Filament Games Blog

FGP3-6: Sun Prairie School District

Today our dear friends Nate Grundahl and Annie Larson from the Sun Prairie Area School District stop by and chat with Brandon and Dan about their game-based learning program. They share their experience in rolling out a game-based learning programs, and offer helpful tips on how to get teachers onboard. Hot Topics in This Week’s…

June 6, 2017 // Kat Shanahan

Filament Games | Educational Game Developer

How Filament Games Conducts User Testing

An essential part of educational game development is user testing – something we treat very seriously and with a lot of importance. This is because conducting user testing throughout the development cycle is a critical, necessary process to obtain important feedback on the usability of the game, the effectiveness of the game as a learning…

June 1, 2017 // Jennifer Javornik

How Game-Based Learning Engages Struggling Students

In our game-based learning program overview, Sun Prairie Area School District educator Mary Headington shared the story of Susan, a student in her class who typically struggled with coursework. Susan was discouraged by her struggles with her coursework and consequently had a hard time believing she was smart. Mary often wrestled with the best way to help…

May 31, 2017 // Kat Shanahan

FGP3-5: The Retro Review Manhole

The first Retro Review of the season brings an exciting foray into retro learning game Manhole. Matt Haselton joins us in the studio to talk about a VR version of the game and what students actually learn through gameplay. Don’t forget to check out our bonus video for a full playthrough of the game. Hot…

May 30, 2017 // Kat Shanahan

Curious About Coding – Introducing Scratch to Spring Harbor Middle School

When Filament Games first received a request to talk about engineering in video games as a fun activity that could be presented in 50 minutes, we were stumped. It’s easier to talk about designing games by creating your own or think about art styles by creating pixel art projects than it is to teach an entire new…

May 25, 2017 // Sarah Conn

FGP3-4: Gamifying Your Classroom with Matthew Farber

Author and gamification aficionado Matthew Farber joins us this week to talk about his new book and what he’s learned through teaching with games. We also discuss the growth of the game-based learning community and revisit empathy in games. Hot Topics in This Week’s Episode Mario Kart 8 Skyrim Special Edition Dishonored iCivics Do I…

May 23, 2017 // Kat Shanahan

Virtual Reality for Impact

In case you haven’t noticed, we’re Virtual Reality enthusiasts at Filament Games, owed in no small part to the fact that the affordances of this emergent medium are so vast and varied. Virtual Reality is poised to change how we learn, or at least provide us with a new uniquely powerful modality towards that end.…

May 22, 2017 // Brandon Pittser

My Time at the iCivics ELL Convening

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with a special ELL convening hosted by iCivics in DC to talk about some new things coming down the pike for Do I Have a Right?. Currently in development is a Spanish-language translation of the game, as well as new accessibility features for the English edition to accommodate ELL…

May 18, 2017 // Dan Norton

How to Embrace Failure

Dan White wants to talk about failure. Specifically, the way we view failure within the context of education. Many of our educator allies have spoken to us about their sense that sometimes, K-12 education is gripped by a culture of fear that’s driven by standards-based testing regimes and a hierarchy of institutional accountability that can create…

May 17, 2017 // Brandon Pittser

Filament Games Podcast Season Three

We’re back – welcome to season three of the Filament Games Podcast! We have exciting things in store for you including interviews with Matthew Farber, Greg Toppo, Aaron San Flippo, and administrators from the Sun Prairie Area School District. We’re also thrilled to bring back The Retro Review and our on-air Game Design Challenge! We hope…

May 16, 2017 // Kat Shanahan

What We Mean When We Say AI: Understanding Types of AI

How to Bring Games to Your Classroom in 2024

Great Games that Teach Programming