Games

Study Stack: [|www.studystack.com]

The Study Stack home page gives clear and concise description of the technology: 1. Find data to study or add your own data. 2. Study and play with data online as flashcards, hangman game, crossword puzzle, matching, word search, or word scramble. 3. Study anytime/anywhere by printing data or exporting flash cards to your cell phone, PDA, or iPod.

I find the versatility of this educational tool very exciting, with its exponential possibilities for games, data and devices. It can be used for virtually any subject and the majority of students 3rd grade and above. It is user-friendly, and free to the public. (It does host ads.)

Teachers and students may use data already prepared, or input their own. Once the data is there, one can choose a number of learning games and formats for practice of recall. With RTI (Response to Intervention) and Differentiated Instruction national educational concerns, these games are excellent ways to support learning styles and IEPs (Individualized Educational Programs) for students.

It can be used for regular classroom reinforcement or preparing for standardized tests, such as TAKS. Because they are games, and the type can be chosen by a student according to personal preference and learning style, it increases the likelihood that students will be motivated to utilize the technology and learn the information.

After a quick registration, I was able to build a stack of data for primary 3-D objects. The process is self-explanatory – name a set, give it a brief description, click on the “Data” tab to input, and voila! I could then play a Scrabble-like game, crossword, hangman, flashcards, etc. using the data I wrote. Happy studying!

Julia Nations

Starfall []

This web site offers educational games for children to work on various reading skills on multiple levels, such as, phomemic awareness, systematic phonics, sight words, fluency, and comprehension. Immediate feedback is offered.

This game technology is great for use in the early elementary grades. It is beneficial for students in kindergarten through second grade. Some preschool children may, also, benefit from using this web site. Educators can us this web site to give children an opportunity to review or practice reading skills in a fun way. The most effective use of this technology is for teachers to direct individual children to the games that are most beneficial for them. For example, students having difficulty with letters and letter sounds can be guided to work on the ABC’s game.

Allowing students a little wiggle room to go beyond their instructional level can give them an opportunity to explore new skills in a non-threatening way. Students can make use of this web site in the classroom during center time or in the library.

Theresa Brader

Voki http://www.voki.com/

This is a fun web site with a wide variety of uses. On the website, you create an avatar that speaks. You can create any kind of avatar. You can change their look and the background. To have your VOKI speak, you can type in a speech and it will speak or you can record your own voice. The VOKI only lasts 30 seconds, but you can put more than 2 together by putting them in movie maker.

The VOKI is a great opportunity to engage students in both the classroom and the library. The Voki can be used as an introduction to a book, as a quick book review, or as a book preview. The Voki is also a great way to get people to come to your book fair. In the classroom, you can have the Voki playing when the students come into the room. The Voki can be giving the directions for the beginning of class.

However you choose to use it, have fun!

Elizabeth Nebeker

Animoto http://animoto.com/

Animoto is a quick video making website. You can take your own personal pictures and type your text and then create a 60 second video. The animoto has different transitions. It is very customizable. It is very easy to use.

The animoto can be used in both the library and the classroom. In the library, the animoto can be used as a book preview, a book review or as an advertisement to come to the library. I actually used it to create a video about how many overdue books we had in the library. Almost half of the books were returned after it was shown! In the classroom, it can be used as to create an introduction to a unit, or as closure.

The animotos are fun to create.

Elizabeth Nebeker

**Democracy 2**

[|http://www.positech.co.uk/democracy2/index_variant1.html]

This is a political strategy / simulation game in which a player is the leader of a democratic government. The player must create and alter policies in various areas, such as welfare, foreign relations, and taxes, and find solutions to various situations, problems, and dilemmas that arise. Everything the player does affects different voter groups and the country as a whole.

This game could be easily used in a school library or educational setting. In addition to teaching players about democracy, government, and politics through simulations, the game also teaches problem solving skills and cause and effect. It would be an excellent resource in the library as a simulation that reinforces what students are learning in their social studies classes. Students could play individually or as groups frequently throughout the year as a fun and interactive way to apply the topics and issues they have been discussing in their classes. The game is rated T for teens and would be most appropriately used at the secondary level.

The game is currently $19.95, but Politic Games, the developer of Democracy 2, offers negotiable educational discounts and site licenses.

Lindsay Nalley

=FunBrain=

[|www.funbrain.com]

This website contains an assortment of educational games for children in Kindergarten through eighth grade. There are Math games, Reading games, Arcade games, Web Books and Comics, and blogs for both boys and girls. There is also a link for teachers that allow teachers to search for games that will fit into their curriculum and meet specific standards.

I would encourage the teachers at my school to use the teacher link on this site to select games to use in the classroom. I would also have this site bookmarked on the library computers for students to play when they come to the library. I especially liked the Mad Libs, which most of my students enjoy. It's a great way to have them work with parts of speech. This site can also be accessed on the students' home computers, so they could reinforce skills they have learned at school.

I showed the site to both of my children (ages 6 and 12), and they each played several games on it. I think it would be a great website to use with my students at school.

Michelle Steenbergen

=**Order in the Library**= []

This is a great online game offered through the University of Texas. Order in the Library provides a tutorial section that teaches students how to locate and order books according to the Dewey Decimal system as well as the arrangement of books in the Fiction and Biography sections. The program offers three different types of games: Sorting, Shelving and Re-ordering. Furthermore, the game can be conducted in Spanish. Order in the Library is an ideal website for school libraries.

Incorporating Order in the Library in a school library setting would be effortless. The major problem for some libraries would be the lack of computers to allow students access to the website. However, librarians can allow students to access the site individually or in small groups (2 or less students per computer probably is best). Before students begin play, they should have had some instruction on sorting, alphabetizing and ordering books. Usually, students in 2nd grade and above usually have enough prior knowledge to begin immediately. However, it does not hurt to review the necessary skills before students access the site. In addition, Order in the Library allows students to print a certificate with their name on it after they successfully complete each level of play.

Michelle Moore