It being summertime here in the global North, there may be a little extra videogame play going on in households with kids. So it may be helpful for parents to know about a mother lode of the latest wisdom on videogames' effects on kids' learning, social development and futures. It's MindShift's "Guide to Games & Learning," and here are a few nuggets: Gaming fuels motivation "We want our … [Read more...] about Breadth of videogames’ benefits to kids may surprise
learning
Google’s new learning tool that learns
This may be the next step beyond tutorials on YouTube, MOOCs (massively open online courses), Google Play for Education and YouTube EDU. It may even be signaling the next step for education. It's called "Oppia," and it's a learning teaching tool. It helps teachers customize what they're teaching, student by student – by asking the individual learner questions and, "based on how the learner … [Read more...] about Google’s new learning tool that learns
Why kids need more, not less, play
A lightbulb went on when I read "Learning for a World of Constant Change" by authors John Seely Brown and Douglas Thomas. I think I understand now why there's so much cognitive dissonance at the intersection of new media and learning, not to mention "online safety." It has a lot to do with how media has changed, and parents and educators are still trying to catch up. Media is no longer just … [Read more...] about Why kids need more, not less, play
Digital media’s power for all kinds of good: One student’s story
Rarely do we hear stories about how playing in digital environments in school – much less playing a popular videogame not originally designed for school – can be life-changing in a good way. So here's one (names in the story have been changed to protect everybody's privacy): For four years, starting in 2008, when he was in middle school, "Zach" participated in the WoWinSchool Club every day … [Read more...] about Digital media’s power for all kinds of good: One student’s story
Designing students: Check out these contests (learning opps)!
These are projects that get young people and classrooms participating in the digital maker movement: Current or aspiring videogame designers and videographers have about a month to submit their creations to three different contests: The National STEM Videogame Challenge, Whyville's game design contest, and Trend Micro's What's Your Story video producing contest. Design a videogame Videogame … [Read more...] about Designing students: Check out these contests (learning opps)!