The document describes a digital game-based learning platform built on cognitive science and aligned to Common Core standards. It is designed to develop literacy and cognitive skills in a fun and engaging way for students from kindergarten through middle school. The games were developed through collaboration between educators, cognitive psychologists, and game designers to incorporate the latest research and make learning enjoyable. Studies have shown the programs effectively increase literacy and cognitive abilities.

1. A
Digital
Game-­‐Based
Learning
Pla4orm
Built
Upon
Cogni:ve
Science
and
Common
Core
Alignment
1

2. Pyramid
of
Reading
and
Comprehension
Skills
Understand
Visualize
Reading
Relate
new
informa4on
built
on
prior
knowledge
to
Learn
Develop
a
plan
Self
correct
“Meta-­‐Cogni:ve”
Phonics,
phonemic
awareness
Decode
new
words
Learning
to
Read
Read
fluently
“Advanced
Cogni:ve”
Short-­‐term
memory
Pre-­‐Reading
Skills
Relate
parts
to
a
whole
“Basic
Cogni:ve”
Place
things
in
logical
order
2
www.SKOlearning.com

3. Educa:onal
Games
as
a
21st
Century
Learning
Modality
• Learning
is
changing
from
recall
and
repeat
informa:on
to
find
it,
evaluate
it
and
use
it
at
the
right
:me
and
in
the
right
context
– 20th
century
educa:on
-­‐
acquisi:on
of
basic
skills
– 21st
century
success
=
higher
order
skills
-­‐
solving
complex
problems,
interac:ng
cri:cally
through
language
and
media
• Games
naturally
support
this
form
of
educa:on.
• Games
are
designed
to
create
a
compelling
complex
world
– Players
learn
through
self-­‐directed
explora:on
– Learning
is
“just-­‐in-­‐:me”
– Players
use
feedback
data
to
understand
how
they
are
doing,
what
they
need
to
work
on
and
where
to
go
next
– Games
create
need
to
know,
a
need
to
ask,
examine,
assimilate
– Games
encourage
failing
to
reach
the
goal
established
by
a
game’s
rules
– Games
give
players
permission
to
take
risks
not
possible
in
“real
life”
– Games
ac:vate
tenacity
and
persistence
required
for
effec:ve
learning
www.SKOlearning.com 3

4. Educa:onal
Games
• A
large
body
of
scien:fic
research/literature
supports
the
use
of
educa:onal
games
as
an
effec:ve
and
vital
component
of
the
learning
process.
• The
armed
forces,
medical
schools,
and
civilian
airlines
have
been
using
digital
game-­‐based
learning
for
quite
some
:me.
www.SKOlearning.com 4

5. Educa:onal
Games
• Provide
brain
training
and
Literacy
development
• Proven
effec:ve
with
over
50,000
students
in
>
100
schools
– Qualita:vely
and
quan:ta:vely
proven
to
be
engaging
– Scien:fically
proven
to
increase
literacy
and
cogni:ve
skills
• Developed
by
leading
cogni:ve
psychologists,
educators
and
video
game
developers
• For
Kindergarten
through
Middle
School
www.SKOlearning.com 5

6. Learning
Made
Fun
Ramps
to
Reading
and
SkateKids
are
digital
literacy
and
cogni:ve
skill
development
programs
that
immerse
children
in
a
video
game-­‐based
virtual
world.
These
state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art
programs
combine
the
latest
research
in
contemporary
cogni:ve-­‐neuropsychology
with
sophis:cated
gaming
theory.
Their
efficacy
has
been
clinically
and
empirically
validated.
The
digital
game-­‐based
learning
environment
is
appropriate
for
learners
of
all
abili:es,
and
looks
and
feels
like
the
games
that
today’s
children
love
to
play.
The
ac:vi:es
are
fully
adap:ve
so
kids
are
never
bored,
never
overwhelmed,
and
always
learning.
www.SKOlearning.com 6

7. Why
It
Works:
Collabora:on
among
three
disciplines
SkateKids™
and
Ramps
to
Reading™
were
developed
as
a
joint
effort
between
educators,
cogni:ve
psychologists
and
digital
game
designers.
7

8. for
Primary
Grades
• Fine
motor
skills
• Keyboarding
and
mouse
func:ons
• Basic
cogni:ve
skills
– Selec:ve
a]en:on
– Memory
– Sequencing
– Planning
• Phonics
and
phonemic
awareness
•
Reading
fluency
and
comprehension
8
www.SKOlearning.com

9. for
Grades
3-­‐8
• Builds
on
the
Ramps
to
Reading
founda:on
by
providing
a
dynamic
virtual
environment
that
con:nually
adapts
to
the
abili:es
of
each
individual
student
– Great
selec:on
of
scien:fically
designed
games
– Uses
vocabulary
of
5,000
words
– Virtual
library
and
gigan:c
virtual
mall
• Develops
more
advanced
“meta-­‐cogni:ve”
skills
that
are
vital
to
learning
– Visualizing
– Developing
a
plan
– Solving
problems
– Self-­‐correc:ng
based
on
feedback
– Comprehending
and
using
what
is
read
9
www.SKOlearning.com

10. Crea:ng
Long-­‐term
Engagement
Virtual
World
and
social
networking
features
linked
to
student
progress
in
the
games
mo:vates
long-­‐term
engagement
making
learning
enduring
and
transferable
• Virtual
economy
– Credits
earned
when
levels
are
completed
– Students
create
and
customize
their
homes
and
neighborhoods
– Contextually
teaches
saving,
planning
for
purchases
and
delayed
gra:fica:on
– Mall
with
stores
and
hundreds
of
items
to
purchase
with
earned
credits
• Library
with
leveled
ebooks,
music
and
more
• Avatars:
Clothing,
hairstyles
and
personal
items
purchased
in
mall
• Social
networking
features
– Virtual
smartphone
• Safe
tex:ng
and
communica:on
• Daily
messages
to
students
– Neighborhood:
Visit
the
“homes”
of
friends
in
your
network
– Friends
List:
Keep
up
with
what
they
are
doing
10

11. World-­‐Renowned
Expert
on
Helping
Children
Learn
The
proven
science
behind
SkateKids™
and
Ramps
to
Reading™
is
based
on
modern
cogni:ve
and
psychology
theory
combined
with
Dr.
Jack
Naglieri’s
state-­‐
of-­‐the-­‐art
research
on
intelligence
and
assessing
/
developing
cogni:ve
ability.
• Dr.
Jack
Naglieri
is
the
developer
of
the
most
widely
used
tests
–
worldwide
–
of
intelligence
and
ability
including
general
ability,
gigedness,
and
au:sm
• Professor
at
University
of
Virginia,
Ohio
State,
George
Mason
University
• Author
of
16
books
&
more
than
250
scien:fic
papers
on
intelligence,
LD,
ADHD,
au:sm,
academic
instruc:on,
and
more
11

12. Neuroscience-­‐based
Learning
Principles:
PASS
Theory
Key
connec:on
among
cogni:ve
processes,
learning,
and
transfer
of
skill
development
Naglieri,
J.,
Fletcher,
M.,
and
Das,
J.P.
12
www.SKOlearning.com

13. Proof
of
Engagement
and
Efficacy
Collected
usage
data
from
over
50,000
students
• Over
35,000
unsolicited
student
comments
• Average
session
:me
of
15
minutes
• Students
love
learning
with
our
programs
Four
separate
research
studies
were
performed
with
general
and
clinical
popula:ons.
In
each
case,
significant
improvements
in
literacy
and
cogni:ve
development
were
observed:
• Reading
Fluency
of
students
using
the
program
improved
at
twice
the
rate
of
non-­‐treatment
group
• DIBELS
raw
score
effect
size
improvement
of
users
>.8
(sta:s:cally
significant)
vs.
.2
(sta:s:cally
insignificant)
for
non-­‐treatment
group
• Reading
comprehension
score
for
treatment
group
improved
at
almost
twice
:mes
the
rate
of
the
non-­‐treatment
group
• A
research
study
funded
by
the
W.K.
Kellogg
Founda:on
showed
significant
improvement
of
cogni:ve
skills
in
clinical
(FAS
impaired)
children
vs.
control
and
alterna:vely
treated
groups
13

14. Feedback
From
Students
14

15. Feedback
From
Educators
Teacher:
• “They
always
ask
for
SkateKids
first.”
Literacy
Leader:
• “The
kids
here
love
it!!!
That's
all
I've
heard...have
you
seen
the
new
SkateKids???
It's
really
cool!!!”
Principal:
• “If
I
let
them,
they
would
do
nothing
else!”
Literacy
Leader:
• “We
have
opened
the
lab
@7:30
a.m.
for
SkateKids.
I
sent
home
a
permission
le]er
for
our
2nd
through
5th
grade
students…
and
I
had
approximately
120
le]ers
returned
to
me...
I
created
a
scheduling
nightmare!!!”
15