I am not aspiring to be a math teacher. However, I wish that my math teachers had incorporated more computer games such as “Pienado” from PBSkids.org into our classroom setting. Perhaps I was too young at the time? Laptops and tablets were not as feasible a resource as they are today.
While I was playing “Pienado”, I tried to keep in mind some of the requirements that Gee had in the article.
When playing a video game, Gee states that the players must be comfortable. Here, Gee is referring to the comfort level of the player in terms of how challenged they are. Gee says, “If the game is too complicated,
they’ll spend more time trying to play than learning from playing,” (Gee, 2007, 20).
I have never made a PBS Kids login, so I had to start over. However, it does not take long for an adult to progress through this game. Despite playing the same beginner levels over and over, I did feel quite comfortable while playing the game.
As someone who has always had a strong distaste for geometry, I like this game. Even though this was a game for kids, I felt that my visual and spatial modes of thinking were engaged. I had to think about how to position my shapes in order to pass to the next level.
One thing that I have noticed from playing is that there is a lack of points. I enjoy the fact that my character cannot “die” in this game. Although, I would like to know how well (or how poorly) I am performing.
I feel that “Pienado” certainly qualifies as an educational video game; furthermore, if there was to be a study involving elementary school students playing games such as these PBS kids games on tablets and laptops during school, I am almost positive that they would have a positive reaction to the game.
The graphics on this game are quite simple: it’s just you, a large outline of a shape, floating squares, triangles, and rectangles, and the occasional digital pie hurling towards your screen. I enjoyed the simple graphics and lack of superfluous stimulation that other computer games might give. I think this game had a simple message and purpose, which would appeal to its target audience.
In this image from the game, you see there is a shape in which you need to fill (in order to save your town from the swirling tornado in the background). The green and blue shapes floating across the screen can easily be paused simply by clicking on them. Watch out, that pie is about to hit you!
I do not have much experience with video games. I have watched over the shoulder of someone who was very much obsessed with World of Warcraft and I can tell you that those MMORPG’s are not my cup of tea. Like a small child, I felt that this game was entertaining and educational in a way that did not feel like learning.
As the teacher and game developer, I would imagine that finding a way to trick the player into learning while having fun is the main goal. These people have a purpose in mind while they create and choose the game. As Gee wrote in the article, “Good Video Games, the Human Mind, and Good Learning”, “game designers can make worlds where people have meaningful new experiences, experiences that their places in life would never allow them to have or even experiences no human being has had before,” (Gee, 2007, 29).
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