AnnMaria

This category is for posts written by Dr. AnnMaria De Mars.

cat — Well, it’s been a minute. Months ago, I started writing about reusable code and was then interrupted by flying around the country to present game results, getting an alpha version of our Aztech game to testers, getting Forgotten Trail ready for release FRIDAY (!!!) etc. You can read Part 1 […]

Game Design: Reusable Code, Part 2

April 27, 2016 in AnnMaria / Code Talk / Educational Games / Game Progress / Start-up Diaries by AnnMaria De Mars

I get this question all of the time, What’s it like working with your family? In case you don’t know, the three co-founders of 7 Generation Games are my husband, Dennis, me and my daughter, Maria. It’s not how most people seem to think. First of all, we’re not together […]

What’s it like working with your family? Part 347

April 26, 2016 in AnnMaria / Start-up Diaries by AnnMaria De Mars

Giant house screen shot — A few weeks ago, I posted an activity that I had started where the player had to find items in the giant’s house. (Brief background – in Forgotten Trail, there is a legend that involves a giant.) I asked input on options we were considering: Clicking on the item gives […]

Reader Comments Made into a Game

April 25, 2016 in AnnMaria / Game Progress by AnnMaria De Mars

Me thinking blah blah blah — Often people say they really support the work that we do, and although I like to be complimented as much as the next person, I am secretly thinking this: It’s sort of like hashtag activism. While tweeting, “Help our schools #education” probably makes a few teachers feel better, it is […]

The Best Ways to Encourage a Start-up Entrepreneur

April 25, 2016 in AnnMaria / Start-up Diaries by AnnMaria De Mars

Okay, it’s over, you missed hearing me live … I feel your disappointment, so I have linked to the full interview on youtube here. A week ago, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Sara Mohsin about our work at 7 Generation Games. The interview will be on the […]

I’m radio famous!

April 22, 2016 in 7GenGames / AnnMaria by AnnMaria De Mars

Going through our archives, we came across this great post from September 20, 2014 “Will It Matter in 2026?” that we wanted to share in case you missed it the first time around. I doubt I’ll ever do this but it’s an interesting thought …. You hear about people writing letters to […]

Throwback Thursday: Will It Matter In 2026?

April 21, 2016 in 7GenGames / AnnMaria / Throwback Thursday tagged Advice / AnnMaria De Mars / Dr. AnnMaria De Mars / Life / Throwback Thursday by Erick Salomon

Going through our archives, we came across this great post from November 9, 2014 “Something I Learned as a Grown-Up: More Than One Way is Right” that we wanted to share in case you missed it the first time around. It’s been 17 years since I lived in North Dakota, so when […]

Throwback Thursday: Something I Learned as a Grown-Up: More Than ...

April 14, 2016 in 7GenGames / AnnMaria / Throwback Thursday tagged Advice / AnnMaria De Mars / Dr. AnnMaria De Mars / Growing Up / Throwback Thursday by Erick Salomon

teachers — Forgotten Trail will be available next week, Aztech in another month, and we’re already working on updates and expansion. It’s true as a wise man once told me, Great games are like great artwork. They are never finished. They are just abandoned. Our latest project is adding levels of difficulty […]

Giving Students Control in Math Class

April 12, 2016 in AnnMaria / Education: Innovation and STEM / Educational Games / Game Progress by AnnMaria De Mars

Going through our archives, we came across this great post from December 9, 2014 “Why I Don’t “Just Ask My Daughter“” that we wanted to share in case you missed it the first time around. I run a company that makes games to teach math. They are also really fun. You can try […]

Throwback Thursday: Why I Don’t “Just Ask My Daughter”

April 7, 2016 in 7GenGames / AnnMaria / Throwback Thursday tagged Dr. AnnMaria De Mars / investors / Money / Ronda Rousey / Throwback Thursday by Erick Salomon

bags of money — Entrepreneurs often hear that investors are only interested after a company has “traction”. Recently, our CEO made a wasted trip to meet someone who allegedly is interested in funding women-owned start-ups. At the meeting, she was told, “You’re too early for us. We don’t usually invest until a company is […]

Catch-22 for Start-up Funding: Inequality 101

April 7, 2016 in AnnMaria / Start-up Diaries by AnnMaria De Mars

Draft 2 — I went to the Computer Users in Education conference in Palm Springs last month, not knowing what to expect. It turned out to be way cooler than what you’d expect and I definitely intend to go back for more reasons than I can tell you in just one post. One […]

CUE Meets the Giant

April 4, 2016 in AnnMaria / Education: Innovation and STEM / Educational Games / Game Progress by AnnMaria De Mars

I have been teaching for 30 years – middle school, undergraduates, graduate students. I’ve given out my share of failing grades during that time, probably more than most people because in mathematics, statistics and programming courses, there is not much room for giving the student the benefit of the doubt. […]

What I Want to Say to Students Who Fail

April 3, 2016 in AnnMaria by AnnMaria De Mars

Games That Make You Smarter