The Problem with (some) Computer Math Games

Often when a class comes into the computer lab I try to take some to stand behind the students and observe what they are doing. Yesterday a second grade class came into the lab. They were on Funbrain and were using the Math Arcade. It works like a game board. It has a bunch of different games and students have to do one successfully before passing onto the next one. Some of the games are pretty good, but then I observed some frustration. When some students came to the ink-squirting octopus they got stuck. In this game there was a math problem at the bottom of the ocean and answers floating above in the water. The student had to use the arrow keys to move the octopus around to the correct number and drop it into the math problem.

Some of the kids were not very good with moving the octopus (and for full disclosure, neither was I). Even when they knew the right answer and it was visible they would keep picking up the wrong answers by accident and dropping them into the problem. They would also get hit by the crab and lose lives that way. Over and over again they would lose even though they knew their math facts. The skill that this game seemed to be teaching was how to move something in simulated water with the arrow keys.

Several other games seem to have similar qualities. One game that has caught on like wildfire has kids popping balloons in order to make money. Mostly boys LOVE this game. They spend lots of time popping balloons and seem to be learning strategies for popping the most balloons rather than any math goal that the game has. Math Blaster was like this. Kids seemed to learn more strategy to make points than they did math facts.

Everyday Math also has a set of computer games that support the math program. For the most part they seem pretty good. They focus on learning to work with numbers and support the program. However (and I admit that maybe it is just me) the games get petty boring. They are good for 15 minutes or so.

One computer math game that keeps kids interested in really learning math facts is called Arcademics. In this game kids can play competitively against the computer, other kids in the room or even kids in other locations. One example is a boat race. A student signs up to race and chooses a boat. Then they wait for others to join the race. When one to four of the other boats are taken they start the race. The boats are propelled by them doing math problems. They really have to be fast in order to win. Because they can play with other kids in the room or anonymously all over the world it is amazingly entertaining. Even kids that do not have computer game skills can really have fun learning math this way.

Next time you have a chance, watch students as they play math games online. Don’t settle for ones that the students like. Be careful to choose what will help them learn.