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Teenage boy at an esports club plays a game on a large screen.

How To Start an Esports Club

02/18/2022

Topics: esports, Gaming

Esports is a mammoth and growing ecosystem that includes game publishers, streaming platforms, products, leagues, tournaments and more, all of which add up to a $20-billion-a-year industry. It’s an engine that’…

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A girl plays a video game with her mom

How 3 Gaming Industry Trends Can Boost Education

04/12/2021

Topics: Gaming

To flatten the curve when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we were all encouraged to stay home as countries across the world shut down schools, businesses, churches and events. That’s why the World Health…

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Students build coding skills block by block

Students build coding skills block by block

04/19/2018

Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Gaming, Robotics

New knowledge is constructed by building on what we already know, making connections by tinkering with new combinations of familiar blocks.

In the same way that a musician improvises new melodies, or a poet constructs new juxtapositions of sounds, words and images, students…

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Use Dungeons & Dragons to engage all students!

Use Dungeons & Dragons to engage all students!

03/14/2018

Topics: Assistive and adaptive technologies, Gaming

Groog's dark knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip around the handle of his war hammer. Battle. He could smell it coming. He had followed his compatriots into deadly situations before and they had always been victorious. Would this time be any different?

A kidnapped prince, a…

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A glass dome in Minecraft

Can Minecraft Teach Team Building?

09/01/2021

Topics: Digital Citizenship, Gaming

It was October. My Introduction to Computer Science class had been meeting for two months, and we were deep into a discussion about game design. One of my students gestured casually at the student across the room. “That’s right! I agree with what … what’s-his-name said over there.”…

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Teach kids computer science through design and inquiry

Teach kids computer science through design and inquiry

12/04/2017

Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Gaming, Robotics

I first discovered computer science (CS) and coding more than 20 years ago while completing my undergraduate work. Little did I know that one day CS would be the

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3 powerful words can unlock computer science success

3 powerful words can unlock computer science success

07/31/2019

Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Gaming, Robotics

I was reminded recently of the three powerful words that capture the everyday miracles of learning and teaching. It happened as my sixth graders were just beginning to create ordered and unordered lists during their first lessons in HTML. All at once, I heard a chorus of voices exclaim…

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Try game-based learning to teach multiculturalism

Try game-based learning to teach multiculturalism

09/08/2017

Topics: Digital Citizenship, Gaming

In many classrooms, educators use games to teach math or science concepts in the cognitive domain – learning focused on acquiring knowledge about processes, procedures and principles.

But educators are discovering the benefit of educational games that help students…

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Learning happens in a zigzag  and that' 's OK

Learning happens in a zigzag and that's OK

06/24/2017

Topics: Assistive and adaptive technologies, Augmented reality, Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Digital Citizenship, Digital storytelling, Gamification, Gaming, ISTE Conference & Expo, Literacies, Makerspaces, Personalized Learning, professional learning, Project-based learning, Robotics, STEM & STEAM

Jad Abumrad is quick to say he doesn’t feel comfortable giving educators advice, and yet his career in radio touches on many topics educators are familiar with.

Tinkering. Curiosity. Messy experiences. Failing forward. Transformation.

Abumrad, host and creator…

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