In this video, Dr. Constance Steinkuehler talks about her research on video games and literacy, and how learning skyrockets when students are passionate about the subject matter.

Dr. Steinkuehler is Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This video appears courtesy of Edutopia.

Photo Courtesy of Toca Boca

The topic of kids and technology is a hot topic again. This would normally be a good thing, if the questions that are being discussed weren’t fundamentally the wrong ones. It is, however, a familiar situation. We are going through a normalization of a new technology, and it will be met in the same way that technology has been met before: with skepticism, doubt and the occasional hint of technophobia. Discussions like these cloud the interesting part—the choices that parents make for their kids. But let’s start with at least getting the terminology right.

Firstly, we need to stop talking about the notion of screen time. All screens are not equal. A TV is different from a computer, and they are both different from a touchscreen tablet. Putting all of them in the same category is dishonest and simplistic. Screens are merely a way of visualizing experiences of a wide variety of categories. They are bearers of media—they are not media in themselves. Thus, they cannot categorically be defined as good, bad or neutral. For instance, no reasonable person would say that all computers are bad in the workplace. There may be good or bad uses of a computer, but the computer itself is neither. It’s just there—as an instrument, or a bearer of media.

Secondly, there is a big difference between watching something and interacting with it. The interactive component changes everything when it comes to creating new experiences for kids. Being engaged and actively participating in something—with feedback, collaboration, imagination and creativity—is a completely different experience from viewing a passive narrative. There can be a time and a place for both, but they are by no means the same thing.

Thirdly, it is no longer a matter of “if” you should use technology for learning but rather “how” it can be done. This is the foundation on which the Joan Ganz Cooney Center rests too. I am not saying that the iPad is the solution to everything—not at all—I am suggesting that we should not be thinking about iPads that way from the beginning. Think about what your kids need to learn and grow. Play with them, talk to them, observe them. What do they need to develop? Start there. Then—once you know that—you can start thinking about ways to do this. Perhaps all your kids really need is to develop a certain skill a little more, or perhaps to dive deeper into an interest that they have. If that is the case, then that is what they should do. But there are areas where technology can help too. Then—and only then—should you start thinking about how an iPad can be used. It isn’t alchemy for education—it is a merely a tool with which you can do great things. The iPad is not interesting. What you choose to do with it is.

Finally, technology is not a replacement for anything else. It isn’t intended to be, and shouldn’t be treated that way either. But here’s the thing—it is the parents who draw that line. You choose what apps your kids can play with, and the occasions where you think it is appropriate to do so. It is only a replacement if you as parents treat it as one. You choose and steer how kids develop by your own participation. It is a tool for you to use, but the tool does not dictate the rules. Just as little as a leather football dictates how long you should play a game of football. You make the decisions based on how you want your kids to grow. An iPad is in no way a threat to that decision.

The iPad is not a babysitter, some say. Well—it’s not if you don’t treat it as one. The iPad in itself is nothing more than a tool that can be used for many different things. You as parents decide which ones.

Björn Jeffery is the CEO and Co-Founder of Toca Boca, a play studio that makes digital toys for touchscreen devices. Since 2011, it has released 17 digital toy apps that are played in more than 150 countries. The apps carry consistently high ratings on the App Store and have totaled more than 32 million downloads to date. Toca Boca is a part of The Bonnier Group, one of Europe’s largest media groups with interests in books, newspapers, magazines, television, internet and film. Mr. Jeffery is currently based in San Francisco at the company’s U.S. headquarters.

Wilfried Hounyo (left) and Golden Rockefeller pictured with Charles Bolden, Administrator of NASA, a retired UN Marine Corps General, and former NASA astronaut

From a water filtration system powered by a stationary bike to a writing system that aids those afflicted by neurological hand tremors, the White House was brimming with the creations of young innovators at the third annual White House Science Fair. One hundred students from 40 different states attended the event, proudly accompanied by their teachers, parents, and mentors. It’s hard to overestimate the excitement of being invited to the White House by President Obama. I’m not sure who was more thrilled – the students or the adults – to be in those hallowed halls, sharing our passion for STEM education and careers.

Why would the White House host a science fair? President Obama plainly and earnestly made the case for this event, which he refers to as one of his favorite events of the year.

“If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you’re a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too.”

Gustavo Zacarias at the White House Science Fair with his sister

Three of the 2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge winners attended the event. Gustavo Zacarias, a middle school student from San Antonio, Texas, built The Dark Labyrinth on Kodu and was invited to exhibit his video game at the fair. The Dark Labyrinth is a 3-D maze that players navigate by solving math challenges. Gustavo began playing video games at age 4, and plans to build a career as a video game designer.

“I never thought I would be exhibiting my game at the White House,” said Gustavo. “I worked very hard during the making of the game and was very happy about winning a national competition, so I’m very excited and thankful for the opportunity to be part of this great event.”

Gustavo was joined by two students from the D.C.-area, Golden Rockefeller and Wilfried Hounyo, who won the Open Platform high school category of the National STEM Video Game Challenge. Golden is now a 16-year old freshman at University of Delaware studying mechanical engineering. Wilfried, a junior in high school, is currently looking at Berkeley, Stanford, and Penn State, where he plans to study computer science as a path to eventually work for NASA. Their game, Electrobob, teaches players about the nature of electrons by combining subject matter from physics, chemistry, and robotics.

Halfway through the fair, all attendees were escorted into the East Room to hear President Obama speak about the importance of STEM education and his continued financial and program support for it. Wilfried and Golden joined President Obama on stage as he repeatedly stated how amazed and inspired he was by all of the students at the fair.

“Young people like this have to make you hopeful about the future,” he said.

The President made several significant announcements during his speech:

• A new AmeriCorps program focused on STEM education.
•  The launch of US2020—a campaign by ten leading education nonprofits and U.S. technology companies to encourage companies to commit 20 percent of their STEM employees to 20 hours per year of mentoring or teaching by the year 2020.
• The Summer of Making and Connecting program will encompass more than 1,000 summer learning events hosted by leading education-based organizations; the Joan Ganz Cooney Center of Sesame Workshop is one of the organizations involved.

The President concluded the event with a simple, powerful statement that resonated with teachers, parents, and mentors all around the country.

“We’ve got to do everything we can to make sure that we are giving these young people opportunity to pursue their studies and discover new ways of doing things. And we’ve got to make sure that we’re also leaving behind a world that is safer and cleaner and healthier than the one we found. That’s our obligation…students, we could not be prouder of all of you.”

Well, it’s been just around a year since I received an email that AdditionBlocks had won the 2012 STEM Video Game Challenge for one of the Educator entry streams. I have really enjoyed being a part of this contest, and thanks to the Cooney Center, PBS, and E-Line Media, a lot of doors have opened to promote the game.

Pretty quickly after receiving the news, I (practically) ran out to purchase an iPad2 and a MacBook to build for iOS devices. By July, I had the game running on the iPad and on the App Store. One of my co-teachers tweeted out the link to my game, and I had over 500 downloads that first week! (Unfortunately, still a free version! Ha!). I also upgraded to an Android SmartPhone, and the game was available on Google Play in August.

E-Line Media invited me to the 2012 ISTE conference in San Diego to showcase the game and speak at a reception they were hosting. I really enjoyed meeting and spending time with that group, and they treated me exceptionally well.

In November, I suggested my game to BrainPOP through a link on their site; after making a few necessary updates/modifications, I signed the agreement with them in March of this year. The game will be on their GameUp site shortly, and I will participate in a BrainPOP webinar at the end of the May.

Another exciting opportunity came from one of my students’ parents, who nominated me for the Channel 11Alive (NBC local affiliate in Atlanta, Ga) “Class Act” award. Donna Lowry, the Educational Correspondent for the station came to my classroom and filmed my kids playing AdditionBlocks!

I have plans to monetize AdditionBlocks, and have been working on the next version for a few months (I am still teaching!) and hope to have a $0.99 version on the AppStore and Google Play by this June. I contracted with a graphic designer to re-create all the graphics and sprites to give the game a more professional look and feel. The new logo is displayed at the AdditionBlocks Facebook page.

Overall, the year has been quite eventful, and I have felt so blessed and humbled being able to meet all the great people from the Cooney Center, PBS, E-Line Media and at my local news station. My wife, Stacy, has been a great support as well, and I know that I could not be continuing to pursue educational game development without her encouragement. This experience has motivated me to continue to develop new games, including “MultiplicationBlocks” and “IntegerBlocks” (also hopefully during the summer!) Thanks again for everyone who helped put  AdditionBlocks out there, and thank you for playing the game!

If you have not played the game yet, you can find the game at www.additionblocksgame.com!

Martin Esterman teaches seven grade math for the STEM Magnet program at Marietta Middle School in Marietta, Georgia. He has been with MMS for 10 years and has taught all levels of math learners-from advanced students two grades ahead to students below grade level. He has designed, implemented, and used all types of math games and number puzzles in his classes at every level. Before teaching, he was a software engineer for seven years. Martin was awarded the Outstanding New Employee at Marietta Middle School in 2002, and recognized as one of the initial Georgia Master Teachers by the Georgia Department of Education in 2005. He is the winner of the PBS Kids Ready to Learn Prize in the Educator Category of the National STEM Video Game Challenge.

Executive Director Michael Levine and former Cooney Center fellow Sarah Vaala have co-authored Games for Learning: Vast Wasteland or a Digital Promise?, the conclusion to the new anthology Digital Games: A Context for Cognitive Development, edited by Fran C. Blumberg and Shalom M. Fisch.

The volume takes a broad look at the many positive impacts digital games can have for children’s cognitive and social development, opening with a call for developmental psychologists to recognize how digital games present an important context through which children grow and learn. In their chapter, Levine and Vaala stress the importance of research and development into educational games’ potential to strengthen student engagement and academic achievement. They present games as one solution to the many educational challenges presented in the Digital Games anthology. Also featured in the anthology are articles on Electronic Gaming and the Obesity Crisis by Advisory Board member Sandra Calvert, et al. and on Applying Developmental Theory and Research to the Creation of Educational Games by Glenda Revelle, a frequent collaborator. At the Cooney Center, we hope that policy makers and industry leaders will heed this anthology’s call and continue to expand opportunities for educational games both in and out of the classroom.

Digital Games: A Context for Cognitive Development can be viewed online at the Wiley Online Library.