Spotlight on Digital Media And Learning

Games Even a Bureaucracy Could Love: The Future of Testing and Data-Driven Learning

With testing and Common Core Standards gaining steam in school reform circles, some educators are asking how to ensure that digital tools like computer-based “stealth assessments” will change classrooms for the better.

The Magic of Going Mobile: Augmented Reality, Design Thinking and the Power of Place

How a new augmented reality platform for the iPhone is helping educators explore the possibilities of mobile for learning, and the value of putting students in the driver’s seat.

“We Came to Play”: Lessons on Connected Learning and Creativity from Caine’s Arcade

The viral success of “Caine’s Arcade” has not only changed the life of a 9-year-old boy with a warehouse-sized imagination—it’s changing the conversation about learning and play.

How MTV and Digital Games Like Angry Birds Help Kids Learn to Draw the Line on Cyberbullying

MTV teams up with the widely popular game “Angry Birds” to help kids understand the difference between digital use and abuse.

Jim Gee on The Use of Video Games for Learning About Learning

In a new video at Edutopia, games and learning expert James Paul Gee says education should be more like a well-designed video game.

Launching Red Bird Into Space: Angry Birds Goes for Ride With NASA

NASA is playing a key role in the fourth installment of the popular mobile- and browser-based game “Angry Birds.” Plus, how physics teachers are using the game with student-scientists in the classroom.

Calling All Game Makers: National STEM Video Game Challenge Extends Deadline

The 2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge is extending the application deadline and making a push for submissions from college students and educators.

A Game Designer At The White House?

The White House Office of Technology Policy has hired its first social scientist-game designer. We can’t wait to see what she comes up with.

Programming With Scratch Jr: When it Comes to Screen Time and Young Kids, Content and Context Are Important

Since MIT’s Lifelong Kindergarten group released Scratch in 2007, kids ages 8 to 13 have built more than 2.2 million animations, games, music, videos and stories using the kid-friendly programming language. Now with a grant from the National Foundation of Science, Lifelong Kindergarten is collaborating with Tufts University’s DevTech Research Group to make Scratch Jr, a new version aimed at kids in preschool to second grade.

SMALLab’s FLOW Encourages Students to be (Physically) Active Learners

In classrooms using FLOW, a new “embodied learning environment,” students are encouraged to stand up, move around, and make some noise.

PLAYBACK: Pedagogy, Coding and Teaching Kids to Think Deeply

Idaho teachers resist technology push; teens adapt the Xbox to help patients; & why learning to code may be harder than you think, all in this week’s Playback.

LEGO Called Upon to Treat Girls and Boys as Equals

Back in the early 1980s, a young girl with red braids and blue jeans proudly held up a LEGO creation. Today, LEGO thinks the best way to market to girls is with parties and beauty shops. Welcome to the new gender divide in STEM-related toys.

Where Gaming Rules: Middle School Students Accept the Challenge at ChicagoQuest

At ChicagoQuest, a new charter school, getting out of your seat and collaborating with others is encouraged. Here, games aren’t add-ons to the curriculum—they are the curriculum.