Why I like DreamBox so much

Post under this one, so scroll down!

The reason I invited DreamBox Learning to be a sponsor is that I was impressed with the games in so many ways. As you probably know, I've been working in educational curriculum and training design for a long time, and currently work for another video game company on a freelance basis.

So I've seen a ton of educational software. Most of it breaks down into "we took this fun game and slapped some math into it" or "we took these math worksheets and added some animation to them." The first one ends up being fun but not educational, and less fun than other games the kids could be playing. The second one ends up being Not Fun and the kids don't want to do it.

DreamBox, though, is really well designed. Really. The games are designed around mathematical concepts that are age-appropriate, and the whole concept and situation of the game comes from the math. The games are designed with the understanding that math itself is fun and interesting, so replicating natural situations and creating games out of them is better and more effective than adding sparkle to camoflage math in the first place. It makes the games intuitive for kids, and the concepts build naturally, just the way they do in real life.

If you've been resisting checking out DreamBox because you've ssen the bad math games out there, just do a free trial and you will see the huge difference a well-designed game makes.

Comments

[Kate]

I just started my free trial yesterday--my daughter seems to like it a lot, but she is completely inexperienced on the computer and is having a ton of trouble with my touchpad mouse for click and drag. I hope she figures it out :)

[Dawn]

Kate - you can always plug a regular mouse into a USB port if you want to make it easier for her. We did that when my now five year old started wanting to use the computer.

I signed up the aforementioned five year old last week and she loves it. I definitely like the DreamBox games better than the ones on Noggin - she's very engaged and excited and talks about what she wast doing in the games later. She also has been able to carry what she was doing in the game (counting by fives, for example) out of the game, which I thought was good.

[Melinda]

My son loves it. Any idea when they'll have the next grade level complete? At this rate he'll be through 2nd grade in a month. (6.5 yr old)

[Kat]

My son played for way to many hours during the free trial. It's the first educational game that he really liked as much as the games at nick jr. etc. I really liked the parent section. That way I knew what he was doing while I was at work.He liked to see the bar graph showing his growth.

[chanel earrings]

xi!I did it and it turned out great… It was a real succes! Thank you!

[dreambox 500s]

I also like dreambox very much.I buy a dreambox 500 from http://www.dreambox-500s.com.It is grate.

[coach stores]

nothing is impossible for a willing heart.