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Games that challenge students in science, technology, engineering and math, known as STEM games, are finding a growing place in the curriculum and classrooms of educators across North America. Whether through the efforts of individual teachers or with the support of national education initiatives, creative games are showing kids of all ages that math and science can be exciting.

Such examples include two games developed by Salt Lake City educator Scott Laidlaw. Initially developing on his own, Laidlaw ended up giving up his teaching job to start Imagine Education, a game company dedicated to creating educational games that have given students a new outlook on applying their math knowledge.

Through his first game, entitled Empires, Laidlaw had his students build virtual ancient empires using math. Set in Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization, the game brings students together to build an economic community that builds on fundamental math skills and sets a foundation for financial literacy.

“By engaging them in a story, you’ve engaged the imagination,” explains Laidlaw. “If you can imagine math in one context, that gives you the power to imagine math in a different context.” Though the game was not for sale, educators who heard of its concept were eager to use it in their own classrooms. The game is set for commercial release in fall 2012.

The second game, Ko’s Journey, was released in the summer of 2010, building on the demand for and enthusiasm toward Empires. This story-based math game is designed for both home and classroom use, as a support curriculum to teach early middle-school math concepts such as multiplication and division to calculating area, understanding graphs to pre-algebra basics.

“It’s a game you actually have to use your mind for,” said Conner Cattoway, a 7th grade student from Ogden, UT. “It’s pretty fun to be able to do these things during math class instead of just getting a worksheet.”

The game tells the story of Ko, an teenage girl who finds herself alone after her village is attacked. Travelling through the wilderness, she faces challenges and tasks solved through middle-school math concepts, such as ratios, graphs and geometry. Ko’s Journey was created to provide a motivating and effective learning environment for 5th to 8th grade students.

“As a teacher I always wanted a curriculum like this,” adds Laidlaw. “It’s engaging because the kids see and become involved in a story.”

And data shows that students benefit from the format as well. Middle schoolers who played the game scored on average 50 percent higher on standardized tests. Educators who would like to introduce the game in their classroom can learn more here.

Also making the most of a compelling narrative is Geckoman!, a game developed by researchers at the Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing (CHN) at Northeastern University in Boston, MA.

Designed with the goal of teaching middle-school students about nanoscience and technology, the game tells the story of Harold Biggums. He finds himself transformed into a tiny superhero while working on a science fair project with his partner Nikki, and suddenly in the middle of an alien plot to take over the world. Together they must stop the aliens by defying gravity, walking on water and charging across electric fields.

“Geckoman! is both engaging and challenging, and along the way, students pick up a lot of nanoscience fundamentals,” said Ahmed Busnaina, director of the Center and professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern.

“We had excellent teachers working with us to develop four lesson plans that guide student learning,” added Jacqueline Isaacs, associate director of the CHN. “The results of student play tests indicate that students are learning new concepts.”

Video games that explore the Moon are aiming to give students the chance to conduct their own scientific experiments and encouraging them to pursue careers in the field of science. Created by the Center for Education Technologies at Wheeling Jesuit University, WV, MoonWorld makes players work independently or in groups to explore and conduct their own research as astronauts.

“The idea of this is not to have students learn so much about the moon, but to learn how to observe, to learn how to make deductions from their observations, to learn to work in teams. … [It] has strong educational goals and methodology to help the students achieve them,” said Chuck Wood, lunar scientist and director of the Center.

Funded by NASA, the game is based in Second Life and features virtual scenery that includes different types of craters as well as a lava flow and a volcanic dome. There, players get to explore the lunar surface, closely observing the terrain, collecting samples, and making measurements to piece together the history of one part of the Moon, known as the Timocharis region. MoonWorld has been available online for over a year, but a more recent version targets young children.

“The goal of this is to make it so realistic and the astronauts outfits and the rovers so realistic that the kids completely get engaged in it and then one of the benefits of this is because it is so realistic you can go outside with binoculars or a telescope in the evening and actually see that same crater on the moon that you were driving a rover around on the simulation,” said Wood.

The Center has developed other games including Selene, named after the Greek Goddess of the Moon. It uses familiar experiences, analogies and metaphors to help children ages 9 and up understand challenging science concepts.

“Selene starts out as a cinematic view of how the solar system formed and that is the concept of accretion and then how the early Earth formed and then how the giant impact happened that created the particles that created the proto moon,” said Debbie Denise Reese, senior researcher for the Center.

The decisions students make while playing MoonWorld and Selene are recorded and stored in a database, giving the researchers the ability to track learning patterns and develop profiles of what students know as well as what they are prepared to learn.

“I’m learning a lot about the space, and about the moon, and the density, and the heat and the radiation of the moon and it is fun to play and you do learn a lot about it so. You get to fling asteroids to make your own moon and that is pretty fun,” said Carla Nelson, a 7th grade student in Wheeling, who tested the game.

In time for the release of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock in late September 2010, individuals living with a physical disability can now play along more easily thanks to Enabling Devices’ recently released adapted Guitar Hero controller.

The controller takes the form of a tabletop control centre which allows users to play the game’s five coloured buttons in sync with the musical notes. The buttons are large and easy to press, either with a finger or using a mouth stick. The company also points out that the game’s easy beginner level allows users to hit any coloured button, going to the beat of the music without having to follow a specific pattern.

“Now there is no need to strum a guitar to join in on the fun,” explained Gail Cocciardi, Director of Product Development for Enabling Devices, which specializes in developing affordable learning and assistive technology devices to help people of all ages. “What makes it even more exciting is that the user can play at different levels of difficulty from beginner to expert – all with our tabletop controller.”

The bundle comes complete with a traditional Les Paul controller—so other friends can join in—copies of Guitar Hero: World Tour (with beginner level) and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock for the PlayStation 3, as well as the tabletop control centre which is also compatible with PS2 consoles and games. The entire package is priced at $249.95 USD.

“One of the goals of our company is to adapt bestselling games and toys so that people with disabilities can enjoy them along with their family and friends, said (PDF) Dr. Steven Kanor, President of the company. “We are thrilled that we have been able to adapt the electronics of Guitar Hero and create an easy to use tabletop control center.”

A video demonstration of Enabling Devices’ adapted Guitar Hero controller can be seen here.

Editorial Note: When Sony issued the 3.50 firmware for the PlayStation 3, they disabled the use of many USB peripherals in an attempt to curb the use of counterfeit controllers and correct a major security flaw. Game Forward has confirmed with Enabling Devices that the adapted Guitar Hero controller does still work on PlayStation 3 consoles because it is modified from an officially licensed controller

This isometric action-adventure features a lengthy campaign with high replay value, a precise and fluid control scheme and excellent local co-op play. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is not only one of the best downloadable games I have played, but one of the best games to ever star everyone’s favourite raider of tombs.

The premise is that Lara Croft comes across an artefact called the Mirror of Smoke in Central America at the same time as a local gang leader, who unwittingly frees the evil Xolotl and Totec, the ancient warrior who trapped him in the Mirror of Smoke.

Lara and Totec team up in an effort to chase down and re-imprison Xolotl, who escapes to a stronghold deep underground that is protected my a perilous labyrinth filled with traps obstacles and a variety of environmental puzzles.

Lara Croft is very agile and is capable of lengthy leaps, quick evasive rolls and interacting with a host of objects. She also has a grappling hook that enables her to latch on to golden rings found throughout the game’s 14 expansive levels.

Aside from basic platforming abilities, Lara becomes armed with a magic spear that acts as both a weapon with unlimited ammunition and a device that allows her to scale large walls or gaps by acting as a jumping point when thrown at most walls. There is a caveat however; Lara cannot use weapons while perched on a spear.

Combat in Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is quite different than in the Tomb Raider games. It takes a dual-stick approach, with your right analog stick used for aiming and the right trigger used to fire. Lara can equip three weapons in addition to the mandatory magic spears. Lara also has an unlimited supply of explosives that can be used to destroy or interact with objects in addition to doing damage to advancing enemies.

There are over 20 weapons to be collected; from Lara Croft’s iconic dual pistols, to machine guns, flamethrowers and grenade launchers. The game can be quite combat-heavy at times and some sections will pit Lara against a large number of powerful foes at once. These sections can be both infuriating and extremely satisfying to get through.

The controls in Lara Croft and the Guardian of light are fluid, precise, intuitive and a host of other positive words. Jumping, dodging, bombs and action are mapped to the face buttons. Players can toggle weapons with the d-pad or left trigger and Lara’s grappling hook is fired with a bumper. There are slight variations when playing co-op as Totec.

Mastering the controls is key to completing a host of in-game challenges. Players will be awarded Relics and Artifacts that can be used to upgrade weapons and abilities for finishing levels within a target time or reaching certain scores.

There are also a number of collectibles to obtain such as health and ammo upgrades and each level has ten red skulls hidden throughout. Challenge rooms will present a single environmental puzzle that is usually a bit tougher than those in levels.

Players looking for value will find plenty in Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. The campaign took me over seven hours to complete and I collected maybe 70% of the items in the game and completed about 60% of the challenges. This game is excellent for those that like speed runs as well and I found myself replaying levels a few times, trying to shave precious seconds of my best time.

This game also has one of the best local co-op modes in recent memory. Lara and Totec can propel each other to great heights and a number of co-op specific puzzles are introduced that are not present in the single-player experience, providing yet another reason to play through the game more than once.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is a good-looking and highly-polished game. Great lighting and shadow effects minimize frustrating “blind leaps”; a common problem with isometric platformers. The game maintains a rock-solid frame rate, even during intense combat or chase situations and features a warm colour palette and nice special effects.

The audio presentation isn’t on the same level as the video, but still fares well. This game features competent, if somewhat uninspired voice acting throughout and a suitably cinematic soundtrack. It should be noted that any in-game speech is not subtitled, though cut scenes are.

Downloadable games don’t get much better than Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. This effort from Crystal Dynamics is extremely well-presented and will, without a doubt, appear on many 2010 game of the year lists. The extremely high replay value, fluid controls and excellent production outclass many current retail offerings that sell at four times the price.

Researchers at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at McGill University in Montreal, QC, and the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa, ON, have developed an interactive virtual reality training program to boost patients’ confidence and increase the success of stroke rehabilitation.

“Relearning and improving movements affected by brain injuries is an intense process that requires hard work and motivation,” said Dr. Michael Hill of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, a funding partner of the program’s clinical trials. “Research into how to best engage and motivate patients is vital for stroke recovery.”

By practicing reaching and catching movements through the game, patients stimulate their brain to make the fullest use of its ability to re-organize and restructure itself after a stroke. Trials are testing the effectiveness of 2D and 3D applications to determine the best method for stroke recovery.

“The training program uses kinematics, which measures how well a movement is made,” explains Dr. Mindy Levin from McGill University. “It allows us to understand how recovery is happening.”

Divided into four groups, patients are either treated using a fully immersive and interactive 3D virtual reality system or a more economical 2D game system; while the last two groups practice similar games in different physical environments.

While results are still preliminary, early indications show that the 3D version of the game is the most effective. “Novel use of virtual reality has the potential to revolutionize forever the way we think about rehabilitation,” said Dr. Antoine Hakim of the Canadian Stroke Network. “Dr. Levin’s research is showing that by motivating and involving the user, the recovery can be dramatic.

Focusing on healthy brains is also the purpose of the latest Humana Games for Health project. The organization has recently launched a new application for the iPhone promoting cognitive health. Created in collaboration with Persuasive Games, Colorfall has players thinking quickly to arrange cascading coloured tokens in the order of the colors of the rainbow.

“We’re excited to be the first health insurance company to offer people fun, healthy mobile games that challenge their minds and bodies while encouraging healthy behaviors,” said Paul Puopolo, director of consumer innovation at Humana.

On May 5, 2009, IBM announced the release of the second generation of its serious game Innov8. The online 3D simulation game offers a new global “collaboration feature”, letting players work within a virtual team to progress through the game. Thanks to this new teaming capability, Innov8 is finding uses outside university classrooms to become an educational tool for businesses.

Innov8 2.0 features three additional scenarios that reflect significant needs in today’s businesses. To learn about environmental considerations, players will evaluate a traditional supply chain model to reduce their company’s carbon footprint. Another scenario will have players evaluating existing traffic patterns, re-routing traffic based on sensor alerts of disruptions such as accidents and roadway congestion. And the last will have players using a call centre environment to develop more efficient ways to respond to customers.

The revamped application was rapidly picked up by the University of Farmers, Claims, a corporate campus that trains over 10,000 Farmers Insurance Exchange claims employees across the United States. The University will be using Innov8 and its new call centre training scenario to give employees hands-on experience in processing claims and managing customer calls. This training is expected to help streamline operations and improve the quality of the company’s customer service.

“We see serious gaming as an ideal delivery system for a number of learning opportunities,” said Mike Cuffe, vice president of learning at the UofF, Claims, in a news release. “Customer-focused, accurate and timely claims processing is critical to our company’s bottom line… our employees now achieve competence more quickly, serve our customers more effectively and compassionately, and are better prepared for advancement opportunities.”

Phaedra Boinodiris, IBM Serious Games Product Manager, explains that Innov8 lets players learn “the anatomy of a business process model [by] running around finding clues, interviewing people, and completing puzzles… When you discover what’s wrong, you can collaborate to find ways to change the model to improve business operations.”

“We are seeing exponential growth in the serious games market. These games are being used to introduce new skills, evaluate business performance and develop leadership capabilities,” said Sandy Carter, Vice President of Service Oriented Architecture, Business Process Management and WebSphere at IBM.

IBM states that people retain information anywhere from 80 percent to 108 percent better when learning through serious gaming as opposed to traditional teaching methods. Originally developed based on an interactive shooter game from Vicious Cycle, Innov8 1.0 is being used by nearly 1,100 schools as part of their curriculum. Innov8 2.0 can be played online here.

A new educational website is showing students some valuable skills to fend off real-life and cyberbullies. Developed by LiveWires Design, Braincells uses quizzes, activities and mini-games to give teens a better understanding of just how serious hacking and bullying can be.

Told through sets of photo animations is the story of Oliver, a nerdy boy entering high school who is bullied by an older-boy, Eddie. Mini-games accompany each section of the site which is broken down into Hacking, Bullying and Cyberbullying areas.

In the first, Eddie tries to force Oliver to hand over his cellphone. Players use their knowledge of cellphone science to guide Oliver through the halls to safety. The second game creates an analogy between cellphone security and the walls of a castle, in a mini tower defence game. The last has a more serious theme as players chase Eddie, now an escaped felon, through the streets to arrest him.

Launched in March 2009, the program was adopted by the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District in Massachusetts, for use in their middle and high schools. Braincells also received an endorsement from Plymouth and Bristol District Attorneys who praised the valuable lessons being taught through the program.

“One of the biggest challenges facing kids today is how to navigate safely in this increasingly technical world,” said Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz, in a news release (PDF). “Today, kids often communicate on the internet and through cellphone text messages.  Braincells not only teaches children  appropriate cell phone behaviour, but it also helps them recognize unsafe behaviour.”

But the program goes beyond showing students how to protect themselves and teaches teens about the seriousness of bullying, pointing out the criminal nature of certain actions. Braincells quotes a British study which shows that more than 40 percent of students report that they have been bullied on-line, making electronic bullying one of the most pervasive problems in schools. Theft and extortion are also commonplace with 12 percent of students reporting having been forced to hand over a cellphone to a bully.

“By teaching our children how to respect one another in a world that is increasingly becoming an online one, we are preparing them for adult life and preventing bullying from growing into real life violence,” adds Bristol District Attorney Sam Sutter.

There is even more to expect from Braincells. The web-based application will launch a new series of games and activities every four months, each featuring a new theme. Testing continues in Massachusetts, but also in schools in British Columbia and Manitoba.

“We will be revamping [Braincells] over the summer and launching formally in September. In the meantime, we are working on our next issue,” said Drew Ann Wake, president of British Columbia-based LiveWires Design, to Game Forward.

“Since our office is located a block from two Olympic venues, it was logical that the next theme will be Winter Sports! Games and activities dealing with fitness and nutrition will continue through to the end of the Games in February [2010],” added Wake.

After its first two months online, Braincells has already been tried by 2600 teachers in 25 countries. “Games for schools have slightly different requirements than casual games. Our teachers need to complete the programme in an hour, so the games have to be short enough so they do not overwhelm the other elements of the program,” says Wake.

Until September, both the old and new Braincells content will be available to users for free. After its launch, schools will be able to purchase a site license for use in as many classrooms as needed for $45 per school year.

Thanks to NASA-developed technology, kids living with ADD can now get treated without the worries associated to behaviour medication and while playing some of their favourite video games. The system marketed by SmartBrain Technologies uses neurofeedback therapy to measure and create brainwave activity.

Unlike other neurofeedback systems, what sets this one apart is its compatibility with any regular PlayStation or Xbox video game console and its use of saline-based sensors instead of the invasive electrodes traditionally seen. But the main advantage of SmartBrain’s system is that kids no longer have to stay at the doctor’s office to receive treatment. This improves accessibility through reduced treatment costs and by allowing clinics to have more time to treat a greater number of children.

To use the system, a child plays any off-the-shelf racing or platforming game while wearing a Velcro visor that monitors levels of distraction. During a racing game, the system will slow down the player’s car if he or she loses focus. Additionally, the controller will vibrate and beep – another reminder for the child to re-focus.

“You’re training the brain to work in a specific frequency and rewarding it for doing that,” said Anthony Silver, Director of Gray Matters, a cognitive health clinic in Westport, CT, which has been using the system with great success. “The more you do that, the more the brain gets used to working in that frequency, the more the blood flow goes to the areas associated with that frequency, and the effects become permanent because of it.”

For parents who fear the side effects of behaviour-modifying medications on their children, the SmartBrain Technologies system is a God-send. The Gray Matters clinic notably refers to studies showing that this treatment is just as effective as taking medication and that the results are permanent.

“In the few sessions (about 9) that Richie had, I’ve seen dramatic changes. I feel like I’m getting my little boy back,” said Jenny R., the mother of a 7-year old boy who successfully used the treatment. “My son, who normally cried at the sight of a book, sat down with me and painlessly and beautifully read 3 books aloud. It’s like a ‘miracle in the works’.”

Neurofeedback generally requires 40 sessions to be effective. With the system which allows training protocols to be tailored to each child’s needs, patients only need to be treated in a clinic for about 1 to 7 sessions. Data from home sessions can then be downloaded and emailed to the child’s health professionals for follow up and support.

The technology was originally developed by NASA to help pilots optimize their attention in the cockpit. The system was connected to a flight simulator, rather than a video game console, to flag attention lapses which could have dire consequences during a real-life mission.