My kids have gone crazy for it. It is an online game community designed to teach the guiding principles of game design and systems thinking and the kids both LOVE it!
The kids do not need an email to sign up. There's a free version allowing access to most everything except the paid "Addison's Quest", which was quite enough to get started for us. If you want to pay for a homeschool, you pay $2 per student with a minimum of $20 at this time (which is the price for one student to do the paid quest, so it is a bargain to sign up as a class or homeschool).
I really view the computer as a tool, a means to an end and I like to limit its use for "just playing games", but this is different. The skills needed to create a game and write the comments and earn different skill levels involves many different thinking processes. Both kids have been asking "Mom, how do you spell "blank" and have been doing LOTS of typing. I like that they enjoy completing a game creation and encouraging one another.
The timing of finding Gamestar Mechanic couldn't have been better, they've been playing a lot during our move. I'll be cutting back on the time spent on it next week as we get back to the academics and routine we set aside in order to pack, move and unpack. I think Dan has pretty much plumbed the depths of the quests. Both have entered their games in a contest that ends April 24th. A great find for our family and good timing as we've had less structured time during our move!
0 comments:
Post a Comment