Games engage parts of the brain needed for critical thinking, judgement, and memory. Now, gaming startup Akili is trying find out it its games can play a role in health by helping improve the cognitive abilities in those who have autism.
The notion that games are more than trivial toys that waste time is a radical one and has been confronted with a lot of controversy. The efforts of teams of talented individuals are being recognized. These innovative approaches to game playing are now being followed by the actions of powerful companies in the game industry.
An upcoming gamification startup hopes to make the college application and decision making process less daunting for families and students. In spring 2015, CEO Elena Cox will release Vibeffect. An article written for DCInno.com describes Vibeffect as a startup that offers “predictive analytics and fun gamification that teens love to create a guidance framework.”
Video games are making a huge boom in today’s market. In fact, video game sales have been more than doubling box office profit intake. With all this excitement, it’s understandable that educators have begun to see the potential of video games in the classroom and as learning tools. Justin Ballou, a Boston-area high school teacher, founded a software-startup which focuses on education called Socrademy.
Nintendo is the beloved creator of fan favorites, such as Mario and Link, are currently on the track to watching you while you sleep. Don’t worry it is not as creepy as it sounds this is Nintendo. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has been rallying for support in this big decision, saying that the new pillars of Nintendo include not only games and consoles but, a third pillar health as well.
Back pain is a common problem for many people. Exercises can help strengthen back muscles and alleviate the pain. But the problem with these exercises is compliance. Even when people know that the exercises can lead to relief, they just don’t stick to the program. There’s a new game that can solve that problem by becoming part of your health regimen.
“Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” ~Mark Twain: The Innocents Abroad This statement published by Mark Twain in 1869 becomes truer as the years go on. With access to the internet becoming a household necessity, people are beginning…
I write and lecture a lot on the subject of how to improve customer and employee loyalty and engagement through gamification. Before kicking off the major gamification discussion in 2010, my background was in games but I was a huge loyalty nerd. I think this confluence of experiences helped inform my views on the power…
As the world settles into 2015, we’re reaching that point when people start to slack on their “get fit” New Year resolutions. If you’re starting to feel the drag of going to the gym, you might benefit from the growing number gamification mobile apps that aim to make physical fitness fun. For many people, gamification is the…
Human beings are innovative creatures capable of inventing unique solutions to our problems. This was on display when the utility company “National Grid” used gamification to encourage their customers to save electricity. Cio.com explains, In Rhode Island, National Grid is piloting a program in which customers earn points based on the amount of energy saved….
When the Rollins School for Language and Learning made it their goal to create free, online education courses make sure at-risk students were reading grade-level by third grade, they faced some serious challenges. Their Read Right from the Start program had the tools to help them meet their literacy goals, but they needed to get teachers of various…
When Boris Revsin and Jared Stenquist attempted to monetize their website with traditional web advertising, they learned a lesson the hard way. Their target audience, composed primarily of college students, weren’t clicking banner ads. “They want to be entertained by their advertising, and they want to be rewarded for spending time on the site doing…
Creating apps to foster customer loyalty is common these days. Thanks in part to iTunes Top Downloaded lists, app success is measured by number of downloads. To find success as a marketing tool however, downloading the app is not enough. The potential consumer must also use the app on a regular basis. As challenging as it is to…
It is not every day that you hear of a huge company such as T-Mobile seeing an increase of one-thousand percent in employee engagement. That is exactly what the company achieved when it set out to boost the way that employees and customers could engage with one another. It all happened in 2013 through the…
Video Games, or now more correctly titled “Interactive Experiences” have, in the last few years, grown into far more than just toys. Advancements in technology, and the understanding of the psychological impact that play has on the human brain have exponentially grown since their debut in the 1970s. Play is not reserved to children alone….
