Community reviews for Arcademics

This website is great for students practicing strategies and concepts they have learned. It has a variety of games, all of which being interactive, engaging, and fun to play. There is something for all age groups from first grade to sixth, which I think is very important as every student will prefer something else. Plus even if the game is labeled a certain group, there is a setting you can use to change the game speed, level of difficulty, etc. Overall, I really liked the website and appreciated it features, as these options created a more user friendly and inclusive environment. Students are then provided with ways to practice all type of skills and lesson they have learned at a personalized and more appropriate pace for their comprehension.

This website has a large variety of fun games centering around an array of topics ranging from mainly math to some other subjects like geography and typing. The games themselves are quite simple and easy to learn, and oftentimes pretty fun and interesting to play. I also really like how many games they have for a variety of age groups, from first grade to sixth. One thing I do wish they would include is little descriptions of each of the games alongside their names, because they names themselves don't fully capture what each game's purpose or premise is. Otherwise, it's a great, simple, and free website for kids of many ages.

I think this is a great resource. It is good for practicing rather than sitting and thinking/learning, but students need practice like this as well. It is timed, so it helps kids perfect their knowledge in a fun way. It includes grades 1-6 with many different math subjects, along with a few other subjects like Language Arts, Geography, Spelling, and Typing. I think it's fun and keeps kids interested and on the edge of their seats.

Arcademics seems to be a constructive yet entertaining way for students to remain engaged in the content that they are learning in school. The website provides a wide variety of games, for students from 1st grade to 6th grade, to really practice a multitude of different class subjects. For higher grade levels, this could mean playing games related to algebra like "Dirt Bike Proportions," or decimal games like "Hungry Puppies." On the other hand, some games also seem to be specifically crafted for students from lower grade levels, such as "Coconut Vowels." Even if some of the games appear to be catered towards a specific age group or grade level, many of the games also have settings in which students can change the level of difficulty, content type, and game speed. I really liked and appreciated these features because providing these options truly creates a more inclusive environment, in which students from all types of skill levels and backgrounds can practice the concepts and lessons they have learned at a personalized, appropriate pace and level of sophistication. After exploring the website myself, I found myself to be a particular fan of the game "Capital Penguin." As a lover of geography, I really enjoyed playing this game because it tested my knowledge of the U.S. state capitals, and I could definitely see my own students becoming more informed about topics related to civics, history, and geography by playing these types of games. Practically every single game on the website has fun, colorful characters in a variety of visually appealing landscapes. For example, the game "Canoe Puppies," involves 4 teams, each with their own set of puppies in costumes, racing in canoes on a lake to see who can complete addition the fastest. In my personal opinion, what these games do so well is they provide interesting and appealing animations that draw children's attention, and make them want to play the games and practice different lessons they have learned in the classroom. Therefore, despite being educational in nature, children can still find enjoyment and fulfillment by playing these games. Some games even have multiplayer options, in which students can either work with other people online to play the games, or create private lobbies in which they can join together with their friends and play these games. Having options for both single and multiplayer games really reflects the diversity of students within the classroom, and how some students learn better in a more individualized, intimate environment, while others excel in collaborative and cooperative learning atmospheres. Not only will some of these games teach students to be more independent and critical thinkers in certain contexts, but at times, some will also require them to have to build teamwork skills and learn how to successfully engage in tasks with other students. The one critique I have for the website and its respective games involves the level of competitiveness that exists. For example, there is a daily leaderboard for the top players in each game that scored the highest amount of points, or fastest time in completing tasks. Furthermore, some games involve going up against other people to win games, including "Furious Frogs." Constructive competition should be encouraged, as it teaches students to truly refine their skills and understanding of a given concept. However, I do fear that having games with such a competitive edge could ultimately be inhibiting learning. Every student is different. Some grasp concepts really quickly and complete their work in a very timely manner. Others might not grasp topics or lessons as quickly, and might instead prefer taking their time when completing work. Given such diversity among learners, I fear that an emphasis on competition and completing games as quickly as possible teaches children that being intelligent or a good student involves how quickly you complete a given task, or how many points you can get in a game. This perspective fails to consider that mistakes are okay. No one is perfect, and the most constructive and beneficial type of learning is when you make mistakes, and learn from them. Furthermore, just because you might take longer to complete a question or game, it does not mean you understand a concept any less than any other student. It also brings up the question regarding if children are actually learning and understanding the concepts that these games are testing, or if they are just focusing on guessing and trying to finish the games as quickly as possible. Therefore, while I feel competition can be good, I do fear that an emphasis on it can diminish the self-esteem and worth of students who might just need a little more time to understand a concept or think something through.

Competitiveness is great in the classroom environment because it gives students incentive to do well and not to lose to their peers and classmates. The interface of the website is very user friendly and I would recommend this to other people!

What I liked about it is my students stayed engaged and wanted to play because they could play each other.

Students love competition and games. Arcademics combines both of these aspects through friendly game-based activities. Subjects range from math to language arts to keyboarding. A paid subscription (only $100/year for a classroom license) unlocks ALL the games as well as including data that tracks student progress. This website continues to be a BIG HIT with students! An extension to help support reflective thinking would be to have students spend 2-3 days playing games, and 1 day reflecting on what they were learning while playing these games. Here's sample <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14lLkPgzmvZrOsPE-_hCgOJGiaX4586Bk-mEnWLJo_DY/viewform?usp=send_form"> Google Form Reflection Sheet </a> I've used with students.

Again, I originally bought Arcademic Skills for the typing games. What a bonus to find games in almost every subject including language arts, geography and math. Each game provides competitive practice and advances students as they improve. Teachers can use the console to assign specific games to customize individual student learning. The only draw back is the price, but for me it was worth it.

This product helps engage with the numbers in a fast pace method.

I love this website, because it has a variety of educational games (rote learning) for ELA, Math, and other. Kids get really excited, often times, too excited about racing each other and random other people. They try to set up games, private games with passwords, so there have to be rules on the games. I'd say, they cannot get out of their seats, they cannot yell for people to join, and they need to start within one minute (no waiting for people to join). If they do want a private game, they can use the screen name as the password. It's mostly K-6, but there are a few for grades 7-8. Also, there are a few games that are not multi-player. There are some games