Who Wants to Win a Million Dollars vs. EduProfix

W505 Games as Learning Tools
Stage 2 - 2: Analysis of Puzzle, Quiz, and Sports Games
Title: Who Wants to Win a Million Dollars vs. EduProfix

Learners’ styles

1. Based on Kolb’s learning styles
As an ESL teacher that only gets to see each of my classes once a week for 50-70 minutes at a time, it can be a difficult challenge to identify the learning styles of my students. Nonetheless, one of my 3rd grade ESL classes does seem to have an orientation toward the Diverger style according to David A. Kolb’s learning styles. This group tends to enjoy dealing with new information through a combination of Concrete Experience (CE) - learning by feeling , and Reflective Observation (RO) - learning by reflection watching, and listening.

According to this website, http://people.usd.edu/~ssanto/kolb.html, “this learner likes imaginative, innovative activities, generating a wide range of ideas, discussion, being sensitive to feelings, identifying problems and gathering information, being personally involved in the learning experience, and group activities. The learner may enjoy independent study, web searches, receiving many examples, and self-diagnostic activities.”
This class enjoys being actively involved in various activities and discussions in class, and they respond well to imaginative games and “what if” questions.

2. Based on Prensky’s list
More information here: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Twitch%20Speed.html


This learner group is likely to be drawn to make-believe situations, though they may also appreciate real world topics if they can generate interesting ideas and discussions. Since these learners enjoy self-diagnostic activities, they will appreciate knowing the immediate pay-off of their actions during a game and are less likely to be happy with “delayed gratification.” Likewise, if you can fool them into believing that they are actually playing some kind of game instead of doing work, they will be more cooperative and give their best effort to accomplish tasks!

Analysis of games

1. General information of two games

Who Wants to Win a Million Dollars? – The Science Game was created by the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility - Office of Science Education. The purpose of this game is to strengthen the motivation and preparation of all students in the field of science education.
Link: http://education.jlab.org/million/index.html

This game is based nearly exactly upon the popular TV quiz show wherein participants answer 15 questions correctly to win one million dollars. Players start out with simple questions that begin at $100 and questions more or less progressively get more difficult. At the $1,000 and $32,000 questions, answering them correctly will ensure that even if you get a question wrong later, you will keep this amount of (fake) money. Players also receive three lifelines to help them solve the questions which include, a 50-50 option which removes two of the incorrect answers, a poll the lab option, and finally a chance to ask an expert. The game ends when a player answers a question wrong, or when they decide to ‘take the money and run.’ Unlike the TV show, this game focuses on science and math questions exclusively.

EduProfix is an education game that also happens to be a racing game or vice versa. The purpose of EduProfix is “to attract children and adults to the fascinating world of knowledge” (EduProfix website: http://www.eduprofix.com/).

In the trial version of this game, players are able to learn about world countries and in particular the different flags of countries with a population of 5million or more. In the full version, players may choose from a number of topics such as famous battles, English grammar, famous people, basic math, chemical elements, world cities, and mountains. Players choose a topic, and then choose a vehicle to race with. Each vehicle has its own strengths and weaknesses and some vehicles will even allow for hints to questions during game-play.

After a vehicle is chosen, a page of information is given to study; in my case, a list of countries with pictures of their corresponding flags. During the race players must drive through different highlighted answers on the street to questions posed at the top of the racing screen. Wrong answers will slow down your time and cause you to drop in the rankings. Correct answers will help you to do better in the race and rankings.


2. Comparison 1: Game components

Who Wants to Win a Million Dollars has several game components that are strong and others that are weak. This game definitely has challenging goals for the player and without some form of help or further study; this game may be very difficult indeed to win. The game follows a set of easy-to-understand rules and players do experience a small deal of anticipation before they choose the answer to each question and as they get closer to the one million dollar mark. Aside from learning whether an answer is right or wrong, and learning from the ‘ask an expert option’ though, there is very little interaction for the player of this game and amusement suffers as a result. Granted, it is fun and amusing to proceed to higher levels and get closer and closer to your goal, but having no sound effects or visual effects tempers these feelings.

EduProfix is definitely the more visually stimulating game and I would say that amusement is one of its strongest game components. This game also incorporates relatively easy-to-understand rules and players are given instant feedback on whether or not they have answered questions correctly. They have to make very quick decisions about correct answers and players feel more pressure to quickly solve problems than on the Million Dollar game. This game is also quite challenging because even if you do answer all of the questions correctly in a race, that does not guarantee that you will be the winner. This game requires decent hand eye coordination and reflexes, something that differentiates itself from stand-alone educational games and gives it the feel of a real game.

3. Comparison 2: Learners’ styles

Who Wants to Win a Million Dollars would likely be a better fit for my class according to Kolb’s learner style designation of diverger, yet EduProfix may appeal more to the learners according to the Prensky list. In the Million Dollar game, players will enjoy the innovative quiz game format and they will also enjoy the opportunities for independent study. I feel that this game would go together great with a web searching skills lesson. If students do not know the answer to a question immediately, they can be encouraged to search the web for more information on how to answer the question. For example, one question I experienced dealt with half-lives in science and I did a Google search to find a wiki page that explained them to me so that I could answer the problem successfully. This may be considered ‘cheating’ to some, but I view it as another chance to develop independent thinking and research skills in our students. This independent study would also be conducive with this student group’s learning style.

Now, in terms of twitch speed vs. conventional speed, EduProfix would definitely appeal to my 3rd graders who’ve grown up with computers. The racing game requires high speed reactions and that would likely be exciting for my students. My students would enjoy being able to play and learn at the same time rather than doing work to make gains. EduProfix also plays into the need for many younger students to have instant gratification in a game or activity. In this game, players will know their ranking and how many questions they answered correctly or not at the end of each race and this is a very motivational force. All in all, I would recommend both of these games for my learner group. One is more slow-paced and suited to independent research and study, the other is more fast-paced and visually stimulating. Both games offer learning benefits to my learner group.