In the News Archives

August 2006

Educational Technology Wins in the Senate… For Now

The Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee recently allocated $272 million for the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program, the major source of federal funding for school technology. The future of the program is still very much in doubt, however, as its funding must now be approved by the entire Senate and then survive a Senate-House Conference Committee. (Earlier in the year, the House of Representatives had voted to eliminate the EETT program altogether.)

For now, supporters of the bill are happy about the subcommittee’s vote. “I am pleased that the Senate [subcommittee] has made educational technology a funding priority in the FY 07… education spending bill,” said G. Thomas Houlihan, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officials. “However, there is still much work to do to ensure that this important program is sustained and receives the resources necessary to continue to close the achievement gap.”

According to the State Educational Technology Directors Association, the EETT program is the sole source of funding for technology-related school projects in as many as 14 states, including Maryland. The $272 million approved by the Senate subcommittee would keep the program’s funding level in relation to 2006, but would still represent a sharp decrease from the $696 million that was allocated for 2004.

For more on this story, visit http://www.eschoolnews.com.

 

Kids in the U.K. Want Games in the Classroom

A recent U.K. study by the Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute found that about 60% of 11-16 year-old students were in favor of using video learning games in the classroom. The study, funded by the Teaching with Games project with support from Electronic Arts and Microsoft, surveyed a sampling of over 2,000 students in England and Wales.

Among the study’s other findings:

• 46% of 11-year-olds said that they play video games every day.
• More than two-thirds of respondents thought that games would help their computer skills and about 50% felt they would help their strategic thinking skills.
• 38% of those students who did not want to use video games in the classroom said that they would rather play them at home, suggesting that they may see game play and education as completely separate activities.
• Some of those surveyed also commented on potentially negative effects of video games, such as reinforcing stereotypes.

The survey presented somewhat complex results, but in the mind of British educator Mike Rumble, one thing is very clear: “Young people play computer games not because they are easy or mindless, but precisely because they are the opposite of that – they are hard. The outcome of this research will inform further development of learning technologies and the issues that teachers may need to consider when using games software in school.”

To learn more about the Teaching with Games project and this study, go to http://www.futurelab.org.uk/research/teachingwithgames.htm.

 

Companies Use Advergaming to Target American Children

With childhood obesity an increasing national concern, the Kaiser Family Foundation has just released a comprehensive analysis of the ways that food companies aim online advertising at children. The study found that 85% of the top food brands targeting children in their TV ads now also have branded websites aimed specifically at kids.

According to the study, one of the main ways that companies advertise to children is via “advergaming.” The sites in the Kaiser report included 546 games featuring food brands, such as the Chips Ahoy Soccer Shootout, the M&M’s Trivia Game and the Pop-Tart Slalom. In addition, the report found that these sites make themselves “sticky” by promoting repeat game play, offering multiple levels of play and suggesting other games that visitors might also play.

“Online advertising’s reach isn’t as broad as that of television, but it’s much deeper,” said the Kaiser Foundation’s Vicky Rideout, who oversaw the research. “Without good information about what this new world of advertising really looks like, there can’t be effective oversight or policymaking, whether by the industry or the government.”

To learn more, you can read the entire report, “It’s Child’s Play: Advergaming and the Online Marketing of Food to Children” at http://www.kff.org/entmedia/7536.cfm.

 

Update on Very Serious Games

We wrote about “activist” video games in the May edition of “In the News,” and since then, there have been several additional noteworthy articles written on the topic. Follow these links to see the latest:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/arts/23thom.html
http://seriousgamessource.com/features/feature_071806_peacemaker.php

And to learn about the recent “Games for Change” conference in New York City, check out the Serious Games Source’s summary of the event.

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