Testimonials

 


  Richard Soos
"It's great to hear these students talking about how the Moon was formed when we talk about the solar system. They are hypothesizing that perhaps the planets were formed the same way. We would not have reached these levels of discussion without the little bit of work they did on the Selene project."




  Mary Ann O.
"My kids love astronomy and had a fairly sophisticated (for their ages–9 and 11) knowledge of the subject going into the game. But it is amazing how different actually BUILDING a moon is from just reading about how it formed. There is real power in creation–the lesson, I believe, will stay in their minds for a long time to come and has given them a really strong base on which to build future learning. Not only did they enjoy the game (they've gone back to it several times), but they have a much better grasp of the concepts that were presented than they did before the game and can explain them to other people. When you can explain a difficult concept to someone else and have them understand it as well, you demonstrate that you have truly internalized the material. Both of them have commented on how much more they enjoyed learning in this “hands on” way, rather than just reading about it or listening to someone talk about it. As homeschoolers, we delight in trying out new and innovative approaches to education, and I truly believe that learning games like Selene are on the evolutionary cusp of a whole new way of learning for future generations of scientists!"

• My 11-year-old son, Tommy, finished the game and LOVED it. He was so excited and pumped up when he was done, even though, right at the last second, when he was creating his moon in round 2, he accidentally blew it up with his last impact and had to start again! He was delighted with the game. He thought the videos were maybe a bit too long and didn't tell him anything that he didn't already know. He enjoyed them anyway, just thought maybe they were a bit too long. He felt like he learned a lot and has a better grasp of exactly how the Moon formed. It is easy to say that all the debris collided and formed the Moon, but seeing exactly how and in what mixture it had to collide, really made it more real.
  
  
• Tommy and I discussed last night how boring for him school had been because everything was "read out of a book." He is, and I feel many children are, very hands on, and learns so much better when he has more of his senses involved in the learning experience. It is not just the learning, but the retention as well, that improves so much when the learning is hands on. That was one of the reasons we chose to homeschool him. He hated school, was utterly bored, and very unhappy. I had asked him, as a writing assignment some years ago, to propose to me how to interest more children in space sciences, and believe it or not, his whole proposal revolved around videogames! So he was thrilled to see that his idea is catching on! The reason we got involved in your project is our passion for promoting science education and for getting children of the current generation to feel the same wonder about outer space exploration that my husband and I did as children.

• James enjoyed the game as well and actually was explaining to me how to do the craters, etc.... I hadn't understood how the graphs on the top were meant to indicate how many craters, etc., you placed in a certain time period, but James figured that out pretty quickly and explained it to me! It was obvious once he explained it to me, but until that point I hadn't understood what they were for. He wants to work on the Lunar Observation Project, so we will start on that as soon as we have a little bit of a warmer evening.... it's pretty cold tonight!

  I was interested to read in your professional papers that the "game is designed to help students generate the types of early knowledge that are likely to help them learn." I saw direct evidence of this with the boys. Yes, they had some scattered bits of knowledge about the Moon’s formation in their heads already, but the game definitely helped organize and enhance that knowledge. They are now ready and eager to learn all about the physics of collisions and want to learn more about why the collisions created heat. They would not have been ready to learn those things before they played the game.




  Dr. Leticia Martín
I have always loved astronomy and everything related to it. Probably, being born in the Canary Islands, with a beautiful starry sky and two astronomical observatories, has something to do with it. As a professional astronomer, I have dedicated many years to try to understand how the most massive stars are born. But astronomers, in contrast to other scientists, cannot touch what they are studying. The closest star, Proxima Centauri, is about 4 light-years away from us. Imagine: The light of this star takes four whole years to reach Earth. And only a privileged few have had the opportunity of setting foot on the Moon. This is the reason why playing the Selene videogame was so exciting. While playing it, I was right there, before the Moon was even created, throwing asteroids and trying to gather enough material to build my own Moon. The game was challenging, and I learned quite a lot, even though I was already familiar with concepts such as accretion or differentiation. Now I am translating Selene into Spanish. My job is making sure that Selene is as exciting in Spanish as it is in English.

Siempre, desde niña, me ha gustado la astronomía y todo lo relacionado con ella. Probablemente, el hecho de haber nacido en las Islas Canarias, con un hermoso cielo estrellado y dos observatorios astronómicos, tiene algo que ver con esto. Como astrónoma profesional, he dedicado muchos años a intentar comprender cómo nacen las estrellas más masivas. Pero los astrónomos, a diferencia de otros científicos, no podemos tocar lo que estamos estudiando. La estrella más cercana, Próxima Centauri, está a unos cuatro años-luz de nosotros. Imagina: la luz de esta estrella tarda cuatro años en alcanzar la Tierra. Y solamente unos pocos privilegiados han tenido la oportunidad de poner los pies en la Luna. Esta es la razón por la que jugar al videojuego Selene ha sido tan emocionante. Mientras lo jugaba, era como si estuviera ahí mismo, antes de que la Luna se formara, lanzando asteroides e intentando acumular el suficiente material para construir mi propia Luna. El juego constituyó un desafío y aprendí muchísimas cosas nuevas, y eso que ya estaba familiarizada con conceptos como acreción o diferenciación. Ahora estoy traduciendo Selene al español. Mi trabajo de ahora en adelante es asegurarme de que Selene sea tan apasionante en español como en inglés.



  Dr. Hoyet Hemphill
"The Selene project incorporates an innovative use of elaborated metaphors to help make an abstract concept, like accretion of the Moon, more accessible and grounded for the learner by relating new concepts and processes to familiar objects and processes. The simulation is fun and engaging while teaching some very important and abstract concepts about the formation of the planets and the moons. Learners get to try to build their own moon and thus gain an understanding of how our Moon was formed. I think this project could point the way for future online educational simulations."



  Caroline Goode
"Observing my grandson, an eighth grade student, work through the pregame Selene and then the actual game, I was surprised by how quickly he learned the necessary 'ingredients' to recreate the formation of our Moon. He was totally engaged, talking his way through the game, and found the whole experience challenging and fun. I have worked for 25 years as a middle school science teacher and was impressed by the fast learning curve of Selene."



  Jennifer Hubbell Thomas
Selene clearly meets three of our Illinois state science standards. Additionally, Selene builds on concepts and helps students to learn them in a more meaningful and engaging manner. Several of my students expressed that the Selene game environment was a better avenue for learning than just reading and doing worksheets. I found that even students who weren’t particularly 'A' students were able to provide serious details, explain concepts, and express them using appropriate science vocabulary after playing Selene. This type of learning can be particularly challenging for junior high students. Even weeks after playing Selene, my students were still able to discuss concepts with great detail. Selene is a great way to 'teach,' especially when students have differing levels of reading ability. I say the more ways you have to teach something, the better!"



  Laura Wilbanks
"The Selene project has been an amazing way for my students to experience learning in the 21st century classroom. It offers everything a student could hope for: innovation, computer-based learning, excitement, and instant feedback! The simulation is appealing to the generation of children who are intrigued with videogaming and at the same time, meets Texas state science standards. With the United States fighting to stay at the cutting edge of the STEM fields, Selene offers students an authentic science experience that encourages them to stick with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics long after high school graduation."

 

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