KU Leuven-iMinds

Playing Educational Math Games at Home: The Monkey Tales Case

The integration of educational math games into the home environment reveals a significant tension between intended pedagogical goals and the reality of child-led play.

• Educational math games often fail because children prioritize entertainment over pedagogical goals, leading them to subvert rigid 3D structures through guessing or skipping content.
• A six-month ethnographic study of Monkey Tales reveals that when game mechanics are perceived as overly restrictive or lacking in replayability, users frequently abandon the software entirely.
• The home environment creates a distinct dynamic where children actively negotiate play time and resist educational mandates that interfere with their primary objective of gaming.