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Video games are no longer just a form of entertainment for children and young adults alone, and the old stereotypes of a gamer no longer apply. The ESA's "2010 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry" show that 67 percent of American households play computer and video games. The research also reveals other interesting demographic facts about today's gamers and the games they play, including: * The average gamer is 34 years old and has been playing for 12 years. * Forty percent of all players are women and women over 18 years of age are one of the industry's fastest growing demographics. Today, adult women represent a greater portion of the game-playing population (33 percent) than boys age 17 or younger (20 percent). * Twenty-six percent of game players are over the age of 50, an increase from nine percent in 1999. This figure is sure to rise in coming years with nursing homes and senior centers across the nation now incorporating video games into their activities. * Sixty-seven percent of homes in America own either a console and/or PC used to run entertainment software. * Fifty-eight percent of online game players are male and 42 percent are female. Forty-two percent of heads of households report they play games on wireless devices such as a cell phone or PDA, up from 20% in 2002. * Ninety-three percent of the time parents are present at the time games are purchased or rented. Seventy-six percent of parents believe that the parental controls available in all new video game consoles are useful. In addition, 64 percent of parents believe games are a positive part of their children's lives."

Research shows that students have difficulty achieving deep understanding of many fundamental science concepts, for instance, the nature of matter, pressure, density, and electrical circuits to name but a few. After students have presumably learned the scientific explanations, they often revert back to their initial explanations. The Understandings of Consequence Project has demonstrated that part of the problem arises from differences in how students and scientists think about cause and effect. Scientific explanations often require students to structure knowledge in ways that contradict their expectations about the nature of how causes and effects behave. Such explanations can involve: causal mechanisms that are inferred or abstract; causal patterns that extend beyond linear and unidirectional to cyclic, reciprocal, and non-sequential; correspondences between causes and effects that are in various respects probabilistic; and causal agents that are decentralized and involve aspects of emergence. These are ways of thinking that students typically are not familiar with. Thus students attempt to assimilate information about complex concepts into simplistic causal structures which ultimately distort the information. In order to achieve deep understanding of scientific explanations, students need to learn the levels of these dimensions that fit the level of explanation needed. We have developed a taxonomy of causal models to guide these teaching and learning efforts. We have also developed a taxonomy of epistemological "moves", such as comparing more than one model and being alert to possible gaps in one's explanation, that serve scientific inquiry and lead to more complex conceptions.

Introducing the Earworms Musical Brain Trainer Learn a new Language in Second Life, your Ipod, your iPhone or PC for the new year! 200+ essential words and phrases anchored into your long-term memory with great music. The 70 minute Earworms SLCD's will play the tracks inworld - can be downloaded as mp3 files to your desktop, Ipod or Iphone and comes with full documentation on PDF files for you to print and read at your leisure. Come and sample Earworms for yourself inworld - visit us at and TP up to The Earworms Loft Earworms mbt puts the words and phrases you need not just on the tip of your tongue, but also transports them deep into your long-term memory. Simply by listening to these specially composed melodies with their rhythmic repetitions a few times, the sound patterns are indelibly burned into your auditory cortex. You will have successfully learned the phrase and have the correct accent ringing in your ears. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing: While jogging, in the car, in the bath, doing the ironing…you can be learning a new language at the same time! earworms mbt© Rapid Languages is the first language course to get your toe tapping. You know the phenomena of those catchy tunes or earworms that you just can't get out of your head? Voulezvous coucher avec moi, ce soir? Well, earworms mbt© has put this phenomena to positive use. Gone are the days of learning pressure and frustration at not being able to remember, the experience of many on conventional language courses. In combination with music, the phrases you need are automatically anchored deep into your memory, ready for instant recall.

"People love to learn by examining visual representations of data. That's been proven time and time again by the popularity of both infographics and Pinterest. So what if you could make your own infographics? What would you make it of? It's actually easier than you think… even if you have zero design skills whatsoever. Below are my two favorite infographic-making web 2.0 tools that I highly recommend. They both have pros and cons but in general are great for any beginner or novice designer. If Photoshop is a 4-letter word to you, then these sites are your friend. If you're a tech-savvy designer and illustrator, it can't hurt to check out some of the work on these two sites for inspiration."

only works on the iPhone and Android platform, but once you start using it you will understand why it is such a great product. Once you import your RSS feeds from Google Reader, and your Twitter and Facebook accounts, My6Sense begins analyzing how your read items and will start to give you personalized relevant results. Rather than go based on what you think you are interested in, My6Sense actually looks at what you click on - they have found that sometimes the two don't exactly match up. In this way they can determine what you are really interested in rather than what you think you are interested in.

John Seely Brown: "Even when children are high achievers and facile with new technology, many seem gradually to lose their sense of wonder and curiosity, notes John Seely Brown. Traditional educational methods may be smothering their innate drive to explore the world. Brown and like-minded colleagues are developing the underpinnings for a new 21st century pedagogy that broadens rather than narrows horizons. John Seely Brown, former chief scientist at Xerox, has morphed in recent years into the "Chief of Confusion," seeking "the right questions" in a range of fields, including education. He finds unusual sources for his questions: basketball and opera coaches, surfing and video game champions. He's gathered insights from unorthodox venues, and from more traditional classrooms, to paint quite a different picture of what learning might look like. The typical college lecture class frequently gathers many students together in a large room to be 'fed' knowledge, believes Brown. But studies show that "learning itself is socially constructed," and is most effective when students interact with and teach each other in manageable groups. Brown wants to open up "niche learning experiences" that draw on classic course material, but deepen it to be maximally enriching. In basketball and opera master classes, and in architecture labs, he has seen how individuals become acculturated in a "community of practice," learning to "be" rather than simply to "do." Whether performing, creating, or experimenting, students are critiqued, respond, offer their own criticism, and glean rich wisdom from a cyclical group experience. Brown says something "mysterious" may be taking place: "In deeply collective engagement in processes...you start to marinate in a problem space." Through communities of practice, students' minds "begin to gel up," even in the face of abstraction and unfamiliarity, and "all of a sudden, (the subject) starts to make se

GimpGirl Community's mission is to bring women with disabilities together in the spirit of support, positivity and inclusivity. The world of women with disabilities is a complex place, often with no easy answers. We encourage an attitude of self-advocacy and self-efficacy with all of our members and are radically inclusive of all women with disabilities. With the strength of our members and allies throughout the global disability and women's worlds, we use the tools at our disposal to create a place for discourse, humor, art, research, resources, and most of all, community. We are a program of the 501(c)3 nonprofit People Helping People.

loads of special effects, a range of nice fonts, and numerous shapes. It enables red eye reduction and also edits the exposure which are the most common problems faced by the photographers. It is fast and works well on different platforms as Mac, Windows and Linux. One of the most interesting features of Picnik is the support of the photosharing sites and the social networking sites. Registration in Picnik is not mandatory. It is required for some special services only. You are going to spoil your day if you forget your password because it does not have the 'Forgot your password' option to retrieve your password.

Built on the pattern of Photoshop itself minus the technicalities. It is good for the amateur photographers who don't want to get indulged into the tricky tools of the Photoshop. Having these superb features the loopholes are there. The printing options are lacking. Also, it doesn't support photos from higher mega pixel camera.

"For those who are blind, dyslexic or have diseases like multiple sclerosis and have difficulty turning book pages, reading the latest best seller just got easier. Brewster Kahle, a digital librarian and founder of a virtual library called the Internet Archive, has launched a worldwide campaign to double the number of books available for print-disabled people."

NCWIT is the National Center for Women & Information Technology. We are a coalition of more than 160 prominent corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, and non-profits working to increase women's participation in information technology (IT). NCWIT is a 501(c)(3), established in 2004 with startup funding from the National Science Foundation, Avaya, Microsoft, Pfizer, Bank of America, Intel, HP, the Kauffman Foundation, and Qualcomm.

Women in Science: NCWIT is the National Center for Women & Information Technology. We are a coalition of more than 160 prominent corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, and non-profits working to increase women's participation in information technology (IT). NCWIT is a 501(c)(3), established in 2004 with startup funding from the National Science Foundation, Avaya, Microsoft, Pfizer, Bank of America, Intel, HP, the Kauffman Foundation, and Qualcomm.

Twitter Tool: "What the trend?" - let's you see what people are talking about and explains what it is all about

teachers as "defenders of the book" are some of the last citizens to use digital media

teachers as "defenders of the book" are some of the last citizens to use digital media

Internet Culture everyone should have seen (not all are appropriate for kids or class)

Internet Culture everyone should have seen (not all are appropriate for kids or class)

We started LearnZillion at E.L. Haynes Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. because we wanted to solve a problem. We knew what lessons our students needed but we didn't have enough time to teach each student the right lesson. To create more time, and to share best practices across classrooms, E.L. Haynes' teachers began to capture their expertise on screencasts. We posted them on a homemade website and coupled them with a short quiz to help us track student progress. Soon the idea grew. What if teachers from across the country could contribute to the site? What if new teachers could learn the new Common Core standards from the wisdom of experienced teachers? What if students could get a playlist of lessons that matched their needs? What if, over time, the video lessons got stronger and stronger, as more teachers contributed and the data showed which lessons had the biggest impact? Thanks to funding from the Next Generation Learning Challenge, NewSchools Venture Fund, Achievement Network, and others, we are about to find out!

We know students love learning on our platform. Students love going to a Class and learn the basics of a new skill. We wanted to take that even further. We created Courses to allow teachers to create more in-depth, organized, and well thought-out learning experiences. We think that Courses will allow you learn even more about the skills that you are passionate and curious about.