Featured Story Archives
Browse Stories By
2/15/10
By Josh Karp
The Chicago Public Library Helps Teens “Find History”
Armed with mobile GPS devices, Chicago teens race around the city looking for facts—and learn a little something about Daniel Burnham’s plan for the city as they go.1/11/10
By Josh Karp
Think Like a Mathematician, Save the World from Monsters
MIT’s digital game “Lure of the Labyrinth” engages kids in the scientific process and sparks discovery.1/11/10
The World is a Game: Augmented Reality Software Combines the Real and Virtual to Teach Science
New software developed at MIT takes advantage of the GPS technology in mobile phones to inject new adventures into the traditional science lab. The technology creates learning games that can track players’ real world locations and send a stream of virtual information to them as they track environmental spills or solve science mysteries.12/02/09
Teens in Virtual Worlds Learn Civic Lessons That Are Anything But Dull
In worlds such as Whyville and Second Life, teens are becoming reporters, politicians and community organizers. And they’re taking these lessons offline, too.12/02/09
By Josh Karp
Kids Taking Real-World Issues to Virtual Court Learn How to Make Their Point - And Their Grades
OurCourts.org, founded by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, aims to educate students about the judicial system by showing how the law relates to their lives.12/02/09
By Ben Wolff
Kids’ Participation in Online Interest-Based Communities Leads to Offline Civic Engagement
Research by education professor Joe Kahne shows online experiences—such as participation on fan sites—can help make kids more active offline citizens.11/16/09
By Josh Karp
At Home in the Digital Age: Controlling Online Access When Teens Are Always “On”
A family strives for balance between independence and online safety.11/16/09
By Josh Karp
It’s 10 p.m. Online, Do You Know Where Your Parents Are?
Heather Horst talks with parents about family dynamics in a digital world.11/11/09
Watch Them Play: Henry Jenkins on Why Parents Need to be Involved in Their Child’s Digital Life
Henry Jenkins on parent participation in the digital age, from Edutopia. Media studies expert Henry Jenkins encourages parents to be open minded and willing to learn from their kids.9/18/09
Classroom Quest: Virtual Space Brings Academic Content to Life
“I can tell them this stuff and it means nothing,” a teacher says, but let them become a scientist in a virtual world and the content sticks.9/18/09
By Ben Wolff
Grasping Math and Science, Literally
A Wii-like space helps kids grasp math and science in a hands-on way. Designers talk about their goals in designing this “lab,” in this video produced by Ben Wolff.9/18/09
9/18/09
How Games Foster Learning
Renowned media scholar James Gee talks with Heather Chaplin, author of Smartbomb, about how games influence learning.9/18/09
By Ben Wolff
Why a Former Teacher Now Designs Games
“What makes games so powerful,” says “Quest Atlantis” designer Sasha Barab, “is this form of transformational play where I’m taking up a role and doing things that are transforming the environment…I’m playing out a self I wouldn’t see myself doing.”9/18/09
