If your child is seriously into videogames – and Pew Internet research has found that 97% of US 12-to-17-year-olds are – it may help to read about New York teacher Peggy Sheehy's heroes, also known as students. The middle school humanities teacher calls them heroes because she co-created the WoW in School curriculum "A Hero's Journey" (WoW is short for the multiplayer online game World of … [Read more...] about Students called heroes in this 6th-grade class
MMORPG
Digital media’s power for all kinds of good: One student’s story
Rarely do we hear stories about how playing in digital environments in school – much less playing a popular videogame not originally designed for school – can be life-changing in a good way. So here's one (names in the story have been changed to protect everybody's privacy): For four years, starting in 2008, when he was in middle school, "Zach" participated in the WoWinSchool Club every day … [Read more...] about Digital media’s power for all kinds of good: One student’s story
Can this be played in school? Please?
I'm asking you, educators. EVOKE sounded amazing, when I heard it described by game designer Jane McGonigal on NPR's Science Friday the other day. The goal of this free social game is to "help empower people all over the world to develop creative solutions to urgent social problems" – beyond "mere" civic engagement to social problem-solving. Of course EVOKE isn't the only social-media teaching … [Read more...] about Can this be played in school? Please?