EWT23 – Learning by playing

Date: 19th June 2010
Time: 15:30 – 17:30 GMT

Mission

Part 1
Our kid has a problem in school with maths. Evaluate the following product to see if it’s suitable for a 10-year old to practice arithmetic
Product: Raindrops

Part 2
For the second part, please pair up. Then do the second evaluation with your partner. Discuss how you want to evaluate this, for a 10-year old to extend their vocabulary.

Product: Word Bubbles

Testers: Artyom Silivonchik, Vivek Hohlekar, Alan Allerton, Aire Kurgpõld, Katya Kameneva, Dr. Meeta Prakash, Markus Gärtner, Anna Baik

Anna Baik facilitated the discussion afterwards.

The discussion started off on the second part of the mission around the word bubble game. The pair consisting of Artyom and Dr. Meeta concluded that it is unsuitable for learning new words. Children need to know many words in order to succeed. Additionally the games seems to be more suitable as an assessment of the vocabulary rather than a learning aid. The pair consisting of Alan and Aire agreed with the view of the first team. The time limit was perceived to be annoying and confusing. Additionally the necessary vocabulary for the game to succeed exceeds the one of a 10-year old. Concluding the group got the impression that the game is fun to play when the one playing the game has a large vocabulary. Dr. Meeta explained that she jiggled some the words in order to derive new words. In software testing we use the same technique to reveal bugs. Slightly changing some parameters in the application, and observing what happens.

When asked about the pairing experience, the participants explained that they perceived pairing to be of advantage. The teams found that pairing up with a partner could be improved by sitting in front of the same monitor. When asked about their pairing experience, testers replied that they regularly use pairing at their workplaces.

The chat transcript is here.