What is it?  What2learn offers some really simple to create flash based literacy games that you can either get your students to create or simply make the yourself.  The game options are very simple in nature offering hangman, wordsearch, question and answers, anagrams and multiple choice but the point of what2leaarn is that students will really appreciate the opportunity to create and share their games with classmates.

How Can I use this in the classroom?  It would be reasonable to expect a group of grade 3-4 students to be able to create a game in around 10 - 15 minutes so you could ask them to do this in a literacy rotation without too much hassle.  You could ask students to use their weekly spelling words in the games or simply create games based on a theme you are doing in the classroom at them moment.

What2learn is a available here and free of course.

March 29 & 30 I would love to say I'll be there but unfortunately I won't. 

Game Based Learning 2010 takes place over two full days and includes an evening social event to make valuable connections in a relaxed environment. With a main conference programme running during these two days combined with breakout sessions for special interest groups there is something for everyone with an interest in using gaming and social media technology to improve learning, teaching and training.

GBL 2010 will explore successful deployments and evidence for both commercial off the shelf (COTS) as well as bespoke serious games in the areas of formal and informal education in schools and universities, healthcare, military, corporate training, banking together with workshops on game procurement and a dedicated strand featuring leading international research in Game Based Learning.

Confirmed speakers for GBL 2010 include:

• Ed Vaizey, Shadow Minister for Culture and the Creative Industries
• Siobhan Reddy, Executive Producer & Kareem Ettouney, Art Director, Media Molecule
• Matt Mason, Author, The Pirates Dilemma
• Alice Taylor, Commissioning Editor, Education, Channel 4
• Michael Acton Smith, CEO, Mind Candy
• Derek Robertson, Learning & Teaching Scotland
• Stephen Heppell, heppell.net
• Ewan McIntosh, CEO, NoTosh
• Jonathan Stewart, Consultant Surgeon, Director, Hollier Medical Simulation Centre
• Tim Rylands, Teacher & Innovator
• Tom Chatfield, Author, Fun Inc
• Major Roy Evans, Army, Ministry of Defence
• Dan Giove, Founder, DubSpot
• Sean Brennan, Managing Director, Bethesda Europe

Find out more here.

The Nintendo DS / Gameboy is the biggest selling video game console in history and would be a common item in the school bags of many students.  The problem Nintendo has had is convincing teachers and parents the DS could actually be a learning tool and to give them a reason to get them out of their bags.

The Brain Training Academy series launched somewhat of phenomenon in the portable gaming marketplace and all of the sudden mum, dad and Grandma wanted a DS to sharpen their minds, Play Sudoku and various other puzzle games.  The DS instantly gained some credibility with the intellectual market as a result.

Well Nintendo have obviously taken note of this trend and set to capitalise on it further with the Nintendo DS XL.

The DS XL sports a screen double the size of it's predecessor, (Maybe to help Granny  see here Sudoko a little clearer?) it has built in Brain Training Games, Dictionary and a range of other DS Apps that are aimed at  non traditional gaming markets.  It sports a better camera, improved touch and stylus functionality and still offers all of the web browser and Wi-Fi connectivity of the DSi.

It will be available in March 2010 for what I can only assume will be slightly more expensive or the same as the DSi.  

In light of the recent disappointment of the iPad I am sure Nintendo is hopeful this DS maybe can break into the educational market with it's new features.  Watch this space and I look forward to hearing your feedback.

IGN the bible for all that is videogaming has recently realeased their top 25 iPhone games list.  I know a great deal of schools that have purchased the iPod touch for student use and if we want to throw more money at Apple for absolutely nothing new then we also have the iPad to consider. that these games wil function on   Many of these games in this list by the nature of the iPhone / iPod interface contain educational, strategy and puzzle elements.  I am sure this might help make some decisions regarding educational gaming apps a little easier.  Check it out here.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't really get Second Life.  I have tried the free component of it a year ago and it didn't really grab me as I have enough trouble trying to keep my first life in order and I quickly discovered that Second Life is not a Video Game as such although I can see the escapism, experimentation and adventure it offers users much like a traditional video game.

However Brett Bixler and a large number of other Educators have invested a gret deal of time and effort into exploring the educational potential of Second Life as an educational tool.  I have seen a colleague have some success using Second Life to help her students learn Indonesian.  She set up a school server that replicated some Indonesian Cities and let them use the environment to communicate in the native tongue and the kids loved it.

Brett has written a great paper on the potential of Second Life as an Educational Tool and explores the pro's and cons it offers.  It is very thorough and non-biased and could assist others experimenting in this field.

I would love to hear from others who have experimented with Second Life and hear their successes or failures.