Overcoming problems when trying to engage young learners
Like most parents, I sometimes find it difficult to persuade my kids to do their homework without them putting up some sort of fight.
My most recent battle was with my six-year-old, who had been asked to practice his 2, 5 and 10 times tables. He argued that it wasn’t proper homework and that he didn’t need to practice as he knew them already … so, after ten minutes of arguing and a few more minutes of tears (him) we sat and practised his times tables.
I can see why he didn’t want to do them, the homework was an interruption taking him away from being a LEGO® Ninja on the iPad and, well, that’s it.
Taking a creative approach to teaching maths
Not wanting our argument to forever enter his mind at the mention of times tables, I decided to do something about it and build a game that he’d enjoy playing that would also help him practice his maths. What’s more, I even gave the game a ninja theme!
As a child, learning isn’t always fun, especially when you could be playing instead. It’s up to us as parents and educators to be creative and try to find whatever it is that inspires our children. The next battle on the horizon is trying to convince him that music lessons are a good idea, Musical Ninjas anyone?
Scroll down to play Ninja Maths School!
Play Ninja Maths School
Click the button to play the Ninja Maths game, how good are you at Times Tables?
Related Gamification Posts
Insight: eLearning Demo Build
Take a look under the hood of our latest demo for an insight in to creating bespoke eLearning solutions.
Storyline 2 Maths Game
Following on from our earlier post, Using JavaScript in Storyline 2: Interactive Image Colouring, we wanted to share a maths game for kids that we’ve built using a slightly modified version of our original interaction.
Rebuilding Flash Content in Storyline 2
With a little thought and a thorough understanding of the tools at your disposal it’s possible to bring some of your best ideas from Flash in to modern-day software.
David began his eLearning career in 2000 after earning qualifications in Graphic Design and then Newspaper, Magazine and Infographic Design.
During his time working in the eLearning industry David has gained extensive experience designing and developing eLearning content for clients based in the UK, Canada and the USA. To date, David has created eLearning courses covering a broad spectrum of topics, ranging from Pharmaceutical, Healthcare, Retail and Sport through to Pet Nutrition, Marketing, Sales and Tourism.
He is passionate about creating well-designed and purposeful eLearning solutions. David is a current Articulate E-Learning Heroes Super Hero.