Kotaku: Edutainment

MinecraftEdu Distributes the Building Blocks of Games-Based Education to Classrooms Everywhere

Mike Fahey — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:20:00 EDT

Joel Levin at the Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School used popular indie block building game Minecraft as a learning tool for his second grade computer class. Now he's a part of the newly-launched MinecraftEdu, a program dedicated to spreading Minecraft-based learning to classrooms around the world. More »

Skymall Inspires Classroom Computer Games

Jen Schiller — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 19:30:00 EDT

Scott Laidlaw is slowing down the pace on educational math games. More »

Angry Birds, Happy Physicists

Brian Crecente — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EDT

Angry Birds, Happy Physicists" alt="Click here to read Angry Birds, Happy Physicists" src="http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/images/9/2011/07/small_angryphysics.png.jpg"/>

Galileo discovered the language of nature. Einstein questioned the color of rainbows. Today's physicists ponder the vertical acceleration and horizontal velocity of an angry bird in flight. More »

A Game That Will Terrify Your Kids Into Never Going Outside Again

Mike Fahey — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EDT

Spring has returned, a time when children across the country turn off their video game consoles and venture out into the woods, building tree forts and rolling about in the underbrush. That is, until they play Tick Tackler. Then they're never going outside again. More »

The Oregon Trail Leads Carmen Sandiego To Facebook

Mike Fahey — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:20:00 EST

Now everyone on Facebook can experience the joy of hunting criminals and having dysentery, as Blue Fang Games and The Learning Company bring two of the most beloved learning computer games of all time to the social network next month. More »

National Geographic Brings Out The Animal In You

Mike Fahey — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 11:20:00 EDT

The adventures of Prince Stinkyninja the bunny would not be possible without National Geographic's Animal Jam, an online animal kingdom filled with learning and adventure. They say it's for kids, but Prince Stinkyninja says otherwise. More »

The Oregon Trail uh, Trailer — There Will Be Dysentery

Owen Good — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:00:00 EDT

This trailer, allegedly for a movie based on everyone's favorite edutainment game Oregon Trail, is so well done I honestly triple-checked to make sure the movie wasn't really being filmed. More »

Survive Earthquakes, Floods, And Tornadoes With Disaster Hero

Mike Fahey — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:30:00 EDT

Adventure game company Legacy Interactive and the American College Of Emergency Physicians have teamed up to create Disaster Hero, a web-based game aimed at helping people keep it together while the world is falling apart. More »

Pissed-Off Parents Find Math Game Too Violent for School

Owen Good — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 21:30:00 EDT

An action-packed math game students enjoy playing is a little too fun for some parents of the Albuquerque schools, one of whom went as far as accusing it of fostering video games addiction. More »

Supreme Court Justice O'Connor Calls Games 'Fabulous'

Owen Good — Thu, 27 May 2010 19:20:00 EDT

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor recently spoke a word of charity for video games, telling ABC News in an interview that the medium's a "fabulous" way to get children to learn. More »

Can The Indie Flash Game Hit Canabalt Teach You To Type?

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 05 May 2010 19:40:00 EDT

Mavis Beacon may be the world's most famous typing teacher, but her indie cred pales in comparison to Adam Atomic and the nameless jumpman of Canabalt, which now features a white-knuckle edutainment mode. More »

A Video Game To Keep Children From Being Savaged By Wild Dogs

Mike Fahey — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:40:00 EDT

University of Guelph professor Barbara Morrongiello doesn't want your children to be eaten by dogs, so she's created a video game that will teach kids how to avoid catastrophic canine confrontations. More »

Let's Abolish Schools And Teach Children With Video Games

Mike Fahey — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:40:43 EDT

For thousands of years, societies taught and trained their children through immersive gameplay and storytelling. Prospect Magazine's Julian Gough wonders why we ever stopped, and ponders a fantasy world where the games of today form the children of tomorrow. More »

Bad Flash Game Combats The Sexual Exploitation Of Children

Mike Fahey — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:40:00 EST

It may be the most hideous Choplifter rip-off ever created, but at least "CyberDodo fights against the sexual exploitation of children" has its heart in the right place. More »

Yale-Developed Game Teaches Young Children To Avoid HIV

Mike Fahey — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:20:00 EST

The National Institute of Health is granting Yale associate professor Dr. Lynn Fielin $3.9 million over five years to develop a game aimed at helping children aged 9 through 14 say no to sex, drugs, and other HIV-transmitting behaviors. More »

KrissX Micro-Review: Fun With a Purpose

Owen Good — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:30:00 EST

I keep wanting to pronounce this game "Chris-Ex" but I'm reminded it's "Kriss-Kross." Whatever the case, it's a set of brain-teasing acrostics with goals and rewards that shrewdly incentivize their completion. It's just a little young for most tastes. More »

Warner Bros. Moves Onto Sesame Street

Mike Fahey — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:30:00 EST

Warner Bros. has inked a new deal with Sesame Workshop to develop and publish video games based on the Sesame Street license, hopefully bringing more Muppets to an industry deficient on google eyes and felt. More »

Video Game Makes Cell Biology "Cool"

AJ Glasser — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) borrowed a page from Fantastic Voyage and Innerspace to make an educational video game about cell biology called Immune Attack for 7th-12th graders in the U.S. More »

DreamBox Succeeds At Tricking Kids Into Learning Math

AJ Glasser — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:40:00 EDT

Seven months ago, DreamBox Learning launched its math-based edutainment site for kids between kindergarten and second grade. Today, it's making virtual headlines with success stories. More »

Nintenducation – A New Take On Edutainment

AJ Glasser — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:30:00 EDT

It's a great time to be in grade school, if you live in Japan or Great Britain. Several dozen schools in both countries are putting Nintendo DSs in K-12 classes. More »

New Nintendo Patent Looks Like Picture Pages 2.0

Owen Good — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:00:00 EDT

A new patent application Nintendo has filed in the U.S. tips its hand to a potential new focus for the game-maker, and no, it is not core gamers. More »

DreamBox Tricks Kids Into Learning Math

AJ Glasser — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:40:00 EST

I have to hand it to this little web start-up company: it’s a gutsy strategy to deceive schoolchildren with a game called “DreamBox Learning K-2 Math.” I’d have thought Math Blaster was subtler edutainment. More »

Wii Music Coming to Classrooms

Brian Crecente — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST

Nintendo is teaming with The National Association for Music Education to get the Wii and Wii Music into schools, the two announced today. More »

Nintendo: Children Afraid Of Math, Math Trainer Can Help

Mike Fahey — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:40:00 EST

A survey conducted on behalf of Nintendo to help market Personal Trainer: Math for the DS finds that one in five children believe they're more likely to become famous than excel at math. More »

Urine The Video Game: Clicking And Dragging To A Healthy Tinkle

Brian Crecente — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:20:00 EST

From the makers of Gas Attack, a pinball machine that teaches about flatulence, comes Urine the video game. More »

Play Pinball, Learn About Farts

Brian Crecente — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST

I've seen plenty of edumacational games and I'm always delighted to explore how they surreptitiously teach people as they play a game. But this is the first time I've played a edu-pinbal game. More »

Outgrowing Games: The Rebuttal and Challenge

Maggie Greene — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST

A few weeks ago, designer Brice Morrison talked about how a game designer outgrew games; since kicking off a flurry of discussion, he's returned to GameSetWatch with some in-depth answers to common questions and a challenge. More »

The Ultimate DS Stocking Stuffer - FutureU SAT Prep

Mike Fahey — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:20:00 EST

Parents take heed! Does your teen want a Nintendo DS for Christmas, but you worry about it distracting them from their schoolwork? Aspyr Media and the test prep wizards at Kaplan have your solution with futureU SAT Prep for the DS. First announced back in April, the 'game' is now hitting stores, just in time for Christmas. It might not be the console edutainment Crecente craves, but it'll do in a pinch. More »

Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo Talk Edutainment

Brian Crecente — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:00:00 EDT

So last month I picked a pet peeve to harp on and on and on about. I wanted to know why it is we don't see more educational video games for this next-generation of consoles. Why no awesome Math Blasters or Reader Rabbits or Typing of the Deads for the Playstation 3, Wii or Xbox 360. One thing I learned is that there are a few of those out there, but I still wanted to hear from the three console holders on the top. So I emailed Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony to see their take on number of prepared questions. All of which lead to my final question: Why not give away an educational game on your console? More »

New Wave of Educational Games Coming to 360, PS3, Wii

Brian Crecente — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Edutainment. Man, I hate that word. But the concept, the concept I love. More »

Knowledge Adventure Enters Console Market With Majesco

Mike Fahey — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:40:00 EDT

Things are really looking up for parents who want to buy their children video games for Christmas but don't necessarily want to buy them games they'll enjoy, as venerable PC edutainment software creator Knowledge Adventure partners with Majesco in order to bring their properties to the console and handheld market. “This partnership is part of our strategic vision to transition the company from educational software to a multi-faceted kid’s entertainment company,” said Knowledge Adventure president & CEO David Lord. “Expanding our product footprint into this new category will enable us to create a market for future products—including our leading JumpStart® brand—on console and handheld platforms and capitalize on the increasing popularity of these platforms.” The first product of this union will be Math Blaster in the Prime Adventure for the DS, introducing the 21-year-old franchise to a whole new audience. Do you smell that? That's the smell of children's tears on Christmas morning. It's intoxicating! More »

"Games and the Future of Learning"

Maggie Greene — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:30:00 EDT

I mentioned the Games, Learning & Society Conference in Madison, Wisconsin back when a call for papers was put out. Michael Abbott of the Brainy Gamer has some interesting notes on the conference, which was held this past Thursday and Friday. The wrap up of the keynote speech, delivered by James Gee of Arizona State University, is an interesting meditation on the role of games (and not just 'edutainment') in education: More »

EA Explores Children's Minds With Brain Quest

Mike Fahey — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:20:00 EDT

Electronic Arts is hopping on the Nintendo DS learning tool train with the announcement of two new games for the handheld based on the educational card series Brain Quest. The two titles, one focusing on third/fourth graders and the other on fifth/sixth, will translate the cards into a series of questions based around a light story mode, with more than 6,000 questions per game. More »

Aspyr And Kaplan Partner For More Test Prep Titles

Leigh Alexander — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:20:00 EDT

We heard back in April that Aspyr would be developing a Kaplan SAT prep game, but that collaboration has now developed into a multi-year agreement between the two parties. More »

25 Best Games for the Classroom

Maggie Greene — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 14:30:00 EDT

One of the benefits of teaching on a collegiate level is that "fun" can frequently go out the window (as one of my professors routinely told a class full of students regarding the silent films the class watched, "I don't care if you like the film, that's not the point."); still, most of us don't want to bore the pants off students and try reasonably hard to make things interesting. It seems "fun" of the educational variety is even more important at the elementary and secondary levels, where I vaguely recall masses of activities designed to get us "engaged" and "interested." More »

Wild Earth: African Safari Review: A-Wiimoweh

Mike Fahey — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:00:00 EDT

In the jungle, the quiet jungle, the lion sleeps tonight... He also roars, scratches, paws the ground, stalks prey, and kills other members of the animal kingdom, and you can snap pictures of it all with Wild Earth: African Safari for the Nintendo Wii. Released in 2006 as Safari Photo Africa: Wild Earth for the PC, the family-friendly nature and innovative controls of the Wii made the edutainment title a prime candidate for a port. You step into the shoes of a photojournalist taking pictures for a nature magazine in Africa's Serengeti National Park, getting up close and personal with all sorts of exotic plants, animals, and their feces. More »

Link Teaches Geometry

Brian Crecente — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:00:43 EDT

The BBPS reports that a crafty New York math teacher has been using Link and his triangle-loving ways to sneak a little edu-ma-cation into his students. Am I the only one slightly confused by the description? More »

Pink Panther To Maul Children's Minds

Mike Fahey — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:20:06 EDT

The Pink Panther has never struck me as a particularly educational franchise. If anything French police detective Jacques Clouseau has the potential to make children even dumber, and my memories of the cartoon character always bring to mind Owens Corning insulation, but apparently Compedia sees things differently. The edutainment game company have partnered with MGM to create a series of educational titles featuring the cartoon cat. Compedia CEO Shai Newman is confident.

With millions of CD ROMs sold in over 40 markets, we are confident that we will have good sales results with the new Pink Panther line of products. The games will allow kids in many countries to play our user friendly, high quality games and enjoy the fun of learning with the Pink Panther

The Pink Panther was once voiced by Matt Frewer of Max Headroom fame. Your child will never learn anything from something associated with Matt Frewer. Look for the first titles to be previewed at Leipzig next week. More »

Ian Bogost Doesn't (Really) Care About Industry Criticism

Maggie Greene — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 14:30:00 EDT

Ian Bogost is the guy behind a lot of newsgames and training games - and has managed to attract enough attention thanks to some high profile partnerships that he'll be appearing on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report this coming Tuesday. He's also come under some hefty criticism from people both inside and outside the gaming industry - most recently, in a Slate article titled (in part) World of Borecraft. Bogost has already responded to the Slate article, but he digs a little deeper in a new Gamasutra piece that explains his reasoning for just not really caring what the more traditional forces in industry think. Namely, games aren't some monolithic construct that are either/or: either fun or educational, either fun or a total snoozefest, and dammit, there's room for all of them. More »

Games as Teaching Tools

egauger — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 21:40:19 EDT

Futurelab, a UK company seemingly devoted to studying the potential usage of video games on education, has recently concluded a study on just this subject, and declares that the future looks bright. More »