Neat island simulation game September 24, 2007

I found this neat simulation but I am not really sure what it simulates. You chose which technology  you want to concentrate your resources on and the island changes based upon your choices. The animation is good and the actions that you observe based on your decisions are interesting but the controls are not very [...]

Community Initiative September 24, 2007

 
I found this article and I am intrigued that a person takes initiative in the community to ensure that his products are not detrimental to students learning. I also wonder if he is doing the job that parents should be performing?

I found a neat gaming blog September 18, 2007

So I was surfing the net for blogs on instructional gaming and found this blog written by Henry Jenkins. Jenkins os one of thos acedemic types who studieds games and how they effect our society and learning. He also has some publications available online, I read this one on narrative archetcture and really [...]

Blinded me with science September 15, 2007

Wow!!!! After reading this Prensky article one can honestly say “kid’s just ain’t the way they used to be.” Attention spans are declining, but is that really a bad thing if students can still get the same amount of information by just watching instruction sporadically? Do instructors not like students with limited attention spans just [...]

“The Sims” for physics classes September 13, 2007

So as a physics teacher I am up for just about anything that makes my life easier. I always have a problem when I teach my students some of the concepts in electricity and magnetism because the students can’t actually see the electrons moving about. While doing a little research I found this site that [...]

Magical Molecule Maker September 8, 2007

Alright I really got excited about a program that I saw here on youtube. The whole video is interesting but let it load and skip to 4minutes in to see the application that really caught my eye “The magical molecule maker” by Joe Miller.
I have scoured the net and was not able [...]

How easy will it be for us to make games someday? September 5, 2007

Alright I just saw this game heist and I had a strange idea. Will we ever be able to make our own games? I remember a few years ago and the idea of the average person making a web page of their own was impossible  unless they were a recluse computer geek who lived in [...]

Rolling Stones songs and such…. August 30, 2007

So today on the drive home I heard “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”and I was thinking, as a gamer what kinds of things do I like and want in a game. When I get a chance to play video games I like first person shooters that move quickly. I really don’t like games [...]

Interesting Article August 28, 2007

So I found this article.  Wow!! I am really close to buying a console just to play bio-shock.
But from an educators standpoint what if we could harness this “storytelling” ability into education? I can imagine whole adventures that require the students to learn in a virtual environment.  Using bio-shocks approach a student could go on [...]

Violence vs. Teachability August 24, 2007

Alright, first off I would like to admit that I am a quasi well balanced individual I don’t hit people, bully my peers or shoot up shopping malls, but I played video games that were violent when I was younger. Was I the exception or does any game that contains violence turn the player [...]