Week 7 Discussion – Juan G

I was surprised when I read that educational research had not taken advantage of the popularity of coolmath-games. By collaborating with a popular site such as coolmath, we can gather data that could help designers use this information to work on creating games that are not just popular, but also effective in improving student performance.

I have mixed feelings about Neopets. The site is obviously exploiting the users data, but they are also providing the kids and adolescents with important skills (eg. financial education). Although I am not sure of all the intentions of Neopets, I think it is important that educational organizations can find ways to make profits. Unfortunately, money is required to run any organization and if organizations can find ways to get additional resources, they will be motivated to continue to improve their services. They can also attract competition, which can improve the products and services offered to the children.