How much does the game cost?
Nothing! The EDU version of the game is completely free to all educators and students. No license or accounts are required to play and we do not track any personal data.
Just click on “Play Game” under any of the five individual modules to access the game.
What hardware and software do I need to play?
Walden, a game EDU is a web app that you can play in your Chrome browser on any platform that meets these specifications:
Minimum and recommended requirements:
Macintosh laptop or desktop, Windows PC laptop or desktop, Chromebook with minimum 4GB RAM and Intel Celeron graphics
Chrome browser (we recommend updating to the latest version)
Internet connection with download speed > 25 Mbps
Support for WebGL
Hardware acceleration turned on in Chrome
Note that the game will not run on tablets, phones or other mobile devices that do not support WebGL.
Some schools may have certain types of sites blocked at the network level. If you are able to reach other sites, but not the Walden EDU games, please contact your system administrator, as they may be blocking WebGL apps, such as games, from playing on your network.
You can test your hardware, browser and set up using this tool:
Do you have any online support for teachers?
Yes! We have a Facebook group where teachers can interact with each other and the Walden Team for support and sharing of ideas about game-based learning and using Walden EDU in the classroom. You can join the group here: http://www.facebook.com/groups/waldengameedusupport
If you require direct technical support, please contact us at uscgameinnovationlab@gmail.com for assistance.
Privacy and safety
Walden, a game EDU does not require students to create individual accounts and we do not track, store, or share personal information from students.
The website uses Google analytics to track usage of our website and applications, however, no personal information is tracked.
The overall privacy policy for the project can be found here, but if you require a privacy statement on our letterhead for your administration, please reach out to us at uscgameinnovationlab@gmail.com.
trouble-shooting results from the test tool
If you ran the test tool and received a failure message, there may be several things you can do:
Low download speed: If you do not have sufficient download speed to load the WebGL game app, you may not be able to play at that location. Please note that the game will run fine once the app has been downloaded and cached, even on a low speed connection, however, getting the game to load at Internet speeds less than 25 Mbps will be problematic. On low speed connections and with minimum hardware specs, the app may give errors on loading, such as saying the page is “unresponsive.” Try choosing “wait” on this error and if the connection is working, very often the game will continue loading even after getting this error. For very low speed connections, the game may take up to 15 minutes to load the first time you play. Once it is cached for subsequent plays, the game will load more quickly. We advise having students start downloading the game as you engage them in the warm-up lessons so that all machines are ready to go on the main title menu when you plan to start the game play session.
Hardware acceleration test: By default, hardware acceleration is turned “on” in Chrome, so unless you have disabled it, you should not get this error. However, if the test tool returns a failure notice on this test, please enable it in the browser advanced settings. See instructions in the next section for accessing these settings.
Platform test: If you receive a failure message regarding your platform test, you may not have the required hardware or software as noted in the minimum spec above.
How do i check my “GPU Settings”?
If you get a message in the game or in our test tool that directs you to check your GPU settings, you’ll need to enable “hardware acceleration” in your browser settings. follow these instructions:
If you are using the Chrome browser:
1. Click the ‘three-dot’ menu in the upper-right area of Chrome, and click on “Settings”.
2. On the resulting page, look for the “Advanced” in the list of items on the left. Click on the arrow to open up the “Advanced” options.
3. Click on “System”.
4. In the “System” options, make sure that the “Use hardware acceleration when available” option is turned on.
5. Restart Chrome.
If you are using the Firefox browser:
1. Click the ‘three-dash’ menu in the upper-right area of Firefox, and click on “Settings”.
2. On the resulting page, which should default to the “General” menu, scroll down to find the “Performance” section.
3. Under the “Performance” section, uncheck “Use recommended performance settings”. This will surface the “Use hardware acceleration when available” setting.
4. Check the “Use hardware acceleration when available” option.
5. Restart Firefox.
loading & known bugs
Walden, a game EDU is currently in development and we are working hard to make sure the game is usable, stable and meets the needs of teachers and students. Right now there are some known issues regarding loading the game, especially on lower end Chromebooks and connection speeds. Please be patient - let the loading process continue, even if you get “page unresponsive” errors. Select “wait” and the game will continue to load.
Currently the game is not functioning on Chromebooks with some Mediatek graphics cards. We are looking into this, but the behavior is that the app will load, but instead of displaying the title screen, a “unhappy face” will appear at the end of the loading process. We apologize, but currently are only supporting Chromebooks with Intel Celeron graphics, which make up the majority of machines in schools.
The EDU version does not run on tablets, phones or other devices that do not support WebGL. There are no plans at this time to support non-WebGL devices.
If you encounter bugs that are not listed here, we very much appreciate your help in reporting them so that they can be addressed. You can send info to us at uscgameinnovationlab@gmail.com.
