Video that compares educational games and entertainment games. It argues that we should 'enable learning' through tangential learning in games rather than have lesson style games.
On this site you can find a collection of seven math, science and writing games that are great for elementary and middle school students. Not only can you play these interactive games right on your computer, but you can download them and use them on your computer and save them for a later time.
If you carefully choose the right sort of game it will engage the children in your class - in my opinion you have to take that as a given. It is what you do with that engaged group of children and how you make a difference to their learning that counts.
Darfur is Dying is a viral video game for change that provides a window into the experience of the 2.5 million refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan. Players must keep their refugee camp functioning in the face of possible attack by Janjaweed militias. Players can also learn more about the genocide in Darfur that has taken the lives of 400,000 people, and find ways to get involved to help stop this human rights and humanitarian crisis.
In recent years there has been an explosion of virtual worlds intended for early childhood populations;
however, because the majority of research on games and such worlds has focused on adults and
adolescents, we know very little about these spaces. This article attempts to address this gap by providing
a qualitative content analysis of the affordances that Webkinz World an online environment that as of
March 2010 had over 3 million unique site visitors per month, offers for children's literacy and
language development. Analyses suggest that the site provides unique opportunities for immersion in
literacy-rich contexts and academically-oriented practices that may enhance those that are readily
available in many children's daily lives. However, looking beyond the discrete linguistic and technical aspects of learning in Webkinz World reveals a designed culture with limitations on learning and a
constrained set of literacies and social messages that warrant further critical exploration.
In recent years there has been an explosion of virtual worlds intended for early childhood populations;
however, because the majority of research on games and such worlds has focused on adults and
adolescents, we know very little about these spaces. This article attempts to address this gap by providing
a qualitative content analysis of the affordances that Webkinz World an online environment that as of
March 2010 had over 3 million unique site visitors per month, offers for children's literacy and
language development. Analyses suggest that the site provides unique opportunities for immersion in
literacy-rich contexts and academically-oriented practices that may enhance those that are readily
available in many children's daily lives. However, looking beyond the discrete linguistic and technical
aspects of learning in Webkinz World reveals a designed culture with limitations on learning and a constrained set of literacies and social messages that warrant further critical exploration.