I remember in the early 80s playing Oregon Trail in school on the Apple II computers. The green monochrome screen brought to life the life of pioneers crossing the plains to get to the Pacific. This was the first exposure I had to edutainment. Since that time, there have been many attempts to create games that also teach. Some have been good while others not so good. When my oldest children were younger and beginning to read, we got them Leap Pads by Leap Frog. These interactive readers allowed you to put in a book and cartridge and then use a stylus to help you read as well as play simple games. Placing the stylus on a word would cause the device to read the word to the child—thus helping them with difficult words. The down side was that the novelty soon wore off and the books were limited in number.

We have tried other educational toys and games and not really been impressed. Often the graphics and playability is nowhere near playing a game on a next gen console. Therefore, my kids didn’t really get into them and the lessons again were limited. However, recently we have found something that our kids are using to learn.

During the after Christmas sales, we picked up a couple of Leap Frog Didj. These look like large Game Boy Advances—the old ones, not the SP. They were on clearance at a warehouse store so we got them for close to 70% off! The nice things about the Didj is that you can connect them to your PC via a USB cable and customize the lessons for your child. So while they are playing Star Wars or Indiana Jones, they can be learning math or spelling. Each time up plug them in, the Didj downloads a report informing you of your child’s progress so you can see where they need more practice and when you need to increase the difficulty. The spelling is really great since I can choose the spelling words. So every Monday night after my children bring home their weekly spelling list, I customize the spelling lists for them on the Didj. Then whatever game they play that has a spelling feature will quiz them on those words they need to know for Friday’s test. I have seen a big improvement in my younger son’s spelling since he is engaged and has to learn to spell these words in order to progress through the game. The same goes for math. If they are working on their multiplication facts for 7s and 8s, I select that for his math lessons and the math games will test him on those problems.

In addition to education specific games and systems, you can even use just plain video games to help engage students in education. There are several titles that deal with history—especially World War II. While they may not be historically accurate, they can spark an interest in history that will lead kids to then watch the History Channel and then maybe even eventually pick up a book about historical events. Or if you happen to read one of my strategy guides for a game with a historical basis, you are more than likely to find some historical facts, sidebars, or even a chapter that helps bridge the gap between entertainment and education.

Do you have some edutainment ideas you use with your kids? Share them with us. I am always looking for new things to help not only my kids, but also my students. (I love those emails from parents checking to make sure that Johnny really is supposed to be playing Call of Duty for homework. Yes, but he also needs to be researching the actual battles as well.)

Until next week, keep gaming Dads!

As a father of six children, four of whom are old enough to read, I know that each child is different and not all of them take to reading equally. While one daughter reads all that she can, another has a hard time getting into a book and enjoying it. I know that I am not alone. In addition to being a Gamer Dad and writing strategy guides for video games, I also teach high school history and work with special education students—most of whom have a disability that affects their ability to read and/or comprehend what they read. Through experience and research, I have discovered that the key to becoming a better reader is to read, read, and then read some more. Just like playing a sport, practice improves performance.

However, if children do not like to read, possibly because it may be difficult for them, how do you get them to practice. The secret is to find something that interests them. One of my students hated reading and scored very low on reading proficiency tests. However, I introduced him to the Alex Rider series about a teenage spy and now he has read them all and is starting the series of seven books again. Girls that have trouble reading and understanding a paragraph in a low level textbook are reading their way through the Twilight series.

So what does this have to do with video games you may be asking yourself. The answer is that since many children are interested in video games, use that interest to promote reading. When our family got Viva Piñata, I also got the Primagames strategy guide for it. My oldest son, who was 7 at the time, could not put the guide down. There were several nights I found him asleep in bed with it. He marked it with Post-It page markers so he could quickly find the information on the piñata he wanted to attract or create.

At school, my students often ask me how to beat a level in a game or for some other information. Rather than telling them the answer, I hand them a copy of a strategy guide, showing them the page or even paragraph where they can find the answer and let them read it themselves. I then ask them to explain it to me when they are done. This helps teach them that reading is a powerful tool for finding answers.

In addition to strategy guides, children can read gaming magazines or even novels based on video games. I have one student who reads previews and reviews in magazines and then tells me about them. Another is reading the novels based on Halo. As they read these, their abilities improve and they actually learn to like reading. Then they are more willing to try other books and continue to progress.

Finally, video games can also serve as a reward for reading. Friends of ours give their children tickets for every 30 minutes they read at home. These tickets can then be traded in for video game time or other rewards. To really get the kids reading, they buy a new video game that they really want to play. It is amazing how much reading takes place in that home as children read to earn time to play the new game.

I would love to hear from readers how they use video games to encourage reading or if they have suggestions for good books which engage children in reading. I am always looking for new titles both for my children at home as well as my students at school. Thanks for reading!

There are several ways to save money when purchasing games. A great way to pick games up on the cheap is to purchase them used. Several video game retailers and even some video movie rental stores sell used games. Make sure the games are guaranteed to work and check the discs for scratches before leaving the store. Some retail stores even offer a one-week return policy. This allows you to try out the game for a few days and then return it if the kids or you don’t enjoy it. You can’t do that with a new game. Use games will usually save you at least $5-$10 off the price of a new recently released games. If the game has been out for a while, you can often pick up a used game for $20 or less.

I recently purchased The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Capsian. I was renting a movie and happened to see it on a sale rack. It was only $9. Since it offered co-op play for 2 players, I picked it up. I knew a Disney game would not be too violent and I was in the mood for some swordplay combat which I could enjoy with my kids. Our family loves playing the game. Though only two can play at a time, we pair up to play as the others watch. Once we complete one level, the next pair play through the level. Since we like the movie on which this game is based, we get even more fun out of playing and then watching the movie again. What is cool about this game is that the first level is a prequel to the movie, setting up how the Telmarines conquered Narnia.

In addition to purchasing games used, look for games on sale. Sometimes you can save $5-$10 on newly released games during weekly sales. Other special offers may include bonus items in lieu of a discount such as an older version of a similar game or something else. It pays to check the newspapers or the online weekly ads. Several large retailers will match the prices in their competitors ads, so if a good deal is not close by, take the ad to one of these retailers and ask them to match the price. You save time and gas money while you also save on the game. (Do this for new movies on DVD or Blu-Ray as well since many are on sale the first week they are released.)

Some of our families most played games have been arcade type games purchased on Xbox Live Marketplace. We love playing Age of Booty—a pirate themed board type game as well as Carcassonne—another board type game where you build cities. For a bit of side scrolling slashing, Castle Crashers lets four of us play at once. For $8-$15, you can download one of these types of games and spend hours playing together. The nice thing about these games is that you can download a demo before you buy so the family can try it out.

So Gamer Dads out there. The morale of this week’s blog entry is that the more you pay for a game does not guarantee the more entertainment you will get out of it. When it comes to playing as a family, I have discovered that the bargains I picked up used or downloaded are some of the games we play together the most.

Furthermore, bargain gaming as a family also allows you to save up your cash for the latest games for yourself!

The Matterhorn Bobsled Derby Car

Gamer Dads don’t only play video games with their family. They are also involved in other activities such as little league or soccer. In addition to coaching my kids’ sports teams, I am also the Cub Master for my oldest son’s Cub Scout pack. This month we had the annual pinewood derby. If you have never experienced one of these either as a child or an adult, you are missing out. 

For this race, cub scouts and their parents take a 7-½ inch block of wood and create a racing car out of it. In addition to the block, the kit comes with four nails (axles) and four plastic wheels. The finished cars are then raced down a wooden track approximately 35 feet in length which is elevated four feet high at one end. Gravity supplies all of the power as these cars accelerate down the track.

While the cub scouts are supposed to take an active role in creating the car, parents tend to get involved—some quite a bit more than others. As our son began planning out what he wanted to do for his car, my wife took the lead in design. She is much more creative than me. We wanted to do something different, so my son chose to make his car look like a Matterhorn bobsled from Disneyland. The two of them worked on cutting, shaping, sanding, and painting the body of the car and ended up with a good looking final product.

While they made the car look good, I concentrated on making it fast. Since gravity is the only source of power for the car, there are two main factors to increase the speed of one of these cars—increase weight and decrease friction. The weight is limited to a maximum of five ounces—so it is important to have the final race weight right at five ounces. Since the cars do not travel that fast, wind resistance is not that big of a factor. However, the friction with the wheels is where a race is won or lost.

For the race, you have to use the axles and wheels that came with the car kit. Graphite can be used for lubrication—but nothing else. You can’t add bearings, bushings or washers. After doing some research, I learned that it is important to make the wheels and axles as smooth as possible. I sanded off the molding imperfections on the surface of the wheels and also filed off the burrs on the axles before polishing them to a smooth shine. Finally as we were attaching the wheels to the car, we made sure that one of the front wheels was a bit higher than the rest so that the car ran on only three wheels, further reducing friction.

While the three of us had a good time building the car, the entire family enjoyed the race. As my son raced and I was the official starter, the rest of the family cheered on. My son was in the finals and in one race, had to go three times against another car since it was too close to call for the eyeballs of the judges. (Video tape reviewed at home showed that my son won the first two times). He ended up coming in 4^th place. It was a lot of fun. Some fathers really get into this race. The car that won cost the father (who is an engineer) about $300 in research and parts—but I am not bitter. We had a good time working together on the car and watching my son race.

Now that the derby is over for the year, we have some more time to get back to video games.

Let me tell you, Wii Fits can be tough to find. I eventually found one at Wal-Mart. I had stopped looking for them was walking by the video game aisle and just happened to see several locked up behind class. I purchased one and brought it home to begin using. Since all of our family (with the exception of our toddler twins) has their own Mii (Wii avatar), it was a quick process to get everyone signed up for Wii Fit.

Wii Fit is the name of the game which comes with the balance board. This board weighs you and then also senses shifting of weight as you stand and balance on the board. The game focuses on four main areas—Yoga, Balance, Strength Training, and Aerobics.

Yoga helps build up your flexibility as well as balance and posture with several different poses. Balance offers a variety of games such as skiing or tilting a maze to drop a ball in a hole to work on controlling your balance. Strength training offers several exercises including push-ups, crunches, twists and so forth to build up muscle strength and endurance. Finally aerobics includes hula-hoop twisting, step aerobics, can even running in place.

Wii Fit keeps track of your progress. When you initially weigh in, you can set a goal of how many pounds you would like to lose and a timeframe for it. Each time you do one of the exercises, you are awarded coins in your Fit Bank for each minute you exercise. The game keeps track of these minutes and also lets you add in additional minutes for outside exercise such as if you took a walk or went for a run.

What really impressed me was that you have a personal fitness trainer that shows you how to do the exercises and offers encouragement and suggestions. It is also fun to watch your progress. Because it is like a game, Wii Fit makes exercising fun. Our family enjoys working out and trying to beat each others records since each exercise awards points for how well you do or for the number of repetitions. This healthy competition has our kids getting on the balance board as soon as they get home from school so they can try to better their past records, earn coins (minutes) for their Fit Bank, and unlock new exercises.

The Wii is a great family gaming system. Even if you don’t have Wii Fit, some of the games with come with it on Wii Sports can provide a bit of a workout. Get together as a family and play tennis or have a homerun derby. The key is to get up off the couch, move around, and have a good time together.

The nice feature about Rock Band is that four people can play at once with each person having their own unique role in the band—lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, and vocals. While one person can enjoy the game by his or herself, Rock Band really rocks when you have a full band of four players. Guitar Hero World Tour is another band game for up to four players.

In our family, the drums are popular and the kids usually take turns playing them. (Gamer Dad is not as good at the drums since he does not get a chance to practice) They also enjoy playing the guitars; however, the vocal parts are more popular with my daughters.

One of the fun features of Rock Band is creating a band. We came up with the name for our band as a group and then my oldest daughter designed our logo. Once the band was created, our family began the tour. In Rock Band, you begin in one city and can play at a single venue. As you play different songs and song sets, you can unlock other venues as well as other cities. The songs in the early cities are fairly easy, with songs in cities farther away from your home city getting more difficult.

While many may think that Rock Band only offers heavy metal songs, in reality it actually offers a wide variety of music. In addition to metal, punk, and contemporary rock, the game includes some softer and older hits as well. Plus, you can purchase and download songs from several different genre. Recently a country pack was released with five songs by some of the hottest country singers and groups. Despite initial conceptions, these songs can be challenging with one by the Dixie Chicks actually quite difficult. More oldies are also appearing such as Roy Orbison and even Jimmy Buffet. Gamer Dads should have no trouble finding some songs from when they were younger and hipper which they can share with their family.

From first hand experience, Rock Band or other musical games which let several family members play together can provide some great family entertainment and together time. It looks like the future will offer even more songs of all different types including the Beatles and who knows what else since every week new songs are available.

If your family has a music game they like to play, chime in and share with us.

What is a Gamer Dad? At first mention, one might conjure up the image of a character from Revenge of the Nerds a decade later. However, the Gamer Dad is not a geeky wimp who spends all of his time playing video games because he has been banned from the D&D games down at the local comic shop because he is too old to not seem creepy. No, the Gamer Dad works hard to support his family. He is involved in his children’s lives. Not only does he help them with homework, but also coaches soccer, baseball, softball, and other sports. He may go on camp outs with his sons or sell Girl Scout cookies at work. In addition to these many activities, what sets the Gamer Dad apart from other men is that he enjoys playing video games.

Gamer Dad can get in there and shoot it up with other gamers online. But more than that, he is responsible for nurturing the gamers of tomorrow. Gamer Dad shows his children the correct way to hold a controller and makes sure the next generation knows the proper way to handle a game disc—don’t smear it with fingerprints! Gamer Dad plays games with the kids he normally would not on his own—games with a rainbow of colors and cheerful, repetitive music. However, these are the training wheels for future gamers. As the children get older, the games get tougher until their skills have approached those of the Gamer Dad.

How many of you are Gamer Dads? There are also Gamer Moms out there and we welcome you to our ranks as well. Our purpose is the same—to enjoy gaming and spend quality time with our family as the same time. This is the first in a series of blogs focused on Gamer Dad (and Gamer Mom) for the purpose of sharing not only what I have learned as father with gaming kids, but also to learn from your experiences as well. So stay tuned for next week’s blog on Gamer Dad.