Tag Archives: STEM

Medical Mysteries on the Web

This web-based game from Rice University was submitted by Lynn Lauterbach. The game is available at medmyst.rice.edu.

Subject Area and Learning Outcomes
Life Science Middle Level: Pathogens, Immune System, Disease, Bacteria, Viruses, Protozoan, Zoonotic Diseases, Scientific Method, STEM careers

Summary
(1-2 players) MedMyst Original has five different mission options. It is generally geared for teaching about infectious disease, pathogens, and the immune response. Mission 1 is an orientation or general introduction, Mission 2 is based on a bacterial disease, cholera, Mission 3 is a viral disease in the pox family, Mission 4 is a protozoan disease dealing with malaria. Mission 5 is a combination of things and is built around zoonotic (animal borne) illnesses. MedMyst Reloaded has STEM career connections and scientific method modeling. Games are built in to the program as reinforcement and review of content.

Setup
There are teacher materials, vocabulary, and activites included.

Rules of Play
Self-guided. Winning is not the object as much as completion.

Sample Turn
The student is engaged in the text through a story line that is set in the future. They move through the program solving, learning, and reviewing materials dealing with Life Science concepts.

How this game works in class
I prefer to have students work individually although they can work in pairs. I like to put headphones on the students so the background music and other noises are what they hear. They work through at their own pace. I sometimes have them show accountability with some of the items under the teacher materials pages.

Post-Game Discussion/Assessment
The teacher materials pages have activities and assessments included. The vocabulary pages guide students learning new words and their meanings.

MdBio Foundation to Launch National Gaming Initiative to Improve U.S. STEM Education

ROCKVILLE, MD–(Marketwire – June 13, 2012) – In response to the declining state of science education in America, MdBio Foundation, Inc. today announced it will provide science teachers and students nationwide with an innovative and immersive educational video game platform free of charge beginning in 2013. The online platform, called MdBioSphere™, seeks to advance student comprehension in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and revitalize student interest in science-related careers through the use of innovative gaming technology. The serious game is being developed by Hunt Valley, Md.-based BreakAway, Ltd., and will be previewed at the BIO International Convention (June 18-21, 2012, Booth 0753 in the Maryland Pavilion) in Boston.

MdBio Foundation to Launch National Gaming Initiative to Improve U.S. STEM Education – Exec Digital.

iTech Academy, Miami Video Game-Themed Magnet, Aims To Prepare Students For Technological Job Market

A new magnet program at Miami-Dade County Public Schools will launch this fall that focuses on digital design and coding, drawing on recent nationwide calls for emphasis on education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Named the iTech Academy at Miami Springs Senior High, the program becomes the first video game-themed magnet in the country’s fourth largest school district.

via iTech Academy, Miami Video Game-Themed Magnet, Aims To Prepare Students For Technological Job Market.