Recovered some old notes from a year ago that were originally intended for a TechNote. I never finished it, but thought that the ideas might still be useful to someone.

“JFK Reloaded Game Causes Controversy” by Jason Tuohey (PCWorld)
“Games that teach” by Betty Reid (Arizona Republic)
“Computer games help children learn, says study” by Polly Curtis (Guardian)
“Computer games ‘can help children learn’” by Lucy Ward (Guardian)

“Gamers Make Serious Work of Computer Games” by Renée Montagne (NPR)

“Problem-solving games on the rise” by Jose Antonio Vargas (Seattle Times/Washington Post)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2002070534_seriousgames25.html

A number of pieces this week [ a year ago :) ] focus on the positive effects of video games on children. The pieces are full of places begging for discussion. Whether you accept the claims of the articles or not, these questions can lead to great classroom conversation:

• Ward’s article explains that video games can “help children learn concepts such as critical appreciation of narrative structure or character development which they might otherwise study in a novel.” Choose a video game you’re familiar with and sketch out the narrative structure and the ways that the characters develop over the course of the game. Based on your experience with novels, how do the literary elements in the video game compare?