By Jonathan Ross
When the students entered the lab room and saw the Chromebooks open to a video game, they showed immediate interest and enthusiasm. Almost all of the children were incredibly eager to begin playing the game once they completed the preliminary handwashing at the sink. Although some initially struggled with understanding the controls and purpose of Bubble Beats, with some instruction and explanation, they quickly grasped the basics. They were able to progress through the different hand-washing steps easily. Once they were introduced to the ability to check their hands under the UV light in the game, the students began choosing their hand-washing method to target the areas of hands still covered in germs so that they could wash their hands in their entirety. Both the point system and the UV light helped the players understand the handwashing moves, with one child commenting, “I know I did the right thing if my points are going up.”
Especially in a learning tool designed for younger children, being able to keep the players interested is a critical task; the fire “easter egg” helped accomplish this. With certain moves, if the player rubbed their hands too fast the sink would catch on fire. The fire easter egg was very entertaining for the young students; they would burst out into laughter each time they found it, and many of them would tell their friends about it so they could find it as well. The fire easter egg prompted the children to continue playing to look for other such features. One of the features the students were most excited by was the different rewards given after completing the game. These different unlockable skins encouraged the students to play again multiple times to earn all of them. The children enjoyed the customizability of the skins which kept the game novel for them each time they played it again. The children also seemed motivated to play the game to completion. This meant collecting all the skins which required them to play multiple times.
The students clearly enjoyed playing the game. When it was time to clean up and wash their hands again at the sink to see if they improved their technique, more than a few asked if they could continue playing Bubble Beats. Overall, the video game showed potential as a powerful learning tool, keeping students engaged for the entire classroom period, many of them with big smiles on their faces.
Written by: Jonathan Ross, undergraduate pre-med student at UCI (University of California Irvine)
Mentor and Advisor: Dr Jasminka M. Vukanovic-Criley
Dr. Jasminka Vukanovic-Criley MD, FACP, FHM is a multiple award-winning physician, internist, hospitalist, healthcare & education innovator & Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA. She is a career mentor & advisor to numerous undergraduate, graduate & postgraduate students & faculty. As a researcher, Dr. Criley received awards from the National Institutes of Health & the U.S. Department of Education Her work focuses on creating research-driven #edtech games & digital media to improve health, civics, science education & promote healthy habits. Dr Criley is also a sought-after speaker & a founding Board member of Physician’s Weekly. She can be reached on X at @criley_md and at www.linkedin.com/in/jasminka-criley-md