TryEngineering is a great site about engineering. It has information on engineering careers, what engineers do, engineering colleges and more.

There are resources for students, teachers, counselors and parents about engineering careers, how to prepare, colleges and more. Students can explore what it takes to become an engineer, find a college, ask questions and get answers from engineers and engineering students, get news about engineering and technology and more.

The coolest part of the site though is the "Games" section. In this section, students can select from 27 different resources where they can design, model, and test products and solutions to problems, simulate engineering projects, answer engineering trivia questions and more. Projects include bionic arms, parachutes, solar cars, roller coasters, bridges and more. Some are hosted/created by TryEngineering and others are links to other sites. There are links to more information about each topic also. Some of the games are Flash Based, some Shockwave based, other HTML.

These "games" and simulations are a great way for students to learn about engineering and apply math, science, and problem solving skills to an authentic problem.





Related:

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Resources for students and Teachers.
10 Important Skills Students need for the Future

PowerUp the Game is a 3D, action strategy, multi-player, free, online game. The premise is that the Planet Helios is being destroyed from the side effects of burning fossil fuels for energy. The environment is damaged with CO2, pollution, extreme weather, and more.

Players work together in extreme environments to try to save the planet, learning about environmental issues and designing systems to harness renewable energy.




It's fun, it takes critical-thinking and problem solving skills, along with teamwork and is educational. There is a teacher's guide and lesson plans to help teachers use this in class. It combines science and engineering to address STEM initiatives.

It is available for Windows and Mac OS.

The only issue I see is that it may be blocked in some districts, like mine, because it is a "game."

The game was developed in cooperation with museums, energy agencies, and educators (including Education Connection in CT - one of our area resource centers.)

Check it out.

Arcademic Skill Builders is a free online resource offering educational video games. These web-based learning games assist K-8 students with basic math, language arts, vocabulary and thinking skills in the classroom or at home. Students can play together in groups of four, eight or 12 students at one time. The games can be integrated into instruction with the use of a projector screen, interactive white board or computer lab. All Arcademic games are developed to align with state standards and the Common Core Standards.

The games are well designed, fun and educational.

bubbabrain is a site that offers online educational games and quizzes. They are organized by grade level and course topic and include AP classes. It's easy to use and has some great games.

Most are quiz type games and if you get it wrong, it tells you to try again.

A Google A Day is a neat new site from Google. The site posts a puzzle and then you use Google to search for the solution. 




The daily puzzle can be solved using clever search skills on Google. Google will post the questions daily on agoogleaday.com and also will be printed in above the New York Times crossword puzzle. 


The site uses Deja Google, a new platform from Google, that leaves out recent web pages. This makes the game a little more interesting and challenging. Deja Google is defined by Google as a wormhole inspired time machine that searches the Internet as it existed before the game began. Because nobody wants someone's recent blog post about finding an answer spoiling their fun."


This could be a fun activity for teachers to use in their classrooms. Students can learn about something new while improving their search skills. It takes creativity and critical thinking, so it's a great way to get students to explore and expand those skills. 

In my physics classes, when we study work, energy and energy conversions, I relate it to amusement park rides such as roller coasters. The students can all relate to these things and they are great examples of work being done to give an object (the roller coaster) potential energy which then gets converted to kinetic energy and so one. We are also able to bring in forces, friction, and other topics. The students love it, it keeps their interest, and they learn!

One activity I had them complete right before the Thanksgiving break is to play an online game. Yes, I said it, a game. The game is Roller Coaster Creator. I found the site by doing a Google search and played it myself first. It is a lot of fun, but I wasn't sure how educational it was. So, I tried it out on my students. They loved it. They all tried to get the highest scores and the best designs. But, more importantly was the conversations they were having while using it. They were talking like physicists and engineers. "We have to increase this hill so there is more potential energy". "There is too much friction." "That loop will create too much g-force for the passengers." "In order to have the car jump that gap, we need a different angle and more velocity."

The conversations were great! I was so happy to see them learning and applying the concepts that they had learned while having fun!!

Now, I just have to keep this fun level going and get some more great activities for them.

Share your educational games (or games you've used in education) with us.

Today I just read an article on video games as learning tools on Edudemic. I have always thought that games made an excellent learning tool when done right, with the right support by the teacher. Many video games teach students actual content knowledge, but most of them teach critical thinking and problem solving techniques. 


Research has shown that video games are effective as learning tools and many companies are working on educational video games. But, other video games can be used educationally also. 


I just downloaded Angry Birds for my Palm Pre+ last night and loved it. The premise is simple. A bunch of pigs steal eggs from the birds. The birds then go after the pigs. The birds get launched using a slingshot and try to knock down the pigs structures. 


As I was playing, I realized that there was physics at play here, and since I teach physics, I was very excited. Projectile Motion, structures, stability, materials, and dynamics all come into play. If you understand those concepts, you'll do better at the game. If you don't know those concepts, you will learn them while playing. 


There is nothing really bad about the game. It is extremely popular and received high praise from reviewers. My only problem is that I need it in a Windows version for my classroom! 


The game is available for Palm webOS phones (Pre and Pixi), Nokia phones, and iPhone / iPod Touch / iPad.


" Angry Birds features hours of gameplay, challenging physics-based castle demolition, and lots of replay value. Each of the 150 levels requires logic, skill, and brute force to crush the enemy. " 


As an educator, I am always looking for new, engaging ways to teach my students. Using video games is a great way to do this.


Share video games that you use for education!


Note: Edudemic is a great resource site for educators. In their own words, Edudemic is a website devoted to these ‘geeky’ things with an education slant. We focus on what’s happening in the tech world and how it applies to higher education. We’re not trying to be the next Gizmodo, we’re trying to help educators get the most out of their students and vice versa.