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Although this study is just correlative, it still poses some interesting questions about video games and academic achievement.

Interesting article about games and values. In the middle, the author suggests that for game designers, it is important to get people who aren't like them to play the game. This would make for a more inclusive game.

This is a brief summary of the Games for a Digital Age report released by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center (Sesame Workshop related) on the challenges facing Digital Educational Games market. I recommend linking through to the full report. I am curious to know what the class thinks of the recommendations the report makes. One thing they emphasize is situating games as supplementary material - do you think this is a good thing/bad thing?

Hey Guys, this is an Atlantic article a friend sent me awhile ago and I thought some of you might think it's interesting. It's about Jonathan Blow a video game designer with a unique taste. He's in the process of creating The Witness a game that is more artistic, contemplative, and zen-like than FPS type games. This is a long article and to be honest I didn't read all of it, but if you're interested there's a video half way down that gives you an idea of what The Witness will look like. He says users will really have to observe, pay attention and think in order to play the game. Seems interesting to me!

Really cool!

I agree! It really makes me want to play Braid and keep an eye out for The Witness (which rings a bell--I wonder where else I heard about it...). This article paints a vivid picture of the game designer and the type of art he makes. Thanks for sharing!

Hands Up! It's game on in the classroom Digital New Zealand report finds 7 out of 10 parents use computer and video games as an educational tool Auckland, 30 April 2012 - New Zealand parents are increasingly embracing computer and video games as an educational tool, according to the latest research commissioned by the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (iGEA).

"In his book, What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy, James Paul Gee derives a set of learning principles from his study of the complex, self-directed learning each game player undertakes as s/he encounters and masters a new game. He suggests that adherence to these principles could transform learning in schools, colleges and universities, both for teachers and faculty and, most importantly, for students."

"This new device actually has more memory and higher screen resolution than an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3," said Mike Capps, CEO of Epic Games. "So, these guys [Apple] are redefining mobile gaming again."

"Does playing video games improve your brain? Or do bigger brains make it easier to learn video games? Psychologists say they can predict how well you'll do on a video game by looking at the size of just three little structures inside your brain. If those structures are bigger, you'll probably catch on more quickly and do better."

One school using video game design to engage students.

game advocates are finally realizing the same criteria apply to games as to other types of learning environments

Interesting read -- I wonder if giving the teachers the ability to modify the game enhances the engagemnent of students as much as allowing the students' modify the game.

This website offers numerous serious games that claim to offer serious training for various businesses.

The cover of the NYTimes magazine section: "The Hyperaddictive, Time-Sucking, Relationahip-Busting, Mind-Crushing, Power and Allure of Silly Digital Games." How about a flood of letters about serious games in response?

Game on!

Definition of "digital games" probably too broad... but three video case studies of teachers using "games" referenced in article worth watching: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA3C69D48D4FFE87E

Agreed about the definition. However, "Almost all the teachers surveyed who said they used games reported that they used ones specifically designed for education, and the games most often corresponded with literacy and reading (50%) and math (35%).", which is encouraging. Kurt Squire is correct in that the data may include a good number of 'trivial games', but that is probably to be expected since the biggest barriers seems to be cost (50% respondents) and technology (46%).

This ten-minute video uses the protein-folding game FoldIt and another crowdsourced science game called EteRNA as examples. Speaker Adrien Treuille (from CMU) talks about rewards in these types of crowdsourcing games starting around 5:50. He envisions scientific discovery, software development, product design, and societal change being "solved" in the future through a platform that allows for finding, engaging, and paying people at a very individual level: "Find Me, Engage Me, Pay Me."

Students learn how to make educational web games. Globaloria is sponsoring some of the events for the Digital Learning Day (posted below) and are "opening their Globaloria game design classes to parents, friends, educators, administrators, policy makers and media. Visitors will get to experience first-hand the innovative, hands-on "game design studio" that these classes engage in daily. They will see students developing original STEM learning games, collaborating with peers and their teacher, using a digital curriculum, and receiving support through an online learning network."

The City University of New York connects educators from every campus and discipline at CUNY who are interested in games, simulations, and other forms of interactive teaching. They hope to facilitate the pedagogical uses of both digital and non-digital games, improve student success, and encourage research and scholarship in the developing field of games-based learning.

new website to help game developers in education

One professor's take on why computer games should be used to assess students

"Introducing gamers to even the concept of dark energy is a step in the right direction. Someone might hear that term as part of a game and then hear it again in a more scientific context, and that might help them ultimately gain a better understanding of what it is. There's a tremendous untapped potential in games for incorporating cool science."