Fun and Culturally Based Video Games Boost Math Skills During the Pandemic

Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) is back exploring how
Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current
pandemic health crisis.


 


On today’s show, Leah meets two dynamic education innovators who
are helping bolster math skills for students, by drawing on
Indigenous language and history, and creating fun and engaging
digital games.


 


Leah talks with CEO Maria Burns Ortiz and Juliana Taken Alive
(Hunkpapa/Mnicoujou Lakota and Standing Rock Nation) who is
Director of Regional Partnerships for 7 Generation Games. 
Maria Burns Ortiz co-founded the company back in 2013. Since
then, 7 Generation Games has been braiding math, language, and
Indigenous history into educational games for students and
schools across the country. 


 


In November of 2020, the company was awarded a one-million-dollar
COVID-19 Rapid Response grant from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, aimed at creating more resources to help meet the
challenges in education during the pandemic, especially for
students in Indigenous, Latino, underserved, and rural
communities.


 


The popularity of these 7 Generation Games has grown swiftly
among students, parents, and educators as everyone strives to
keep young people engaged and learning through all the challenges
brought on by the pandemic.  Maria and Juliana explain how
the company has sought counsel from elders and students to meet
multiple goals: to increase learning about historical and
contemporary Indigenous culture and to demonstrate measurable
improvement in math skills among students playing the games.


 


Miigwech to Maria and Juliana for your creative innovation, even
during the pandemic!  


Check out 7 Generation Games here:
https://www.7generationgames.com/


 


Listen to past COVID-19 Community Conversations here:
https://minnesotanativenews.org/category/community-conversations/