Parents and teachers don’t always approve of online games for kids. In fact, many believe games to be a distraction from what’s important—namely, education. But gaming and learning don’t have to be at odds with each other. Over the past few years, a rising number of educators have begun to recognize gamified teaching methods’ potential for boosting student engagement and performance, particularly in an age when technology plays a larger part in daily life than ever before.
“Games are … uniquely suited to fostering the skills necessary for navigating a complex, interconnected, rapidly changing 21st century,” observed Alan Gershenfeld of the Arizona State University’s Center for Games and Impact, as quoted by Scientific American.
Why integrate online educational games into the curriculum?
Gaming can benefit kids by cultivating several different types of skills that prove useful in the classroom and beyond:
- Critical thinking and problem-solving: Traditional teaching methods sometimes fall short in terms of driving students to face challenges head-on and identify potential solutions. Seventh-grade English teacher John Fallon, who created an alternate reality game to teach his students about “The Odyssey,” observed that some of the most engaged players were individuals who weren’t usually motivated in his class, MindShift reported.
- Literacy: A study by the Education Development Center and SRI International found preschoolers taught using a curriculum that included video games had superior literacy skills to their more traditionally educated peers.
- Socialization: According to the Pew Research Center’s recently released “Teens, Technology and Friendships” report, more than half (52 percent) of all teens play video games with their friends, and of those teen gamers, 83 percent play together in person.
Breaking down the numbers
A 2014 report by the Games and Learning Publishing Council took a look at how nearly 700 K-8 teachers are using free online educational games and other types of digital learning tools in the classroom. It turns out that tech-based teaching methods are more common—and more successful—than people might think. Here are just a few of the findings from the report:
- More than half of students (55 percent) use digital games in the classroom on at least a weekly basis.
- Online educational games for kids can be played alone, in pairs, in small groups, collaboratively as a class and even as homework. In short, they facilitate both individualized and social learning.
- Almost half of teachers (47 percent) reported that integrating digital games into the curriculum had benefited low-performing students the most. What’s more, 55 percent said offering motivational incentives for students who typically struggle in the classroom was gaming’s most valuable quality.
- Teachers are most likely to choose games to use in the classroom based on other teachers’ recommendations. Many educators are also drawn to games that come with a performance-tracking component to monitor students’ progress.
Gamified teaching methods are being used by schools to hone critical skills, motivate disengaged learners and improve overall educational performance. Teachers and parents eager to get students interested in learning often try to direct them away from gaming and toward studying, but blending the two may actually be a more successful approach.
Rise & Destroy has been released worldwide, and we could not be more excited for everyone to play! Read on for some tips to get you started smashing with the best of them:
Look over the city before you begin your destruction
Before you press the big green play button to begin each city, you can drag the screen around to get a first glimpse at the challenge you are facing. This is very helpful for planning out a route of attack, especially when you’re doing everything you can to keep your destruction combo throughout the entire city.
Complete Monster Cup Challenges
Once you’ve mastered a 3 star rating for a city, you will unlock the “Monster Cup Challenge.” This is an opportunity to play the same level again to gain even more coins while you prove your domination over that level. These challenges can range from “Don’t drop your combo”, to “Don’t collect health buildings”, to “Only use Frankie” and everything in between!
Read the objective for each city
At the top right hand corner of your screen, you will find your goal for each city before you begin. While some of them tell you to “Destroy Everything,” others don’t require each building to be demolished. If you are racing against the clock or the laser wall, the best plan of attack may be to leave some structures standing and focus on the bigger clusters of buildings.
Use Creeplings
Those humans sure can be annoying! While you’re busy conquering buildings, humans and their weapons will sneak up on you and diminish your health, forcing you to take focus away from your main task to extinguish them. Luckily, Creeplings are here to help take the humans down. Each color of Creepling focuses on a specific type of human effort—use the right Creepling at the right time for the most help. Once you unlock the ability to use Creepling assistance, don’t forget to replenish your supply before you begin each level!
Collect Health Buildings
Have you seen those hamburger-looking buildings scattered throughout the different cities? They can be pretty helpful when your health is running low! Demolish those buildings to replenish your health when running dangerously low. If your health is already full, these special buildings won’t help you. Be mindful of not destroying these buildings if your Monster Cup Challenge requires no health buildings. If your health is already full, it’s sometimes beneficial to save these buildings for later in the level just in case you need them.
Check out how different buildings fall
Tapping on a building will show you how that specific one will fall when you destroy it. Some structures will take out everything around it, causing a domino effect and letting you continue on while they destroy themselves. Others will only fall in the direction you push them, and some will not take any others down with them. Use this to your benefit to be able to continue rampaging while buildings fall—it can help you hold onto your combo and earn the highest score possible!
Use your Monster’s powers
Each monster has his or her own special elemental power that can help take out whole clusters of buildings with a single blow. Whether it’s Fire, Volt, or Ice, each power can be used to destroy multiple configurations at a time. Try out each power on a cluster of buildings, and let us know which one is your favorite!
Have you discovered some other helpful tips? Tell us in the comments below!
For the second year in a row, KingsIsle gamers have bound together to raise money for charity in the Extra Life 24-hour gaming marathon. Thousands of gamers from all over the world teamed up to make 2015 the best Extra Life yet, with over $6,300,000 raised for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals this year. As one of the largest fundraising events for the organization, Extra Life helps Children’s Miracle Network with its mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible.
From the CMN website:
Together we save kids’ lives. Right now there’s a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital working to save the lives of kids in your community. In fact, 62 children enter a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital for treatment every minute — that’s one child every second. Some are battling cancer. Some are suffering from a traumatic injury. Others require constant care because they were born too early, or with a genetic disease. Regardless of why the kids are there, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals always have their doors open.
This year, 321 Wizards and Pirates joined together on the KI Gamers team, to play games for 24 hours and raise money for a great cause. Saturday, November 7 was game day and players from all over the Spiral joined in on the fun. The team’s original goal was $3,000, and by the end of the day, we had tripled our goal with a grand total of $9,783 raised! We even exceeded our fundraising last year by over $300!
Players who raised $100 or more received the as-yet unreleased Polarian Explorers Bundle. If you didn’t get one for Extra Life, don’t worry! Keep an eye out for an announcement of when this bundle will be available to purchase in stores, coming soon.
Our team’s top fundraiser this year was Alyssa, with an amazing $1,402 raised for her local CMN hospital! For this amazing contribution to the event and to our team, Alyssa will receive a signed poster as thanks from everyone here at KingsIsle. In second place for the KI Gamers team, Joshua raised $1,000. For his contribution and going above and beyond for the team, Joshua will also receive a signed poster.
Thanks so much to everyone who participated! We are endlessly proud of the generous spirit shown in the fans of KingsIsle games.
The Entertainment Software Association’s 2015 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry report revealed that 59 percent of parents with gamer children join the fun at least once a week. Do you play Wizard101 and other online games or video games with your kids? Here are four reasons you should.
- Children talk while they game
Many parents feel that as their kids get older, they know less and less about their lives. As they sit side by side playing games for kids online, parents share quality time with their children. This makes it easier to get kids to open up about everything from their interests and aspirations to problems at school and within their social circles.
Gaming is also a great bonding experience in and of itself, pointed out author and game designer Jane McGonigal.
“Every time you play a video game with someone in the same room, your breathing rates will start to sync up, your heart rates will start beating at the same pulse and your facial expressions and body language will mirror each other,” explained McGonigal, as quoted by The Wall Street Journal. “It means your brains are working in exactly the same way.”
- Parents can size up their kids’ gaming buddies and weigh in on conflict
Kids love to find online games to play with friends, and when parents are involved in this aspect of their children’s lives, they get the chance to see who their kids are interacting with. Just like in the real world, strife can erupt between peers while gaming, but blowing the whistle isn’t always as easy as it is on the playground.
“There’s conflict sometimes, but no adults,” wrote Forbes contributor Jordan Shapiro. “That means there’s no one to help the kids turn these healthy experiences of everyday conflict into positive learning experiences.”
It stands to reason that children with gamer parents will likely be more willing to bring problems to their parents’ attention—and maybe even ask for advice on how to handle issues that crop up while they play online games with friends.
- Teaching opportunities emerge for both sides
Gamer parents can help their kids navigate in-game social issues, figure out how to complete a particularly tricky level and assist in defeating a formidable boss in battle, but there are also numerous opportunities for children to take the lead.
“It’s nice for the child to be able to teach his or her parents about gaming,” said Sinem Siyahhan, an assistant research professor at the Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, as quoted by Forbes. “Our research is finding that sharing this experience cultivates family bonding, learning and well-being.”
- Gaming is fun!
Whether families play online games for free, purchase/rent video games or sign up for paid subscriptions, gaming is, quite simply, fun. According to the ESA report, 85 percent of parents game with their kids because it’s a fun pursuit for the whole family. In fact, more than half (54 percent) of parents admitted they enjoy playing video games as much as their kids do.
Do you play games with your kids? Share your family gaming stories in the comments below!
If you haven’t ventured into the Spiral yet this month, what are you waiting for? It doesn’t matter whether you’re a brand-new Wizard or you’re best buds with Jack Hallow, because even players who’ve experienced Wizard101 Halloween before are sure to find new, spooky additions to enjoy!
Dress the part
Wizard101 Halloween gear is available throughout October, which means celebrating in the Spiral has reached a whole new level. Choose between the evil Vampire and malevolent Mummy sets, and don’t worry—you can stitch any powers you want into your creepy costume. After all, there’s no reason getting into the seasonal spirit should mean you have to sacrifice your effectiveness in battle.
Go fish
Fishing took the Spiral by storm when it was first released in 2014, and this month, the ever-popular activity comes with a spooky twist. Wizard101 Halloween fish are lurking in the waters of Wizard City—and there’s no telling what they look like or where you’ll find them. Catch them if you dare!
Beat the nosferocious Nosferabbit
Hidden at the end of Triton Avenue, the Haunted Cave is known for the tower that houses the fearsome Lord Nightshade, also known as the toughest boss in Wizard City. It might just be the spookiest place in the Spiral, especially in October. At this time of year, Wizards visiting the area run the risk of coming face to face with the one and only Nosferabbit. Going toe to toe—or do we mean paw?—with Nosferabbit isn’t for the faint of heart, but players who manage to beat this beastly bunny will receive a Frankenbunny pet as a reward!
Shop till you drop
Spooky Bob is a familiar fixture in the Spiral at this time of year. Find him in the Wizard City Shopping District, where you can spend some Crowns on creepy clothes, evil equipment and mysterious masks. Bob even has a trio of Halloween-themed pets for sale: the Ghost Dragon, Nightmare and Zombie Piggle.
Say “Hallow!”
Speaking of familiar fixtures, you can’t miss Jack Hallow in the Ravenwood Commons. The great thing about Jack is that he’s always ready with a suggestion for your next big Wizard City adventure, no matter if you play for free or have access to members-only zones.
Whether this is your first Wizard101 Halloween or you’ve been around the spookily decorated block a few times, one thing’s for sure: There’s no Halloween celebration quite like the one in the Spiral.
KingsIsle Blog 
