Company helps students learn by playing games
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
August 20, 2010
By Jasmine Osby
At a time when technology is incorporated into every aspect of learning, Kristin Edmonds, 47, has created a game that is educational and interactive.
Mindfull Games, a Chesterfield company that focuses on improving literacy and standardized test scores for students, was created by Edmonds and her parents, Dr. Robert and Naomi Edmonds, in 2006.
Edmonds, a speech pathologist, said the idea for Mindfull Games began years ago while she was working at a rehabilitation hospital in Boston. There, she discovered that using games to treat speech and language delays and disorders in children was highly effective.
Since then, Mindfull Games has become a household name among educators, being recognized by Washington University, the National School Supply and Equipment Association and noted toy expert Stevanne Auerbach.
In June, Mindfull Games won third place in the St. Louis County Economic Council Business Plan Competition, winning $20,000 and in-kind services from several local firms.
How has playing Mindfull Games products affected your own children?
Helping me develop word games has helped my children learn some new vocabulary words.
By playing games with friends and getting feedback, they have learned about marketing. My kids were helpful and instrumental in adjusting the game methods, choosing the box graphics and developing the Verbal Volley logo.
Is there a market for educational games?
Absolutely. Teachers always use games to motivate students. A lot of kids and adults play card games at parties.
Kids who like Apples to Apples, Taboo and other word games also like to play Verbal Volley (a synonym and antonym game that assists in expanding vocabulary for school, literacy and spoken expression).
How do tabletop word games like Verbal Volley compete with modern computer games?
Tabletop board and card games will always be around because they bring people together. They provide social experiences that don't come across on a computer.
An example would be getting a reaction to the use of sarcasm or puns -- higher level word play. Puns don't work on computers. A computer won't laugh with you, but a group of friends will. Computers don't provide good opportunities for practicing spoken language and vocabulary.
Who uses Mindfull Games products?
Although we make children's games, some of our first return customers were therapists working with adults after they'd had a stroke or brain injury.
Parents, teachers, speech pathologists and word game enthusiasts buy our games. Gifted educators use our games because they are so open-ended. They allow kids to learn as many words as they want to in as many languages as they want to.
What results have you seen after people have used your learning materials?
I have gotten anecdotal reports of improvements, like from the Parkway School District gifted program. They reported to the Suburban Journals that Parkway teachers saw higher level vocabulary coming out in their students' writing after they had used our SAT/ACT vocabulary games.
Our games target expressive use of vocabulary, rather than just the ability to visually identify words and match definitions to them. Verbal Volley players practice using words while communicating with other people.
