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10 Free Online Educational Game Sites

 

Using digital games in the classroom doesn’t have to break the bank. Teachers and students can take advantage of free, content-rich, browser-based digital game hubs with hundreds of potential games to choose from. Educators can use these games for teachable moments, warm-ups, homework assignments, re-teaching concepts – the list goes on and on. I originally wrote this post for MindShift back on March 27, 2014. Please enjoy it and use the games hubs as resources for instruction.

Written by: Ryan Schaaf

Original Source

Web-based games can prove to be a treasure trove of learning opportunities, and there are a variety of content-areas, age ranges, and skill levels to choose from. The true pay dirt for browser-based learning games can be found on large online digital game hubs. Here are 10 game hubs players that teachers can use to as one tool in their arsenal.

1. Sheppard Software

Headed by Brad Sheppard, Sheppard Software hosts hundreds of free, online, educational games for kids. The site organizes its games into categories, which allow students and teachers to easily navigate by subject area and find a suitable game that caters to either an instructional need or a child’s sense of curiosity and thirst of knowledge and challenge.

2. PBS Kids Games

PBS KIDS creates curriculum-based entertainment. The games site hosts a number of browser-based gaming experiences based on popular literary and media franchises such as The Cat in the Hat, Curious George, Sesame Street, and more. Games are organized by subject-type, which includes math, healthy habits, science, reading, and teamwork.

3. Mr. Nussbaum

Created by Greg Nussbaum, a Virginia public school teacher, Mr. Nussbaum boasts over 3,500 content pages with a wide variety of learning games organized by content type and grade level. This site is also optimized for use on a tablet and an interactive whiteboard.

4. National Geographic Kids

The world-famous National Geographic hosts over 100 fun, engaging, and interactive science, action, adventure, geography, quiz, and puzzle games. For a free game hub, the production quality on games or interactives such as Wildest WeatherOn the Trail of Captain John Smith, and The Underground Railroad: Journey to Freedom is truly remarkable.

5. Poptropica

Under the creative direction of Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Poptropica® is a virtual world in which kids explore and play in complete safety. Every month, millions of kids from around the world are entertained and informed by Poptropica’s engaging quests, stories, and games.

6. Funbrain

Funbrain, created for kids ages preschool through grade 8, offers more than 100 fun, interactive games that develop skills in math, reading, and literacy. Plus, kids can read a variety of popular books and comics on the site, including Diary of a Wimpy KidAmelia Writes Again, andBrewster Rocket.

7. BBC Schools: Games

The British counterpart of our PBS, the BBC, offers interactive digital games and activities involving subjects such as literacy, numeracy, history, mathematics, music, and the arts. The games are also categorized into age ranges. The cartoon graphics are very appealing for children, but the content is stellar for teachers and parents that want children to play to learn.

8. Primary Games

With games and activities that meet curriculum needs for math, science, language arts, and social studies, Primary Games houses over 1,000 game titles. The site includes curriculum guides for teachers to use in conjunction with the games.

9. ABCYa.com

This game site offers teacher-created and approved educational computer games for elementary students to learn math and language arts on the web. Featured by The New York Times, Apple, and Fox News, ABCYa.com provides young children well-crafted games and activities.

10. Arcademic Skill Builders

Arcademic Skill Builders are online educational video games that offer a powerful approach to learning basic math, language arts, vocabulary, and thinking skills. Arcademic games challenge students to improve their scores through repetitive, timed learning drills that provide immediate feedback.

Ryan Schaaf is Assistant Professor of Technology at the School of Education at Notre Dame of Maryland University.

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GoPro Confirms Two New Hero4 Models, With Pro-level 4K And Built-In Touchscreen

GoPros in education. Should we allow them? Should we encourage them? How soon before a teacher assessment oversight committee requires teachers wear them so they can watch what they do in a classroom? And students, should they be able to wear them? We have seen issues before with “secording” – secretly recording – teachers who are having a bad day, sometimes as part of a student prank. Should a student be able to record their classroom experiences and share them? And keep in mind that one day GoPros will be far less obvious than they are now; Google Glass (iGlasses) is the first step in that direction. Imagine these as contacts.

The article doesn’t address any of this, it just brings you up to speed on the status and direction of GoPros. Keep in mind that it’s just 2014.

Posted By Jason Ohler

Original Source 

Update on September 29, 2014: GoPro has officially announced the Hero4 Black ($500) and Hero4 Silver ($400), both available on October 5, 2014. Much of the rumor we reported on is accurate, with the Black model supporting cinema 4K video recording at 30 frames per second and 2.7K at 50 fps, while the Silver model has a built-in touchscreen display, 2.7K recording at 30 fps, Full HD 1080 video recording at 60 fps, and 720p at 120 fps. GoPro says the Hero4 Black doubles the performance power of its predecessor.

Both models have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (working with the GoPro App or new Smart Remote); 12-megapixel photo resolution with 30 fps burst mode; a QuickCapture mode; HiLight Tag to mark your favorite moments when recording; SuperView mode for immersive wide-angle shots; Night Photo + Night Lapse for time-lapse shots at night; improved audio capture (two-times the dynamic range over the last gen); manual controls for adjusting color, ISO, exposure, etc.; Auto Low Light mode; and a new button that lets you adjust camera settings quickly via the front LCD. 

The Black and Silver versions of the Hero4 will also come in either Surf or Music kits. These will come with special mounts for either placing on a surfboard, or a mic stand or instrument. GoPro says the Wi-Fi connection is 50-percent faster than in the previous generation, and have better power management. With the Black model, GoPro is touting the ability to capture 4K photos, in which an 8.3-megapixel photo can be extracted from a 4K video. It means users can capture both high-quality videos and photos without having to choose between the two.

As we originally alluded, there’s a new entry-level model for $130. Simply called the Hero, it’s more barebones as it lacks wireless connectivity, but it still captures Full HD videos at 30 fps (720p at 60 fps). It retains the familiar Hero form-factor and waterproof housing, but has the lower price point to appeal to hobbyists and parents buying an action cam for their kids. In addition to these new products, the Hero3 White ($200) and Hero3+ Silver ($300) will remain in the lineup.

Original story: It’s been almost a year since the latest and greatest Hero3+ models appeared for sale in the GoPro range, and we have a steady stream of leaks to suggest that new devices are just around the corner. The next set of GoPro cameras are rumored to include an integrated touchscreen, 30fps 4K recording (up from 15fps) and a low budget model.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like 4K recording at 30fps and a touchscreen will appear on the same model — the Hero4 Black Edition will have the top-notch specs, while the Hero4 Silver Edition will offer the user-friendly touchscreen, according to Petapixel and other sources. Audio capture quality will be improved across the board. If the rumors are correct then action camera fans will be able to order the new models in mid-October.

Related: PowerPole isn’t your ordinary GoPro stick, charges action cam while filming

There’s a monster thread on Reddit that pulls together everything that’s been unearthed so far from leaked promotional materials. We haven’t heard anything official from GoPro yet, but with the yearly product cycle almost up and the GoPro Hero3+ Black Edition now listed as out of stock it seems a fairly good bet that new devices are imminent.

The Hero4 Black Edition resolution frame rates are said to include 4K at 30 frames per second, 2.7K at 30 fps, 1080p at 60 fps, and 720p at 120 fps. The Silver Edition can capture 2.7K at 30 fps, 1080p at 60 fps, 960p at 100 fps, and 720p at 120 fps. New manual settings are also rumoured to be on the cards.

Further speculation centers around a budget model called the Hero. This device will offer video recording up to 1080p at 30fps but drops features like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and the touchscreen. If you want to get yourself some decent quality footage but don’t have an extra few hundred dollars to play around with then it looks like the Hero could be the camera for you. We shouldn’t have too long to wait to see if these leaks are on the money: GoPro is said to be readying an announcement for as early as next week.

(This article was originally published on September 28, 2014.)