Educational Software Review - Task

The game I have chosen is Math Circus Act 4.

The student's perspective
In putting myself into the mindset of a student at the primary level, I would most definitely think this game is fun. It is brightly coloured and has a fun theme. There are a number of "mini-games" with varying levels, so there is a lot of choice. As a student, I would appreciate that I could try as many times I want until I get the answer right.

The teacher's perspective
As a teacher, I'm not really sure that there is much educational value to this game. Other than some basic problem-solving, I don't think students would be able benefit from the games a whole lot. In testing them, I just started randomly clicking the buttons, and eventually came to the correct response. So, if a student really wanted, he/she could just click until stumbling upon the right answer.

The game has a section for teachers to monitor their students' progress and check their individual accounts. I would not use that option as tool for any sort of assessment. The most I would do to involve this program in my class would be to have it available on the class computer for free time.

Another review

I found a very short review for Math Circus at: http://www.thejournal.com/articles/13491_5

It has only good things to say about the game, but that doesn't change my opinion. The review says that the mini-games serve as clever hooks for problems (ie. pendulums, propulson, angles). Even so, I don't think they're effective hooks because I would not be able to use that game as a means of putting the students' knowledge to practice. If I was teaching about angles, playing the game does not help solidify understanding. At best, the games could be used as tools for estimation.