Brain Quest - Show #49 and Review #1 by CLykowski
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 8:55AM I can remember when my kids were younger one of the best car games we would take on a road trip was Brain Quest. It was a fan deck of cards that came in various grade levels and subject areas. The questions were on one side and the answers were on the flip side.
Enter the 21st century version of Brain Quest ala iTunes, made for Apple’s iPod Touch and iPhone. (Grade levels available at the time of review: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7)
Players begin by entering their name on the Player’s screen and then choose from 6 curriculum-based categories; English, Math, History & Civics, Science, Geography and Grab Bag, with each category hosting nearly 2,000 questions written by grade-level specialists.
Once students have chosen their subject area, they have three challenge levels to complete. They ‘train their brain’ in the “Train Your Brain” area of game play in preparation to play in the “Rocket Round”.
In the “Train Your Brain” area you can choose from five types of play, Take your pick (multiple choice), Mind the gaps (fill in missing letters), Fun cards (flashcard style), Word Swirl ( word scramble), and The Real Deal (true/false).
As players complete the tasks at their pace, they earn trophies that are displayed on their Trophy Showcase.
Not only did I play Brain Quest, but I had several of my fifth grade students’ play as well. They all felt that the game became increasingly challenging and it kept their interest in wanting to achieve the next level. They also felt that it was user-friendly and easy to navigate the various screens and levels.
Grade Level: Brain Quest is available for grades 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.
Program Functionality: A / Very user-friendly and easy to navigate between the various levels and screens.
Purpose: B / Works well for review of grade level curricular material, although it is based on national standards and not on particular state standards.
Overall Educational Value: A / This has great value in a classroom setting and would work well for those students who need an extra challenge or who consistently complete their work ahead of the other students.
Cost: $ 4.99
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch. Requires iPhone OS 2.2 or later.
Recommendation: We recommend this app for personal use but we are not recommending this for schools as we think it is a little cost prohibitive as the amount of learning from the app doesn't warrant this cost.
Creators Web site: http://modality.com/
iTunes Link: Click Here
-- CLykowski
Brain, Memory, Thinking | in Early Elementary, Late Elementary 
Reader Comments (2)
Are you saying that the $US5 cost is too much for the potential gain of information from this game?
I haven't looked at the app, and respect your judgement on its educational worth, but the general cost of apps is turning us into misers!
Compare the cost of this - $5 for as many iPods as you like - with, well... the cost of anything!
(there's conversation to be had about licensing here, but until such time as Apple make a stand and publish information about what your app cost allows you to do, I'm going to assume that 'one payment fits all')
What can $5 buy you?
It would be very interesting, for the sake of comparison only, to examine the educational benefits of a $5 app, with those of something else you can get for $5.
A child at my school purchased an iPod app (a game) for around $20. Everyone gasped. But when someone buys software for their Playstation, or Nintendo DS or PC and pays, $50 or $100, no-one even mentions it!
Will iPod apps change the way we assign monetary value to educational outcomes?
How much money would this app need to cost for it to be worth buying for a school?
We have been spoiled by the cost of the apps for sure but there are lots of factors to consider. You make a valid point as apps are much less expensive than traditional applications.
1. How long will the one license / multiple device licensing last?
2. There has been an abundance of junk up to this point in the app store and people are shy to spend money on an ineffective app.
3. App development is open to anyone interested in designing an application so you are not always paying for expert development.
4. The apps are relatively easy to design so there is an overabundance of them. The more apps there are, the market will prevail by keeping the prices low.
I do think we are spoiled as you mention... It just means we can be more frugal as we have the upper hand as purchasers...