PuppetMan Review

1. Overall Impression- My overall impression of Puppetman is a positive one. I like the fact that it is in game form, and the fact that there are many stages. The presentation is good, and I can see that kids would get deeply involved in it. Weaknesses include inability to save, as well as the game taking quite a while to get to its stated goal. All will be discussed further in following questions.


2. Instruction /Tutorial- This was a very well conceived part of the game. I like the fact that it was interactive, and in a walkthrough style. This provides more engagement and makes the player much more likely to retain what they did. After all, most Xbox and PS3 games that students are used to are in this format. The skills and concepts covered include use of equivalent fractions, simple addition and subtraction, and even some negative numbers involving the coils.

3. Math game mechanic- The game play would help reinforce already taught fraction concepts. I would not personally use it to introduce concepts. Everything from level 9 and up requires basic fraction knowledge to complete. I also like the fact that at certain times I was able to use my knowledge of equivalent fractions to ‘cheat’, or cut out a trampoline by overstuffing the previous one. The fact that students have near complete freedom when cutting, combining, or using positive and negative coils, also adds to the fact that there is more than one solution to most of life’s problems.

4. Engagement- I think the students will be actively engaged. They will find the fact that the main character is a puppet to be humorous. Students will also enjoy what happens when PuppetMan ‘dies’. Perhaps students will intentionally kill him off, which may take away from learning. The fiery pits and jumping animation will also keep students interested. My second graders enjoy playing math games at Mr.Nussbaum.com, and when they get total free time they like to play dirt biking games at nitrome.com, that have similar graphics and controls.

5. Grade Level- This question was probably the most discussed between my partner, Rich, and I. When told that your game was aimed at middle schoolers, we were a bit surprised. The first eight stages were well below middle school level, and speaking realistically, middle schoolers’ idea of a good video game is Halo or Grand Theft Auto, even though they are technically not allowed to purchase these games. I would think this game would work best with upper elementary students, such as 4th or 5th graders. They will still find the game to be cool and engaging, and, most of the game correlates to 4th grade standards, including basic math facts, positive and negative numbers, adding fractions, and equivalent fractions.

6. Real World Connections- At first glance, it doesn’t seem like there is a lot of real world connection. After all, how many times have you had to load a trampoline with coils to avoid fiery pits? However, after closer inspection, it is more relevant than doing a worksheet. It uses a problem solving model, where you don’t know ahead of time what skill you will be using to solve the problem. In that way, it does have some relevance.

7. Improvements- One improvement that I would definitely make is to accelerate the pace of the mathematical knowledge required to complete each stage. My second graders would have no problem with passing the first 6 stages with minimal practice. If it is aimed at 6-8th graders, it should move into more difficult material quicker. Also, perhaps there should be someway to control PuppetMan while he is jumping, to add a bit more action to the game. All in all, I enjoyed this game, and hope there are more like it in the future.

Virtual Manipulatives

My inaugural post will focus on the use of virtual manipulatives in the classroom. While I am not overly familiar with many forms of them, they are generally a good thing to use. There are a few important benefits to using virtual manipulatives. One is the learner engagement. Anytime technology is involved, whether its on a personal computer or a Smartboard, students are more likely to be on task. A good example of this is during a recent geometry unit. When teaching translation, rotations, and reflection, it came in handy to have a student model moving the actual shape on the Smartboard for everyone to see. The students all wanted to be chosen to demonstrate this, so they all tried their best. Another awesome benefit is the time they save in set up and planning. Dr. Ford's 'Race to 100' game is a great way for students to understand place value with hundreds, tens, and ones. Counting out enough Unifix cubes for all 19 of my students takes a good 20 minutes, with cleanup being longer, even with student help. However, my school recently renewed its license to Riverdeep. Students can play the same game in the computer lab on Riverdeep, without the hassle of setup and cleanup, saving me lots of instructional time. Like Elizabeth mentioned in her blog, I also have found the eTools component of enVision math to be helpful, especially with money. I like the feature where students can take a hammer to a bill or coin, and it will immediately be broken up into smaller denominations. I am excited to learning more about virtual manipulatives, and hope that I can find a few more things I can use routinely.