stress and anxiety at bay.

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Read to Lead, Classroom, Inc.
After the Storm and Community in Crisis places middle schoolers in the fictional city of Port Douglas – a community devastated by a hurricane. By leading the daily news website and running the community center, students assume a leadership role in the community and pick up literacy skills along the way. The literacy learning games in the Read to Lead series promote vocabulary, multi-media production and editing, and work place readiness through real world simulations.

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Ripped Apart: A Civil War Mystery, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History
Ever wondered what it’s like to work at the Smithsonian? With the sudden and curious departure of her last intern, Museum Curator Isabella Wagner needs help solving a mystery dating back to the Civil War. Ripped Apart invites players to immerse themselves in the 19th century by exploring the photographs and belongings of mysterious characters from America’s past as an intern at the museum. The app aims to improve the understanding of American history, while helping players get a feel for the critical thinking skills, analysis, and tools museum curators use to study and classify historical objects and artifacts.

#InYourWords: Classroom, Inc. Highlights the Voices of Students and Educators Across the Country

The following post is written by guest blogger Celia Alicata, Director of Marketing & Communications for Classroom, Inc. FableVision Studios worked with Classroom, Inc. to develop the award-winning After the Storm and Community in Crisis. The interactive learning games promote middle-school-level reading and writing through real-world workplace simulations. Aligned to Common Core State Standards, the games encourage leadership skills and are used in classrooms with an interactive online portion and offline project-based materials. Celia recounts the following story of sharing the games with some middle schoolers in Alabama and New York.

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Picture this: it’s a record-breaking 100+ degree-day in a small suburb outside of Birmingham, Alabama. We’ve just arrived to film Ms. Mahan’s summer learning class using Classroom, Inc.’s Community in Crisis—the organization’s latest learning game that puts students in the role of executive director of a community service center. We’re so thrilled to talk to real students who are diving in to their role as boss, but the heat has us running nearly on empty.  

Our first stars arrive timidly at the door of the classroom shoot—lights, cameras, and boom mics greet the children before we are able to. As the interviews kick off, it’s quite evident that the heat is no match for the energy and the powerful conversations being prompted by the real-world scenarios in the game. The young learners quickly forget the cameras are rolling, and tell stories about how the games help them see a world beyond their own:

“We’ve been learning to express ourselves differently to the world, and to really look at stuff in a new way,” explained Brillith, a soft-spoken, thoughtful 7th grader.   

Ms. Carr’s class of leaders from Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change in Harlem, New York shared similar revelations as they made the connection between literacy and leadership. 

“The game is going to help me do my career because reading helps you throughout your whole life,” reflected Adriana, 8th grade.

“There’s great responsibility in life. And after I was done playing [After the Storm] I saw what I have to be ready for,” said Axel, an animated 8th grader who plans to be a magician when he grows up.

The games ignite a sense of self and aspiration in these young students—from Birmingham, to New York, and to Los Angeles—and that’s what sticks with us. Listening to the voices of the educators and students whom we partner with is how we learn. It’s how we grow. And most of all, it’s how we ensure we’re developing literacy and leadership skills for children across the country. Keep watching classroominc.org for more #InYourWords videos.

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Celia Alicata, Director of Marketing & Communications, Classroom, Inc.
Celia Alicata leads the marketing and communications efforts to share Classroom, Inc.’s stories of impact; reach thought leaders, bloggers, and journalists; and build awareness about the organization’s learning games. She brings a decade of experience in strategic communications and marketing, community engagement, and education policy and advocacy for issues impacting our most under-served communities.

Most recently, Celia was director of grassroots and regional marketing at Teach For America where she managed outreach for 13 TFA regions. Prior to that, she managed programs at Change the Equation, a STEM advocacy organization, and federal policy at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. In addition to her nonprofit experience, Celia spent time at Collaborative Communications Group, a consulting firm for education organizations. She holds an M.Ed. from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in Communications, Law, Economics, and Government from American University in Washington, DC.