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As Net-generation teachers reach out to gamers, classrooms across the country are becoming portals to elaborate virtual worlds.

But lately, researchers and educators say sentiment toward gaming is changing. Advocates argue that games teach vital skills overlooked in the age of high-stakes tests, such as teamwork, decision-making and digital literacy. And they admire the way good games challenge players just enough to keep them engaged and pushing to reach the next level

if ( show_doubleclick_ad && ( adTemplate & INLINE_ARTICLE_AD ) == INLINE_ARTICLE_AD && inlineAdGraf ) { placeAd('ARTICLE',commercialNode,20,'inline=y;!category=microsoft;',true) ; } The Pew Research Center reported in September that 97 percent of youths aged 12 to 17 play video games, and half said they played "yesterday."

I like the idea that children could use this to devise activities which, rather than testing or extending their skills by doing the activity itself, does so by requiring them to design the activity themselves

For example, when creating a quiz they may have to think about issues like the path taken by the user, how to frame the question, show the scoring will work, and what sounds (if any) to use for the feedback.

News & Views A Preview of 2DIY By Terry Freedman Created on Wed, 14 Jan 2009, 09:33 Email this article  Printer friendly page Email the author Listen to this article if ("">"") { document.write (""); document.write (""); document.write (""); } I've just received a link to download the latest program from 2Simple. Called 2DIY (for non-Brits, DIY = do-it-yourself, a shorthand term for home making things like bookshelves for the home), it enables users to create their own games and exercises.I've had a quick exploration, and it is looking very good. Read on for a quick thumbnail sketch, and why I think you should look into it.Back in the 1990s I used to love looking at shareware games developed for the educational sector. Some of the games were quite fun, but the problem for me was either that the game wasn't really educational at all, or that it didn't quite do what I'd have liked. Unfortunately, I never had the time to develop my games programming skills in order to rectify the situation.I think 2DIY would have been a step in the right direction.I think the best way of describing the program -- bearing in mind I've had it installed for less than an hour -- is that it's the programming equivalent of a painting or desktop publishing program. What you have  is a suite of specialised  tools, and you can use them to build yourt own games and activities.You can see from the screenshot that the range is quite extensive. The manual is easy to use, and there are videos and examples available.It has the ability to let you import pictures or select from a range of ones provided. Indeed, there is quite a lot of control over what your completed game or activity will look like.What's more interesting to me, however, is what boxes it ticks if you put it into the hands of youngsters -- and I use the term "youngsters" rather than "children" for reasons which will become apparent