ODYSSEYWARE

Games have a wide utility in learning.  For years students have learned how to build civilizations or traverse the Oregon Trail through games.  These opportunities, while found, also illustrate key concepts in unique ways.

This small school in Michigan is attempting to blend similar concepts, education and fun, to help students struggling under normal class circumstances.

In order to do so, they must test their skills in everything from math to English.
The second- through fifth-grade students are all enrolled in Study Island, a state assessment preparation test they can access via the Internet from school and home.

“The games reinforce their skills and they have fun,” school Principal Gary Paquet said.

For those that remember Oregon Trail during school, it was a nice change of pace from the normal class routine and was certainly not a watered version of what you could have been learning.

“They’re all independently working, they’re all actively engaged, you can’t always say that,” he said.