From Simulation to Imitation Controllers, Corporeality, and Mimetic Play (Simulation & Gaming, 2014) is a very interesting conceptual paper on how advances in controller-technologies and gaming systems present new learning potentials in gaming experiences. The authors argue "digital gameplay undergoes an epistemological shift when player and game interactions are no longer restricted to simulations of actions on a screen, but instead support embodied imitation as a central element of gameplay". This shift continue...

More and more schools are acknowledging the power of mobile devices for learning in classrooms and have been either encouraging BYOD (bring your own device) programs or purchasing tablets for student use. However, this transition presents new challenges for educators, like keeping students on task and away from distractions in a digital environment. Nearpod is an online presentation platform with supporting mo...

The "Tag It!" app, developed by four high school girls who call themselves the "EPA Chica Squad," is designed to promote civic action. These students from California were unhappy with the graffiti and trash they saw in their community and decided to create an app to help clean up and beautify their local environment. They learned and used App Inventor and created an android-based app that not only allows local citizens to identify areas for community impr...

Title: Using Learning Analytics to Understand the Learning Pathways of Novice Programmers (2013) Authors: Matthew Berland, Taylor Martin, Tom Benton, Carmen Petrick Smith, & Don Davis Source: Journal of the Learning Sciences Research Questions: How do students’ programming activities change ove...

Play is an important activity for human beings. It is fun, imaginative and also crucial for the development of social skills, creativity, and adaptability in an uncertain world. Playgrounds, products of the rapid urbanization and industrialization in the late 19th-century, are important places for children to learn to interact with others and develop their physic...

Research Questions: What learning gains do students make through a game-based learning environment for geography education? What is the nature of learners’ motivation in this game-based learning environment and how does this motivation differ from their motivation in the traditional school environment? Study Design: The world is becoming more connected than ever, but students' interest in learning geography, one of the most imp...

Title: Deepening Students' Scientific Inquiry Skills During a Science Museum Field Trip (2012) Authors: Joshua P. Gutwilla & Sue Allenab Source: Journal of Learning Science Research Questions: Can scientific inquiry skills be taught effectively to students in the museum context in the absence of prior preparation work...

Nephrotex is a virtual internship program developed by the Epistemic Games Group at the University of Wisconsin. Participants "play the role of interns in a fictitious biomedical engineering design firm" and their primary task is to "develop a novel nanotechnology-based membrane for use in kidney dialysis sy...

Mars Generation One: Argubot Academy is a language arts game for tablets developed around STEM topics. This game is produced by well-known educational gaming company GlassLab in collaboration with National Writing Project and NASA. In the game, players assume the role of an earthling new to Mars in 2054 and a student at the Red Rock Academy. Players have to learn ho...