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

"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."

"Heroes have always been the driving force behind video games, of course, with the industry producing such cultural icons as Mario and Lara Croft. However, as video game technology and storytelling have become more sophisticated, developers are embellishing their games with deeper characterisation than ever before. "

"The Modern Parent's Guide to Kids and Video Games" is a recent publication from "Play It Safe" which highlights the benefits of playing video game, including educational benefits.

The nonprofit group called TED, known for streaming 18-minute video lectures about big ideas, today opened a new YouTube channel designed for teachers and professors, with videos that are even shorter. The new channel, called TED-Ed, was announced a year ago, but its leaders are only now unveiling the project's first videos.

Interesting article discussing a study showing that the size of certain brain structures can predict video game performance

There's been a lot of buzz about whether video games are habit-forming, and whether parents are exaggerating when they say their teenagers are "addicted" to game playing. Now new research on children who are heavy gamers suggests parents may have something else to worry about: depression.

"Do mouse clicking and video sharing count as legitimate forms of grass-roots mobilization?" A look at online video as a tool for engaging viewers in social action.

Hear MIT GAMBIT Lab experts talk about engagement in practical terms--and get some hands-on experience designing a board or video game. The three-hour workshops are part of the Cambridge Science Festival; this event takes place on April 28 and requires a $5 preregistration. Though I'm sure EMF will be touched on one way or another in all of the workshops, I thought the Serious Games for Social Change workshop might be of particular interest to you all: "In this workshop, best practice examples of serious games for social change will be played, discussed and analyzed. Furthermore ideas and sketches for proto-types will be developed and ways of realizing them will be discussed! The workshop gives the participants hands-on experiences and insights into the potential and limits of video games designed for social change. No pre-experiences are needed!"

Article on college students using "serious" video games as part of their instruction.

The benefits of playing video games (in moderation).

Gee comments on video games and project-based learning.

Some researchers are looking at how video games open up new wiring in the brain. "Infancy is filled with the best of times: critical windows of weeks and months when the growing brain fine-tunes things like language skills and vision. And it's wise to take advantage of them, for when the windows slam shut, those skills don't develop. Or so scientists used to think." Also, "Playing a video game called Medal of Honor helped some people recover lost visual abilities." But some researchers are not confident we know enough or raise ethical questions about further interventions.

This article reminds me that not everyone is convinced that video games and other educational technologies belong in the classroom.

At the Learning and the Brain Conference last week, Dr. Gee listed 10 (research-validated) reasons why video games are good for learning.

An interesting article on game play in the classroom...students take on the role of a video game character and act the part during game performances!

If you look at it as 'play' instead of 'game' I think it opens a whole range of possibilities. Which is not surprising. As young children, we learned through play, often elaborate role-play.

Hi Jackie - this just reminded me to post a link below re: the CUNY (City University of New York) group that reflects on and develops all types of games in teaching. http://games.commons.gc.cuny.edu/

Extrinsice versus intrinsic motivators ... a mismatch between what science knows and what business does!

"Leading figures from the UK video games industry have criticised the teaching of computer studies in schools, claiming it puts pupils off from pursuing computer science degrees at university..."

Interesting commentary, about how this video would have been viewed by millions if the same technology was available....LISTEN

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