We all saw it coming last summer: videogaming getting even more physical. Used to be, waving around a Nintendo Wii controller was the ultimate in physical videogame play. But with Microsoft's Kinect – which entered the marketplace last week – gamers now don't even need a controller. This is both very cool and, at least in this first iteration of the Kinect technology, a bit problematic, <a … [Read more...] about Kid & family ‘Kinect-ing’ from Microsoft
videogames
A parent & educator on what gaming can teach
To parent, educator, and graduate student Seann Dikkers, videogaming is a great parenting, teaching, and learning tool. A teacher for 10 years and school administrator for four, Dikkers is now working on his PhD in education, and he says in his site, GamingMatter.com, that the PhD part is his students' fault because they "were the first to ‘get it’ and point him toward games as a means to … [Read more...] about A parent & educator on what gaming can teach
Videogaming: Parents can be workarounds too
It's a great headline in Kotaku.com – "Confessions of a failed gaming parent" – and what he's confessing to is that the loophole his all-too-smart son Tristan found was ... his parents! "My wife and I set up parental locks on the [Xbox] console and on Tristan's Xbox Live gold account," so Tristan found "human error" workaround. Among other measures, his parents didn't allow Tristan to play Halo … [Read more...] about Videogaming: Parents can be workarounds too
Fresh data on tweens’ media use
A whopping 90% of US 9-to-12-year-olds play online games, according to a just-released survey by M2 Research. Broken down by gender, 91% of tween boys and 93% of tween girls play games online, M2 says. The survey of 5,000 children and teens nationwide also found that Facebook is now the favorite Web site among boys 8-11 and girls 12-15 (Facebook's minimum age is 13 – see this earlier post of mine … [Read more...] about Fresh data on tweens’ media use
The learning power of a virtual world
It's definitely not a flashy video production, but if you're interested in learning about a virtual world that 6.4 million kids aged 8-15 (68% girls, average age 12.5) like because it challenges them in math and science and expects them to be smart, watch this interview about Whyville.net at Discover magazine. Founder and CEO of Whyville parent Numedeon Inc., Jim Bower – who is also a professor of … [Read more...] about The learning power of a virtual world