Amazon Kids Shows Segue Screen Time Into View + Do

June 30, 2014 “What’s a cookie cutter?” said one student as I passed out the tools to build a knock-off of a Lunchable as part of a health literacy ‘switch pitch’ teaching about ingredients.“What do you even DO with Playdough?” said another when I gave mini-tubs to kindergarten kids who poked at it curiously as if they’d never seen or played with it before.These are some of the … [Read more...]

Gaming: A Battle Over Anorexia In World of Warcraft

June 7, 2014 This coming week I’m attending the colossal gaming #Gsummit in S.F., a four-figure fee fandango (won in a drawing) that I’m eagerly sweeping my slate for in order to learn from ‘the biggies’ how large scale gaming and gamification can impact behavior change, physical/mental and social-emotional environments, education, imaginative play, and even widespread public … [Read more...]

Will Kids Reconnect With Nature…At School?

Aug. 7, 2013 “Wait, didn’t we already DO this?”That’s the refrain I hear constantly among parents, whether it’s supporting environmental education legislation, or getting junk food out of vending machines and school lunch programs.When research shows the benefits and links between nature, learning, health and wellness are clear, it makes me wonder, what will we need to prove … [Read more...]

Vanished Edu-Game: 11 Yr Old Rylan Reports “Back from the Future”

June 20, 2011 Mission? Make learning fun. Investigators? Preteens. GameQuest? STEM studies, deeply rooted in gaming fun. I’ve been saving this post about MIT MediaLab/Education Arcade's Vanished game for today’s opening of the Games For Change festival in NYC, since their keynote speaker Al Gore has been taking questions @G4C on Twitter about best practices to engage … [Read more...]