“White House Launches Games For Healthy Kids Competition (Forbes)” plus 2 more |
- White House Launches Games For Healthy Kids Competition (Forbes)
- Video games 'do not affect kids' academic performance' (New Kerala)
- Kids to ‘miss out on a lot’ without Rising Stars (Rockford Register Star)
| White House Launches Games For Healthy Kids Competition (Forbes) Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:59 AM PST Can games be used to solve broad social problems in areas like health and education? The White House thinks so. Kumar Garg, a policy analyst for the office of science and technology for the White House, explained the motivations behind the First Lady Michelle Obama's "Apps For Healthy Kids" competition launched Wednesday, at a Game Developers Conference keynote speech in San Francisco. There's a lot of data the government has around nutrition and around health," said Garg. "As we release more and more of this information, we see it as a platform to innovate upon." The competition is a part of the First Lady's "Let's Move" campaign, that challenges game developers to create tools and games aimed at helping children eat healthier and cut down on childhood obesity. The top prize is $10,000. Garg said that beyond the competition, the government was interested in what games could do for other sectors like health care and science and math education, imagining a version of "America's Army," a war simulator game, called "America's Nurses" or "America's Entrepreneurs." "Nothing has captured the mind space of both students and kids and adults as games have," said Garg. "They are deeply immersive." Garg talked about some of the qualities of games that made them attractive as solutions tackling social issues. He said games were "built-in assessment tools" and that they also had wide distribution channels, like on mobile devices and social networks. The White House policy analyst also mentioned other ongoing partnerships and iniativies the government had with the game industry. Last November, Sony, Microsoft and the Electronic Software Association took part in a couple of national video game competitions, part of President Barack Obama's focus on Science, technology, Engineering, and Math education (STEM). "This is a long-term engagement for us," said Garg. "We're going to keep showing up; we're going to keeep talking about it. We want to see games as part of the solution." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Video games 'do not affect kids' academic performance' (New Kerala) Posted: 11 Mar 2010 09:39 PM PST Washington, Mar 12 : Video games may not necessarily affect academic results of children, unlike most parents' perception, according to a new study.
In fact, the new research claims that video games can have a very positive influence in the education of children, when used in moderation. Ángeles Llorca Díez from the Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Corporal Expression at the University of Granada, along with professors Dolores Álvarez Rodríguez (University of Granada) and Ángeles Díez Sánchez (University of Salamanca) aimed to investigate whether attitudes of users toward video games, and how they use them, have a significant impact on cognitive variables, specifically in spatial intelligence, self-efficacy and academic performance, acknowledging the existence of structured security measures that protect the child. They analyzed a sample of 266 total participants aged between 11 and 16, together with their corresponding parents (fathers or mothers). All children were given a semi-structured interview, a survey of use and preferences in video games, two intelligence tests and an inventory of self-efficacy. Parents filled out a survey on opinions, knowledge and attitudes toward video games. Results found that boys not only play more than girls, but they start earlier, an outcome that could be related to a clearly cultural influence. Also, it was observed that participants, as they play more often, they do it for longer periods of time, which in the opinion of Llorca Díez "confirms the concern of some researchers about the possibility that some video games are addicting". There are also gender differences not only in the use that young people make of video games, but also in what they demand of them. Thus, boys are more stringent than girls, and prefer realistic, challenging, impressive and competitive games. Regarding the variable of academic performance, the researcher points out that "it is not only affected by the use of video games, but also hours of study and self-efficacy perception have demonstrated predictors of school success." Ángeles Llorca insists that video games can represent "a very useful pedagogical tool" to encourage self-efficacy, a variable that improves academic performance. --ANI
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| Kids to ‘miss out on a lot’ without Rising Stars (Rockford Register Star) Posted: 11 Mar 2010 10:41 PM PST LOVES PARK — "Center time" may look like kids at play to the untrained eye. But teachers say the time spent building blocks, puzzles and other games is an important part of development for the 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds in the Rising Stars program at Donald C. Parker Early Education Center in Machesney Park. Center time is one piece of the Rising Stars curriculum. On Thursday, it was a chance for students to identify shapes, develop motor skills and social skills, and learn to share. Time is running out for the program. The Harlem School District Board of Education approved plans Monday to cut Rising Stars as part of an effort to save millions of dollars while state funding to the district lags. Forty-four jobs — including teachers, assistants, paraeducators and bus drivers — will be cut. "The biggest loss is that the kids won't have the opportunity to grow," said Jeff Mabel, father of three Harlem students, including a 5-year-old son in Rising Stars. "When he entered the program, he was unable to communicate as effectively as his brother and sister were at that age," Mabel said. "Because of the program, he's able to communicate, he's able to count, he knows his ABCs, his letters, he knows lowercase and uppercase." This year, the program serves 379 pre-kindergartners who need extra development, and depends heavily on state grants. And right now the state isn't paying. Can't count on state funding Rising Stars has "done wonders for so many students. ... We, too, are sad that it is a program that we can't count on the level of funding needed to support it," Assistant Superintendent Anthony Rosilez said. The program, which began in 1992, costs the district about $1.65 million a year, Rosilez said. The district counted on $1.4 million in grants this year to help support the program. That's 10 percent less than the state gave Harlem for the program last year. Full-day kindergarten possible "We've seen them learn and grow so much in the time that we have them, and we're afraid that they're going to lose that," Zaphel said. "With the demands of kindergarten right now, it's intense. For them to go into kindergarten without having those play skills and the developmentally appropriate curriculum we provide, they're going to miss out on a lot." The cut comes at a time when the district is researching whether to add full-day kindergarten. That could be affordable because kindergarten programs are paid through general state aid based on attendance, rather than the categorical grants that once funded Rising Stars, Rosilez said. "That may be another way to make up for the great services we lose by not having Rising Stars. Maybe we can provide more learning opportunities for kids," Rosilez said. "We're getting closer to a recommendation, but it is still being discussed." The district can re-examine whether to reinstate Rising Stars if state funding does come through, although it appears unlikely. Even in that scenario, it will depend on how much money comes through and how soon. Reach staff writer Kevin Haas at khaas@rrstar.com or 815-987-1354. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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