Sugarcane is a site that allows educators to create their own games for student use. The site hosts the games created, curated by topic so that others can use the games as well.
Website to create and play educational games based on datasets. 18 varieties of games can be created, played, and shared for free on the web.
Type of Material:
Development Tool
Recommended Uses:
• Could be used as part of a game development course to brainstorm types of games
• Could be used as supplemental material for coursework, homeschooling, or for clubs (e.g., astronomy, boy scouts)
• Could be used as a study aid for exams
Teachers could create games as a review of material. Students could create their own games for use in the classroom.
Technical Requirements:
Internet access
Identify Major Learning Goals:
1. Create educational games based on datasets
2. Order events based on time
3. Identify matching elements
4. List attributes of an event or item
5. Practice recall
Target Student Population:
Target population is dependent on the game. Some games (like American History timelines) are geared toward middle school students while others (like shape of viruses) would be more appropriate for undergraduate coursework. The target population could run from grade school through professional work.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Access to the internet is required. A basic understanding of datasets and relationships between data is helpful for creating games.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
• Process for creating games is clear and concise. Users need only a brief video and tutorial to get started.
• The games can be used as standalone assignments, but will require an introduction with background information before users can test their knowledge.
Concerns:
• Quality of the content within the games is dependent on the creator.
• Games don’t seem to have the ability to link to outside information to reinforce concepts or provide feedback on right or wrong answers.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
• Good use of a tool to demonstrate relationships between topics. This includes relationships across time and in terms of matching or categorization.
• Games are short and interactive, allowing the user to tackle a wide variety of concepts in a short amount of time.
Concerns:
• Lack of a connection with supporting information requires that they be used only as supplemental material.
• Concepts are not scaffolded.
• Not all games are clear in their learning objectives. This is largely dependent on the person who created the game.
If using existing games, teachers may not be able to address all of the standards required for their specific topic.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
• Games have an appealing, clean design.
• Games are simple in design, making them easy to learn in a short amount of time.
• Some games provide visual feedback that reinforces learning.
Navigation is user-friendly.
Concerns:
• Feedback needs to be improved on many of the games. There are times when it is unclear whether or not the correct answer was given.
Creative Commons:
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