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App review by Patricia Monticello Kievlan, Common Sense Education | Updated September 2016
Mars Gen One: Argubot Academy

Mars Gen One: Argubot Academy

Hone powerful persuasive skills on a red-planet adventure

Learning rating
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Community rating
Based on 1 review
Privacy rating
Not yet rated Expert evaluation by Common Sense
Grades
6–8
Subjects & Skills
English Language Arts, Science, Communication & Collaboration, Critical Thinking
Great for
Game-Based Learning
Platforms:  iPad
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Take a look inside

4 images
The game offers built-in tutorials for assembling argubot "cores," which consist of a claim and a supporting piece of evidence.
Duels pit argubots against each other in a battle for rhetorical supremacy.
Users explore Argubot Academy on a series of missions that grapple with the fate of the Martian colony.
Each mission is flexible enough to let the user choose their own arguments; it's less about which position the user takes than about arguing effectively.

Pros: Compelling visuals, feisty characters, and intriguing missions make for a rich learning experience.

Cons: Some features are still in development, and the app can have some battery life and stability issues.

Bottom Line: A visually appealing, pedagogically sound exploration of what makes a valid argument.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Teachers might use Mars Gen One: Argubot Academy to encourage students to complete the different missions and experiment with gathering and presenting evidence. Teachers might have kids share the particular points of view they chose to take in their duels on each mission, from the initial argument about ice cream flavors to later missions that deal with a potential pet for the academy.

Teachers can also use GlassLab's substantial data-collection resources to sort their students into class sections and track each student's progress through the game across Common Core State Standards-aligned tasks. 

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Standards:

Editor's Note: Mars Gen One: Argubot Academy is no longer available for download.

Mars Gen One: Argubot Academy is a slick, clever role-playing game that follows new cadet Zodiac Flynn through the first days of this earthling's life in a colony on Mars. Zodiac is the first native Earthling to join the Argubot Academy, a training facility otherwise populated by people born in the Mars colony of Bracket City. Zodiac's task is to learn the art of using argubots, the special robots that can be armed with argument cores and then engage in argument duels. Zodiac's task is to use argubots to explore a series of missions that grapple with key issues facing the Martian colonists.

There are several argubots: Authoritrons, Consebots, and Observatrons allow users to appeal to authority, cite consequences, and offer observations, respectively, in the course of their argument. As users amass evidence and progress through each mission, they consider important STEM-themed issues while learning key insights about the components of a valid argument. Users can download Mars Gen One on its own, and schools can sign up to use the Argubot Academy EDU edition, which features standards-aligned reporting, printable lesson plans, and classroom-management features for tracking students' progress.

Mars Gen One is the result of a partnership between game developer GlassLab, NASA, and the National Writing Project. The game was clearly designed with the Common Core in mind -- indeed, the teacher portal on the developer's website allows teachers to track and sort student progress through the different Academy missions according to various standards. Further, this partnership managed to produce an app that focuses as much on the STEM issues in the story (“What sort of protein should we eat? Do robots have feelings?") as on the important ELA skills needed to develop a successful argument.

The argubots at the heart of the game are a powerful metaphor, and they offer an illustration of the purpose and substance of making a solid argument. The take-home message of this game is that an argument is a tool that has to have certain components -- namely, a claim and evidence -- for it to work well. The game drives this point home as Zodiac trains with different types of argubots, learning how to build “cores” with complementary claims and evidence.

Overall Rating
Engagement

Engrossing missions feature imaginative STEM-themed issues. Meanwhile, it's exciting to discover that the game rewards users for making strong arguments -- not for picking a particular "correct" position.

Pedagogy

By teaching ELA standards through a STEM-themed storyline, the game is fundamentally interdisciplinary in all the right ways. Showing students how these skills bridge disciplines is a critical lesson, and that point is deftly delivered.

Support

Limited in-app support to track the number of missions remaining and the number accomplished, but the teacher support website (including the EDU edition support tools) and built-in helper robots make for a solid user experience.

Common Sense reviewer
Patricia Monticello Kievlan Foundation/nonprofit member
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Key Standards Supported

Reading History/Social Studies

  • RH.6-8.8

    Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.

Reading Science/Technical

  • RST.6-8.8

    Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.

Writing

  • W.6.1

    Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

  • W.6.1a

    Introduce claim(s) and organize the reasons and evidence clearly.

  • W.6.1b

    Support claim(s) with clear reasons and relevant evidence, using credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

  • W.6.1c

    Use words, phrases, and clauses to clarify the relationships among claim(s) and reasons.

  • W.7.1

    Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

Writing HS/S/T

  • WHST.6-8.1a

    Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.

  • WHST.6-8.1b

    Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.

  • WHST.6-8.1c

    Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

  • WHST.6-8.1d

    Establish and maintain a formal style.

  • WHST.6-8.1e

    Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

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Community Rating

Featured review by
Ann L. , Special education instructor
Special education instructor
Van Wyck Junior High School
Wappingers Falls, United States
Engaged Students Learning about Evidence
I absolutely enjoyed seeing my students so engaged in a learning activity. I would like to be able to set levels, as for my lower reading ability students. I would also like to be able to program my own evidence or topic into this game. It definitely showed the difference between good evidence and bad/poor evidence in supporting an argument. And it did so in a way that was fun for the students. I would used it again with another class working on argument writing.
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