Games That Make You Smarter

Maria Burns Ortiz

As the COVID19 pandemic forces school districts nationwide to distance learning, I see the “classroom of the future” in action – and it is a classroom that is clearly segregated among economic class lines, where kids who are already behind are being left out altogether. While I watch friends and […]

How EdTech Has Failed Low-Resourced Communities

April 16, 2020 in Educational Games by Maria Burns Ortiz

I will make this post quick because I only have 29 minutes to write it before I’m interrupted. On the flip side, I have 29 minutes before I’m interrupted – and even then it will only be a three-minute interruption before I get myself another 29 minutes. I can hear […]

My Hack to Getting the Kids to Do Educational Things ...

March 18, 2020 in Educational Games by Maria Burns Ortiz

kids playing 7 Generation games — As of March 16 until U.S. schools reopen, 7 Generation Games is making all of our games and apps available for free for everyone. CLICK HERE TO GET ACCESS TO ALL OUR GAMES FOR FREE. Thirty-three states and D.C. have closed schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that […]

7 Generation Games and Apps Now Available for Free

March 16, 2020 in Educational Games by Maria Burns Ortiz

If you’re going to run a startup, you have to be able to accept a certain level of uncertainty. You never know what’s going to work – or not work. Will this social media approach be the right one? Will this blog topic generate a bunch of views? Will going to […]

You Never Know

February 28, 2020 in Start-up Diaries by Maria Burns Ortiz

Almost four year ago, we released our initial beta of our very first game, Spirit Lake. And we got a lot of positive feedback. The 3D virtual world looked great. Kids were engaged. Math scores went up. But we knew it could be even better. It was good – but […]

The Perfect Time to Get “Spirit Lake: The Game” Has ...

January 22, 2020 in 7GenGames / Educational Games by Maria Burns Ortiz

Six out of 10 people say they feel pressured to overspend during the holiday season. That can be especially concerning because too often that overspending means putting the purchase on a credit card – which is frightening because 39% of American adults don’t understand compound interest and even fewer know […]

Take a Break From Holiday Spending With These Great Games

December 10, 2019 in Holiday by Maria Burns Ortiz

If you are anywhere near the Internet today – and obviously you are since you’re reading this post – you’re probably being inundated by Giving Tuesday posts. If you don’t know what Giving Tuesday is, it’s the official end to the post-Thanksgiving spend-a-palooza that incorporates Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday/Giving […]

Giving Tuesday: Give Us Time, We’ll Give Games

December 3, 2019 in Educational Games by Maria Burns Ortiz

Is Santa coming tonight? It’s a question my 3-year-old has been asking me since the day after Thanksgiving. After all, the holidays are upon us! As if you needed a reminder with all the twinkling Christmas lights popping up, carols on the radio and probably 9 million email promotions reminding […]

The 7 Generation Games Christmas Countdown Calendar Is Coming to ...

November 30, 2019 in Holiday by Maria Burns Ortiz

Most people probably don’t envision a 61-year-old Latina grandmother of six when they hear the term “tech entrepreneur.” Of course, those people don’t know 7 Generation Games president and co-founder AnnMaria De Mars, who is a driving force behind our incredible games and reshaping the narrative about what it means […]

7 Generation Games President AnnMaria De Mars Named AARP Purpose ...

November 13, 2019 in Awards by Maria Burns Ortiz

sugar skulls dia de los muertos — Maybe you know all about the traditional Mexican holiday celebrating the “Day of the Dead.” Maybe you don’t. In fact, if you’re reading a piece titled “What is Día de los Muertos?” we’re going to assume you don’t know that much about the topic. Let’s start with what Día de […]

What is Día de los Muertos?

November 4, 2019 in Cultural content by Maria Burns Ortiz

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do…” How many times have you said this to someone? Almost all of us say it, and we usually mean it. Or at least, we mean it to an extent. But how often do we actually ask people to do anything for […]

7 Generation Games “CAN DO”

July 12, 2019 in Educational Games by Maria Burns Ortiz

Cal in his cowboy outfit 2 days into moving our startup to the midwest — How is moving our startup to the Midwest going? If you’ve been following along, you know that we’re opening a 7 Generation Games office in Minneapolis this month. If you want to meet and talk about educational software that teaches Native American history, math and English/ Language arts for grades […]

Moving our startup to the Midwest

July 3, 2019 in rural education / Start-up Diaries tagged moving our startup by Maria Burns Ortiz