If you're on the East Coast or just about any U.S. region besides my beloved Rio Grande Valley, you're likely snowed in due to Snowpocalypse 2010. What better time to catch up with new ideas and resources for video games in education?
Video Games Boost Brain Power, Multitasking Skills
Learning by Playing: Video Games in the Classroom [NY Times via edReformer & This Week in Education] - A deep look into how video games help kids learn, framed around a profile of the innovative NYC school Quest to Learn.
Project-Based Learning, Yes PLIESE [Wired: GeekDad] - In this project-based learning example, a child is deeply invested in designing everything from the storyline to the artwork and level design for their own video game (in this case, a new Mario game). Even without using the technology directly, the structure can provide a context that kids can understand and want to throw themselves into.
When the White House announced an ambitious STEM Video Game challenge in September, I was excited as it seems my dream of educators and game developers working together to create immersive, engaging educational games is close to fruition (see No Need to Reinvent the Wheel to Revolutionize Educational Video Games, my guest post on Educational Games Research).
Physics Gaming [via EdReformer] - Tons of games using that use classic physics problem archetypes like bridge building and predicting an item's flight path in fun ways. All free, courtesy of the math games gurus at Manga High.