Thought Leaders in Online Gaming: Jumpstart Games CEO David Lord (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: What results do you have?

David Lord: We’re in 50 to 60 schools already. We’ve got 500 classrooms. We’ve got our first efficacy report that has been peer-reviewed. We’re seeing great results – about 18% improvement in scores in standardized tests using our Jumpstart Academy math product. We’re starting with that and we’ll build the rest of the suite. On the school side, we’ll not only offer grade-based products, but we also offer single subject stack.

There will be a STEM stack with a math product. There’s computational thinking. There will be reading. You can also buy the product as a full set. We’re moving quickly to have a full suite to service our primary audience which is preschool to 6th grade.

Sramana Mitra: If you double-click down on where that test improvement is coming from, what specifically in the methodology is driving the result?

David Lord: It’s a game-based learning concept so we’re getting better engagement. It turns into more practice and a wider range of students being engaged so that the learning is a little bit less rigid and much more fun. It’s not like our consumer products which are more on the fun side. The classroom products are very focused to deliver exactly what the teacher wants by common core standards of the topic. We can dive up a little bit or dive down.

By putting gamification into the process and game-based learning in the actual learning of the math, we’re able to get better engagement with the student. That’s really what it comes down to when you’re talking about game-based learning. You’re getting more engagement. The child is more passionate about the subject matter because they like the game. It’s not memorization. It’s actual learning.

Sramana Mitra: Can you give me an example of a gamified exercise that is popular in your suite?

David Lord: Let’s take your typical racer product. We have a math product where you race in a futuristic space tunnel in your space vehicle. As you come around avoiding obstacles, you come upon a monster every 20 seconds. That monster delivers the math of whatever problem you’re going to be engaged in. You’ve got to answer the math questions. You’ve got to click them as the monster is taking swings at you.

There’s also the time element. You’re in this rush to respond and get your learning in but you’re in the middle of the game process. That’s the gamification. You’re trying to level up and the faster you go, the more points you get. Because it’s not just your standard game, we have kids who average playing it for 20 minutes. They’re going to get hundreds of hundreds of math questions.

This segment is part 2 in the series : Thought Leaders in Online Gaming: Jumpstart Games CEO David Lord
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