Learning Real-World Skills Through Game Creation

November 19, 2025 by Leave a Comment

📚 Part of our guide: Free online games for homeschoolers

Learning Real World Skills through Game Creation

350: Learning Real-World Skills Through Game Creation with Matt Dalio of Endless Studios

In this episode, Meryl van der Merwe talks with Matt Dalio, founder of Endless Studios, about why game creation—not just game playing—can equip teens with powerful, real-world skills for future careers.

Matt shares:

His Backstory and Mission

  • How early experiences living in China and working with orphans shaped his desire to create worldwide access to digital skills.

  • Why technological literacy today is lower than literacy in the Dark Ages, and why that must change.

  • His belief that millions of young people can gain job-ready technical skills through creating games.

Why Game Creation Matters

  • Uses real professional tools such as Unity, Unreal, Godot, Blender, and GitHub.

  • Teaches computational thinking, teamwork, project management, design, and coding.

  • Mirrors real-world workflows used in startups and tech companies.

  • Allows kids to shift from consumers to creators.

Tools Matt Recommends for Students

All of these are free to download:

  1. EndStar
    Endless Studios’ tool built on Unity, designed to take students from Minecraft-level skills to professional-level game engine skills. It includes wiring systems, logic blocks, and gradual scaffolding into real scripting.

  2. Godot
    An open-source engine that runs well on low-end computers. Endless Studios is building scaffolding tools on top of it, including block coding and collaborative editing features.

  3. Roblox Studio
    Ideal for kids already using Roblox. Uses Lua scripting and has a large online community.

  4. Scratch
    A simple entry-level environment that helps absolute beginners understand basic logic and design principles.

Matt also recommends courses on Udemy, Coursera, and similar platforms for structured learning. Many students, like past podcast guest Matthew, have taught themselves professional-level skills using these resources.

The Power of Community Learning

Matt emphasizes that students learn best through collaboration. Platforms like GitHub allow students to contribute to real-world projects, receive mentorship, and learn modern software development workflows. This form of apprenticeship is one of the most effective and scalable ways to build proficiency.

Key Takeaways for Homeschool Parents

  • You do not need to know anything about game design to support your child.

  • Game creation teaches real workforce skills, even for students who never plan to work in gaming.

  • Encourage your students to shift from playing games to building them.

  • The motivation and joy that come from creating something they love are powerful teaching tools.

Interested in Endless Studios Creating a Homeschool-Friendly Product?

Matt welcomes interest from parents.  Email: m@endlessstudios.com

Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattdalio/

Links Mentioned

 

Take a look at show sponsor, FundaFunda Academy to see what they offer for online classes and web-based unit studies.

Join our Facebook Group especially for the listeners of this podcast! You can ask questions and get advice as you try integrating technology in your homeschool.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the show and give a rating and maybe even a review! Subscribing will help you make sure you never miss an episode

 

Learning Real World Skills through Game Creation

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Affordable Gaming Gift Ideas for Kids & Teens

November 27, 2024 by Leave a Comment

Gaming Gift Ideas that Won't Break the Bank

302: Gaming Gift Ideas that Won’t Break the Bank

Heidi Lathram, is a homeschooler, homesteader, gamer, and educator with over 15 years of teaching experience and she share gaming gift ideas your children will love – and are affordable.

Below are links to various things Heidi mentioned in the podcast – you need to listen to the episode to understand the context and her specific recommendations.

Gaming Hardware Tips

  • Console Options:
  • Why Choose PC Gaming?
    • More affordable options (starting at $400).
    • Free multiplayer access and extensive game selection via platforms like Steam.
    • Retro gaming, family accounts, and customizable parental controls available.
    • Gaming PC ($400-2,000; newegg.com – look for their “Shell Shocker” deals – and other sites)

Game Recommendations

Heidi shares her favorite games, many created by indie developers:

Affordable gamer gifting:

– Nintendo gamers
– Switch accessories
– Switch online membership
– Nintendo store gift card from Walmart
– Roblox
– Robux
– Fortnite
– Vbucks
– PC Gamers
– Steam wishlist game purchases
– isthereanydeal.com (historic and current comparative pricing on most titles)
– Fanatical bundles
– Check Steam sales
– Gamer merch
– Individual game developer websites
– Headphone/mic combo
– New Mouse, Keyboard, or game controller
– Gaming chair
– RGB LED lighting
– Solid State Hard Drives
– 3D printed game-related items
Heidi’s Classes
You can find Heidi’s classes at IndyEd.com here: https://www.indyed.com/secular-curriculum/heidi-lathrem-ma
Or you can check out my farm page (with self-paced and live class links) directly:

Take a look at show sponsor, FundaFunda Academy to see what they offer for online classes and web-based unit studies.

Join our Facebook Group, especially for the listeners of this podcast! You can ask questions and get advice as you try integrating technology into your homeschool.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the show and give a rating and maybe even a review! Subscribing will help you make sure you never miss an episode

Filed Under: Homeschooling with Technology Tagged With: , , , ,

How to Teach History Through Video Games

October 16, 2019 by 1 Comment

Learning History Through Video Games

Episode 56:Learning History through Video Games with Charlene Hess

Charlene Hess of Hess Un-Academy joins me in this episode as we talk about learning history through video games. Be sure to visit her Facebook page.

When my children were young we all enjoyed playing Orgeon Trail together. Oregon Trail is seen as the first educational computer game to gain widespread appeal because it was also fun. As they got older the played other video games based in history like Knights and Merchants, Caesar 3, Rome: Total War and Battlefield 1942.

One of the games they played a lot was Civilization. It is a strategy game where you play as different civilizations and try to conquer the world. Be sure to listen to the episode to hear the story of what my one son learned when he played as the Egyptian civilization.

Another game my boys played – and Charlene’s whole family plays, is Age of Empires. Charlene explains how they play it and what benefits they get from playing. You can buy the game on the Steam website.

Charlene has created worksheets that you can use with your children to research each civilization before they play as that civilization.

Show sponsor FundaFunda Academy has a full year Honors US History online class that uses games where appropriate, as well as 2 World War 2 web-based unit studies that incorporate games and fun interactive websites to enhance learning – World War 2 Year by Year and Who’s Who in World War 2.

Be sure to join our Facebook group where we carry on the discussion about Homeschooling with Technology.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the show and give a rating and maybe even a review!

Contact Meryl via email on meryl@mediaangels.com or connect with her on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook
Learning History Through Video Games #historygames #homeschooling #podcast

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