Amazing Coin
Important monetary lessons hampered by lack of individual control
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Amazing Coin
Pros: Earning "quarters" to buy "food" a compelling reward.
Cons: A lack of control, confusing money graphics, and language errors limit potential.
Bottom Line: Learning to manage money is limited by lack of control and unrealistic graphics.
Have students role-play real life situations where they could use the money skills they've learned. Have them pretend to shop, save money, pay for tolls, or get on the bus. You could also turn your classroom into a store and have students pretend to buy and sell goods, food, or other items. Once familiar with the game, students could use it to independently practice coin identification and manipulation.
Amazing Coin helps students identify different denominations of money and learn about the basics of money management. Games include spelling the names of the coins, matching coins, ranking coins in order of value, paying for items, and making change. Accompanying the games are printed and verbal instructions. Kids earn "quarters" for completing levels so they can buy food to put in their refrigerator and "eat."
One issue is that the coin graphics would be more effective if they were more realistic. Coins that looked more real would help students better connect them to currency they see in the real world. Also, the sizes of the coins might be confusing, with the nickel and quarter appearing the same. There are also some grammatical errors in the instructions. However, the most limiting factor is the lack of control that players have. Players are unable to select levels, exit the game, or even begin over unless all of the levels are complete. On the positive side, each level has some verbal direction as well as on-screen directions and positive verbal praise.