FLORIDA – Educators of all stripes have long recognized the value of presenting information in the form of games. People just seem to retain knowledge or lessons better when learning is fun.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is the latest organization to board the ‘edutainment’ train, with an online sequel of five games designed to teach young players the rules and best practices of saltwater fishing in the United States. the Sunshine State.
What would you like to know
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Now Has Fishing Games On Its Website
- The five games are designed to educate and inform young fishermen about marine species and the care
- Games can be played in a web browser
“We have employees who have been talking for many, many years about making some kind of cool game,” says Amanda Nalley of FWC’s Marine Fisheries Management Department. “When COVID hit it became even more important, during this time when we couldn’t really reach out in person – especially to the children who are our future fishermen and the future of fishing.”
The new suite of games from the FWC. (FWC / Screenshot)
The “Gone Fishin ‘” web application offers five games playable in a web browser. “Let’s Go Fishing” teaches players the equipment they will need to fish both from a boat and from shore, then allows them to cast a line to shoot a variety of species. “Fish Handling” is a more directly educational experience consisting of a video and a subsequent quiz. “Heal the Reef” encourages participants to catch invading lionfish and remove them from three different underwater environments (and skill levels) by clicking and dragging them into a net, while cleaning up debris such as than aluminum cans and coffee cups thrown to the bottom of the ocean. “Fish Dissection” takes visitors through the process of a lionfish autopsy and offers an anatomy lesson using the popular playing fish the red drum or rockfish as a model, while “Habitat Matching” teaches which environments a variety of Florida saltwater fish call them home.
“Let’s go fishing” with new educational games from FWC. (FWC / Screenshot)
Most of the games cater directly to the 8-10 age group – Nalley says fourth graders were the concept’s initial demographic target – while the ‘Fish Dissection’ option was created for college or high school students who could soon have a real experience. World-class biology dissections. But interested parties of all ages can also find interesting new facts and entertaining elements in “Gone Fishin ‘”, especially those younger than the expected age who have already expressed an interest in angling or biology. marine in general.
Educational technology creator Pubbly – a company known for interactive e-books as well as games – created “Gone Fishin ‘”, and the five components are appropriately designed for a younger audience, with easy point-and-click controls. and simple voiceover instructions.
The game “Fish Dissection” is the most directly educational. (FWC / screenshot)
Nalley says the web app evolved from a desire by the Lionfish Division of FWC to create another tool to educate the public about this raptor invader, which poses a serious threat to coastal and coastal marine ecosystems. Florida.
“They had the funding to kind of start the process,” she says. “They found Pubbly, and they reached out to our education and education officials to make the games more inclusive.”
The FWC is reaching out to the fishing clubs it works with to help spread awareness of ‘Gone Fishin’, adding that the games have attracted interest from various museums and science centers across the state.
“We’re always looking for bigger and better ways to reach more people,” she says. “It’s a big state and we are a small staff, and if you can’t go to the people [during COVID] you can always help more people come to you.
