Best Education Game or Simulation

Guts and Bolts - BrainPOP

This BrainPOP-developed science game creatively helps teach students about the interplay of human body systems by inviting them to construct a cyborg.

Additional information can be found online at:

• Introductory Blog Post: Guts and Bolts
• Guts and Bolts Lesson Plan
• Guts and Bolts Tutorial

VmathLive - Cambium Learning Group

VmathLive is Voyager Learning’s web-based online math solution that creates a stimulating learning environment for students in grades 2-8 in a fun origami theme. Students using VmathLive will gain greater confidence in their math abilities and continuously improve their results as they participate in activities that scaffold instruction, and compete with other students throughout the country in live competition of mental math skills. Students can complete a whole year of common core-aligned math instruction in just 100 minutes of practice per week for 24 weeks.

Additional information can be found online at:

• Math Mania Competition Powered by VmathLive
• Voyager Learning Re-launches VmathLive

ChienseCUBES (AR) - ChineseCUBES

ChineseCUBES breaks through the limitations of traditional Chinese language learning materials by implementing a "Character - Phrase - Sentence" methodology. Instead of learning Chinese as if it were a phonetic language, ChineseCUBES teaches the learner the Chinese characters authentically, one character at a time. As the learner masters more characters, ChineseCUBES allows the learner to combine these characters to form new meaningful phrases and sentences.

This methodology was made possible by ingeniously implementing the Augmented Reality (AR) technology. By turning each abstract character into tactile cubes, AR technology makes each character cube seemingly come to life on the computer screen. The software teaches how to read, write, speak and use each character. Learners can then arrange and play with the cubes in an interactive manner that allows them to naturally grasp the Chinese grammar and language in a game-like fashion.

Additional information can be found online at:

• Facebook
• Twitter

DreamBox Learning Math - DreamBox Learning

DreamBox Learning, the leading intelligent adaptive learning company, released the latest version of its award-winning online math program in September 2012 offering a groundbreaking combination of intelligent adaptive learning, a rigorous elementary mathematics curriculum, and a motivating learning environment. The innovative DreamBox platform captures every decision a student makes and adjusts the students learning path appropriately, providing millions of personalized learning paths, each one tailored to a students unique needs.

DreamBox Learning Math was created by world-class technologists, mathematics educators, interactive entertainment experts and entrepreneurs who shared a collective vision that every child should have access to a personalized, individually tailored, engaging and effective web-based learning experience regardless of zip code.

DreamBox accelerates student learning by integrating assessment and instruction, capturing, processing and responding to over 48,000 pieces of data per student, per hour, as students solve problems. DreamBox dynamically scaffolds instruction, difficulty, pace, lesson type and more and adapts the students personalized learning path in real-time. Students work in two age-appropriate, fun and motivating learning environments that leverage gaming-protocols to engage and reward students.

DreamBox empowers administrators, teachers and parents with robust real-time reporting on student progress and proficiency.

Additional information can be found online at:

• Video: What Educators Say About DreamBox
• Video: DreamBox closes the achievement gap at Rocketship Education
• Video: DreamBox is designed to support the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. Dr. Skip Fennell on how DreamBox builds conceptual understanding through rich representations.
• Whitepaper on Intelligent Adaptive Learning: The Next Generation Technology

VersaMate - ETA Hand2mind

The VersaMate™ iPad® App is packed with proven content designed to help students learn math in a fun and engaging way.
Students won't want to put down this hands-on strategy game that combines skill-building fractions practice with tactical game play. Students can play against the computer, a friend, or even parents.
- Skill Practice Reinforces Key Concepts: VersaMate has a self-checking component that makes the app great for independent practice, work stations, or the entire class.
- Disguise Learning with Play: Students build confidence through interactive fractions activities. In-app feedback helps students learn why they got answers incorrect.
- Fraction Content Allows Students to Grow: As students become more comfortable with the content, they can play the game more strategically. A single in-app purchase unlocks additional content on equivalence, comparison and ordering, addition and subtraction, and multiplication and division.
- Proven Content Aligned to CCSS: The fractions content for VersaMate was developed with Common Core State Standards in mind so teachers can easily differentiate their instruction and strike the balance between learning and fun. The interface was tested with thousands of students and teachers both in the classroom and at conferences like the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).

Additional information can be found online at:

• VersaMate Product Page
• VersaMate Guided Tour PDF

ExploreLearning Reflex - ExploreLearning.com

ExploreLearning Reflex is a revolutionary research-based system that enables students of all abilities to develop instant, effortless recall of math facts in all four operations. Reflex’s highly-adaptive technology provides each student with an optimized path from the initial acquisition of new facts through to full automaticity. The methods used in the system's assessment, instruction and game-based practice are based on the latest research in math fact fluency, and the system's effectiveness in rapidly developing automaticity has been validated through a large set of case studies involving thousands of students from schools across the United States.

Key features of ExploreLearning Reflex include:

Differentiated: Reflex adapts to individual student needs, delivering an optimized learning experience that progressively moves each student to complete mastery.

Data Driven: Intuitive and powerful reporting enables educators to monitor and support student progress. Teachers and administrators can easily access the latest usage and fluency data online through overview dashboards, individual and group reports.

Engaging: a game-based program that uses the allure of challenging and exciting games to engage students in learning and motivate them to persevere.

Easy: With 100% online access, students and teachers can access it anywhere there’s an Internet connection.

Additional information can be found online at:

• Learn more: research behind Reflex
• Case studies from schools across the country
• YouTube channel: more videos about Reflex
• Facebook page

McGraw-Hill Practice Marketing - McGraw-Hill Higher Education Group

McGraw-Hill Education's Practice Marketing is a 3D, multiplayer strategy game that allows students to engage with the key concepts of marketing in a compelling game environment while remaining academically and pedagogically sound. Students learn by doing what it takes to be an effective marketing manager. Students are required to create a product, a backpack, and launch it to market successfully by making smart choices regarding their target market segment, distribution channels, pricing and promotional message. They conduct competitive research by analyzing their competitors’ choices. The game keeps track of each player’s market share in the target segment and students also receive feedback from their customers for further analysis. Practice Marketing encourages critical thinking and discussion and critical thinking questions allow instructors to assess student comprehension.

Additional information can be found online at:

• Promotional Video - long
• Promotional Video - short

PlatinuMath: An Online Formative Assessment Math Game for Preservice Elementary Teachers - Triad Interactive Media, Inc.

PlatinuMath is a suite of Web-based games designed to strengthen the mathematics knowledge of preservice elementary teachers, many of whom lack the mathematical understanding required to teach math. To engage preservice teachers in math and to introduce them to the benefits of educational gaming, PlatinuMath takes the form of a narrative-based adventure game with Steampunk art, a mystery narrative, 3D animation, and live video. The game suite includes both conceptual and procedural gaming activities and is built to align with the U.S. Common Core Standards for elementary math. The Common Core key knowledge targets are delineated into implicit conceptual understandings and more explicit procedural skills through 23 mini-games. All mini-games are multi-leveled and carefully scaffolded into 6 levels of difficulty. A typical mini-game finds the story's heroine and her Steampunk robot companion cornered by ravenous zombies, and, to escape they must use mathematical reasoning. Additional learning lessons provide more explicit explanations of the topics and can be accessed from the PlatinuMath interface after, during, or before gameplay. PlatinuMath, a formative assessment tool, works on both personal computers as well as mobile devices. The project was funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

Additional information can be found online at:

• PlatinuMath Overview Video
• PlatinuMath Sample Games and Lessons
• PlatinuMath Mathematics Domain and Narrative Overview
• PlatinuMath White Paper

JumpMaster - WILL Interactive, Inc.

In Jumpmaster you become SSG Chris Andrews. You're faced with the situations — in a training environment — that will challenge your judgment and in-the-moment decision-making abilities. The decisions that you make can have life-and-death consequences. From your very first shot at Jumpmaster duties to dealing with a jump refusal in a high profile exercise, see if you have what it takes to successfully complete Jumpmaster