Getting to PHYSICA is free: www.gameforscience.ca/physica/. Players first create an avatar, the character that represents them in the game, then join the adventure to accumulate neurons and become a “super genius.” They’ll have to rack their brains to solve the problems presented by Vacuum-o-matic, the quirky robot supervisor of a recycling plant. The 50 challenges presented in PHYSICA were designed to stimulate players’ intelligence and gradually improve their comprehension of mechanical physics. After solving all the puzzles, players gain access to a virtual lab where they can analyze the motion of the fascinating little robots.

Grade 11 teachers will find that PHYSICA is an incredibly effective tool for enriching their physical mechanics classes. And players of all ages will find that it holds hours of fun.

PHYSICA was developed jointly by CREO and UQAM, thanks to funding from the Fonds Inukshuk and the Canada Media Fund “Innovation is part of CREO’s DNA. That’s why it’s so important for us to work with scientists like those from LabMÉCAS. It helps us improve our methods and at the same time validates their impact on learning,” explains Caroline Julien, president of CREO.

GAME FOR SCIENCE, CREO’s platform, won a bronze medal at the 2011 International Serious Play Awards and a Numix prize in 2010.

Data collected by researchers working in the field of science didactics at the Université du Québec à Montréal have demonstrated the effectiveness of the game MECANIKA, one of three games offered in PHYSICA. The data indicate that Grade 11 students who play the game show marked improvement. Moreover, these results were measured after approximately two hours of game play, while the pedagogical methods used in other studies occasionally extended over entire semesters.

The data gathered also suggest that merely assigned as homework, hence requiring no change to the classroom setting or teacher intervention, the game can have an effect by itself. A more advanced use of MECANIKA in class, with discussions about game situations among students and with the teacher, would then improve the effect. Teacher’s guides that facilitate classroom integration are available at http://www.gameforscience.ca/physica/teachers.php.

In addition to helping students improve their physics grades, the GAME FOR SCIENCE platform will soon be handing out prizes to students and schools with the best performances in the virtual world. At the end of October, CREO will officially launch the “GAME FOR SCIENCE Neuron Hunt” contest, and at that time, we will also announce our partners and the prizes up for grabs over the course of the school year. So completing the challenges of PHYSICA will also give players a chance to win prizes. We think students will be dying to do their physics homework.

About CREO: Over the past 10 years, CREO has been producing and distributing innovative, multiplatform science popularization tools to help partners enhance their educational, communications, and marketing activities. CREO creates serious games that build intelligence, cultivate a taste for discovery, and promote educational success. In business since December 2001, CREO works with private companies, governments, museums, industry taskforces, foundations, and teaching institutions to explore new ways of communicating, informing and educating. Inspired by popular online virtual worlds, its GAME FOR SCIENCE platform (www.gameforscience.ca) stimulates the interest of young people in science. Thanks to the collaboration of 25 partners, the site attracts 35,000 visits per month, a rate that is doubling every year.

About LabMÉCAS: the mission of the Mobile Laboratory for the Study of Learning Pathways in Sciences (Laboratoire mobile pour l’étude des cheminements d’apprentissage en science—LabMÉCAS) is to study the phenomenon of learning science, considered as a complex process rather than simply as a result. The lab brings together researchers from five universities in Québec and Ontario who focus on the conceptual, cognitive, neuro-didactic, and practical aspects of teaching science. http://www.labmecas.uqam.ca/

For more information:

Geneviève Lajeunesse, Media relations – CREO

glajeunesse@creo.ca, 514-278-9595, ext. 25

]]> http://www.creo.ca/en/physicalaunch/feed/ 0 http://www.creo.ca/en/website-under-construction/ http://www.creo.ca/en/website-under-construction/#comments Wed, 30 Mar 2011 21:31:30 +0000 creo@dministrator http://www.creo.ca/?p=2690 We are working hard at updating the website. In the meantime, you may reach our old website by clicking here.

The NUMIX awards are given by the Regroupement des producteurs multimédia du Québec (RPM) to recognize excellence among digital media artists. Nominees are evaluated based on the quality and originality of storyboard, production, design, and astute use of technology.

“The CREO team is very pleased to have the high caliber of its work recognized in this way. We strive to use smart, fun content to give GAME FOR SCIENCE players a rich and high-quality experience, and this award will help us further our goals,” stated CREO president, Caroline Julien.

A hundred or so projects were submitted to a jury made up of specialists in the field of interactive technology. The jury selected a list of finalists, the complete list of which you will find here.

Regroupement des producteurs multimédia

The Regroupement des producteurs multimédia (RPM) was created in 2000 to represent stakeholders in the field of multimedia production. Its goals are to create a favourable climate for the development and growth of multimedia production in Québec in all broadcast media.

CREO

CREO is a production studio (www.creo.ca) that uses serious games for the purpose of scientific communications. CREO’s original productions are designed to help its clients and partners stimulate development in their sectors, broaden and develop customer loyalty, and improve their broadcast/education/communications/marketing activities, while at the same time fulfilling the needs and interests of target audiences.

Watch the reaction of CREO president, Caroline Julien, production manager Lise Sicard as they receive the NUMIX award.

CREO joins a delegation of young entrepreneurs at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles.