Games That Make You Smarter

Maria Burns Ortiz

The California Association of Bilingual Education’s annual conference is the “must attend” event for anyone working in bilingual education in the state. Our CEO Maria Burns Ortiz and one of our teacher consultants Jovi Buendia are at CABE in San Francisco to present on educational games and ELL. If you’re […]

7 Generation Games at CABE 2016

March 24, 2016 in 7GenGames / Events by Maria Burns Ortiz

The annual school book fair was last week. After the opening day, my nearly-8-year-old informed me that she had scoped out the merchandise and had a sizable wish list. We are very pro-books in our house, so we gave her $20, which she said would be “a good start.” I […]

Taxes and Chocolate Calculators

March 21, 2016 in Parenting Like I Know What I'm Doing by Maria Burns Ortiz

The annual convergence of the video game industry known as GDC ends today, so I thought it was worth sharing what I took away from attending the event when I dropped in for the Expo. I went to GDC expecting to see a lot of cool games and ideas, which […]

GDC 2016: A Few Final Observations

March 18, 2016 in Start-up Diaries by Maria Burns Ortiz

To anyone questioning whether “this VR thing” is going to get bigger/stick around, all signs at the Game Developers Conference 2016 point to yes. Actually, given what I saw at GDC, it’s more of a YES! If the looming Oculus installation when you walked into the expo didn’t hammer that […]

GDC 2016: The Reality About Virtual Reality

March 17, 2016 in Start-up Diaries by Maria Burns Ortiz

Kids are different. They’re just born different. That was the gist of a NY Times post the other day titled, “Some Babies Are Just Easier Than Others.” It couldn’t be more true.* Of course, I didn’t need a blog post or any articles/books/studies to clue me in on that fact. […]

They’re Definitely Different

March 17, 2016 in Parenting Like I Know What I'm Doing by Maria Burns Ortiz

One of the video games industry’s biggest annual events, the Game Developers Conference is underway in San Francisco. CEO Maria Burns Ortiz up to check out GDC and see what cool ideas she could come away with for our upcoming games. You can see all the advances in gaming and […]

7 Generation Games Is Live from GDC 2016

March 16, 2016 in Start-up Diaries by Maria Burns Ortiz

Welcome to “Parenting Like I Know What I’m Doing,” 7 Generation Games’ new blog that takes a look at parenting – well at least from one person’s perspective (mine)! If you don’t want to read the whole bio, the quick version is I’m Maria Burns Ortiz, co-founder and CEO of 7 Generation […]

Parenting Like I Know What I’m Doing: Welcome to Our ...

March 15, 2016 in Parenting Like I Know What I'm Doing by Maria Burns Ortiz

Daylight Saving Time was clearly the idea of someone who didn’t have children to get off to school. This morning marked possibly the least favorite morning of the year for parents nationwide as moms and dads had to struggle with rousing young children out of bed for school an hour […]

“Mom, Let Me Sleep”: The History & Conflicting Math Behind ...

March 14, 2016 in Parenting Like I Know What I'm Doing by Maria Burns Ortiz

As I watched the pitches at Twin Cities Startup Weekend EDU, I couldn’t help but notice all the teams radiated the excitement and enthusiasm of those new to entrepreneurship. It’s that combination of idealism and idea that gets all of us into the startup life. I was really impressed by […]

There’s No Such Thing As Easy Money

March 2, 2016 in Start-up Diaries by Maria Burns Ortiz

The digital divide is a frequent topic of conversation around the 7 Generation Games offices. The digital divide refers to the gap between those who have regular computer/Internet access and those who don’t. The subject came to the forefront again recently after an article in USA Today, that […]

The Digital Divide: Creating Technology For The Millions In America ...

February 10, 2016 in 7GenGames / Newsletter / Start-up Diaries tagged Digital Divide / Internet Access / Maria Burns Ortiz / newsletter by Maria Burns Ortiz

I took the afternoon off work yesterday to take a much-needed break and take my kids to Disneyland. The startup life is a grind, and occasionally, you need to be able to step back, if only for a few hours to recharge and refocus. While I haven’t been on the […]

How 7 Generation Games Is Just Like Disneyland

January 22, 2016 in Start-up Diaries by Maria Burns Ortiz

Kids playing game — It might be “Winter Break” for schools, but at 7 Generation Games we’re keeping as busy as ever. As part of those efforts, our president, AnnMaria De Mars, headed out to St. Louis to meet up with members of our 7 Generation Games remote team as well as some fans […]

7 Generation Games Traveling Road Show Hits St. Louis

December 30, 2015 in 7GenGames by Maria Burns Ortiz