Educational+Video+Game+Review

Dance Mat Typing Jamie Newbold
 * (4 points) A brief description of the game. You may include images or even video clips to help give readers a better idea of the game.

Dance Mat Typing is an educational computer game that teaches children basic typing skills in a fun, kid-friendly way. As described on the Dance Mat Typing website ([]), this computer game has, “four levels, each divided into three stages. You start by learning the home row keys. Each stage builds on previous lessons, introducing new letters as you progress. You’ll soon be touch-typing like an expert! At the end of each level you can test your typing speed and get a fun reward.” I chose this educational computer game because I’ve seen how important it is that elementary school students feel familiar with a computer and its keyboard. Many tests are administered online and a student’s grade can suffer if he or she is unable to comfortably maneuver through a keyboard.


 * (5 points) The kinds of learning involved (i.e. What specifically did you learn from playing the game?). Think about the game tasks, objectives, terminology, etc. What skills did you need to learn to be successful at the game? Note that many 'educational' games don't actually teach new content area skills, but rather allow students to practice skills they've already learned elsewhere.

Dance Mat Typing starts each player at level 1 - a foundational level where players begin to learn important keyboarding terminology such as ‘home row,’ and eventually ‘comma,’ ‘semi-colon,’ etc. Dance Mat Typing’s objectives are that each player learns foundational typing skills as they advance. Dance Mat Typing also wants children to learn the correct finger, wrist and body typing positions. Dance Mat leads their players through various levels and skills. In order to progress the player must pass each respective level with mastery. Each level provides opportunities to practice skills learned in previous levels. You can see which activities and levels you’ve passed by looking at the bottom bar of the game screen. This game would be frustrating, if not impossible, for children who have not yet learned their letters.




 * (5 points) The kinds of teaching involved (i.e. How did the game teach you?). Think about the kinds of feedback, rewards, guidance, and information the game gave you, and how it paced and structured your learning. Which Principles of Learning did the game utilize?

Teaching, Feedback, and Rewards: You are talked to, encouraged, and instructed almost constantly while playing this educational video game. As you progress through the various levels you’re praised for your hard work and reminded that you’re nearly done. This encouragement made me excited to continue on and helped me to see my progress. When I passed a level a cartoon character would dance and sing congratulatory songs. The cartoon modeled hand placement and correct typing – a lovely visual that helped guide me as I played, structuring my learning and I progressed.

Principles of Learning: Multimodal Principle – Meaning and knowledge are built through various modalities (images, texts, symbols, interactions, sound, etc.) not just words. While the game’s cartoon character is talking to you, the words are captioned below. The player is seeing and hearing simultaneously. You can see hands on a computer keyboard typing as you type, showing you how to hold your hands and wrists. This illustration is a wonderful example for the player. Dance Mat Typing uses songs and rhymes to keep the player engaged.

Practice Principle – Typers are given many opportunities to practice then practice again. After each practice row is completed, the typer is praised then given yet another opportunity to practice again.

Psychosocial Moratorium Principle – Learners can take risks in a space where real-world consequences are lowered. If you type on a letter that is incorrect you are simply shown the correct letter and allowed to try again. You are not disqualified and nothing is lost.




 * (6 points) Your overall reflections on playing the game. How might a teacher use the game in their curriculum?

I have great respect for this game because, as a teacher, I see how often computers are used to test kids. I worked with first and second graders and have been required to test both grade levels using laptop computers. If these students were not comfortable or familiar with a keyboard, they would not have fared well during the test and their scores would reflect this. I want my students to be comfortable with computers and feel that Dance Mat Typing does a great job teaching foundational skills in a manner that appeals to young learners. My own two children have learned typing skills through this game and I am very thankful for that. I would definitely recommend and use this game with students who are learning keyboarding skills. I hope to be able to give my students a computer (if computes or COWS are available) and provide in-class typing time.