BlogYYY
Monday, November 10, 2008,12:12 AM
Websites recommended by Jasmin
(a) Dora saves the farm
http://www.nickjr.com/games/dora-saves-the-farm.jhtml“Dora saves the farm” is an interactive game that allows children to respond to Dora unlike having to watch it passively over the television.
It involves 3 activities within the game that helps children in their development.
1) Chicken Coop- This activity trains children in their eye-hand coordination as well as their spatial awareness when they are required to move the mouse left and right to control Dora in catching the eggs. At the end every level, the number of egg caught will be counted to the children which enhance their mathematical skills.
2) Pig Pen – This activity mainly targets at enhancing the counting skills of children when they are required to find the number of pigs as instructed by Dora. This requires them to count and hunt for the hidden pigs and digging them out of the mud at the same time. Once again, the number of pigs that the children had dug will be counted to them at the end of each level of the activity.
3) Barn – This activity differs from others whereby children are required to use their knowledge of science and listening skills to identify and spot the animal who creates the sound that is played in the background. The level of difficulty increases every round when the number of animals increase as well as the introduction of new animals.
Overall, this is an interesting game that is suitable for children from ages 3 to 6 years where it is also a suitable age to introduce children the use of Information Technology through their lessons.
Skills in children that are strengthened through this game are early mathematical skills such as counting, understanding math terms such as more than or less than and also concepts such as comparisons, shapes patterns and reasoning as well as language skills such as listening, comprehending, speech, reading and writing.
Other than that, clear instructions are provided throughout the game. Instructions and buttons are also verbalised after every activity for better understanding of the procedures of the game. The games are guided throughout with repeated instructions given to the child once the child pauses for some time.
Last but not least, lots of encouragement given for children who failed to perform up to the task as well as praises for children who were able to perform well in the game.
(b) Oscar’s Trash Collection
http://www.sesamestreet.org/game_player?p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_id=gamePlayer_WAR_sesameportlets4369&p_p_uid=6759e8da-163b-11dd-98c7-b9f43dcf5330&t=1225772022488&In this game, children get to step into the world of Oscar where they will join him in the quest to sort out rubbish found in his home. Children will be required to sort items according to different attributes such as shapes, colours and patterns.
Through this game, children are provided with the opportunities to enhance their mathematical skills such as identifying similarities and differences in objects and sorting them with many different attributes to consider. Children will also get to improve their language skills through listening and comprehending instructions which also increases their vocabulary.
The game play itself is highly interactive as it involves everyday items/food that we tend to use/eat. If the child get an item wrong, all he/she has to do is to keep trying till he/she gets it right. This will simulate the child to keep trying and eventually remembering the certain item and what its purpose is used for.
Other than that, instructions to where the items are supposed to be placed are very clear and concise, making sure that children will not be confused on the item placements. As the game progresses, it gets tougher and tougher and this requires children to do more in-depth thinking before placing the items on the correct shelve. An example of one of the tough stages would be to differentiate between summer and winter wear. This would enable the child to be more familiar with what to wear during the different seasons of the year. Another example would be what items belong to the kitchen and the toilet. This is essential as the kitchen and toilet are both areas which are frequently used and it relates to the lives of children.
Lastly, parental tips are provided in the game to allow parental involvement in the children’s learning by conducting follow up activities for children based on the tips given.
