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Gamification is Coming. Are You Ready?

By on January 18, 2011 in Educational Technology, Games & Simulations, Next Tech

The debate about the use of game mechanics in digital media — lately known as gamification — hardly started  before being overtaken by tools, workshops and service providers all too willing to use game techniques to tart up your latest digital masterpiece. But many in the gaming world are complaining “Not so fast!” and The [...]

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Best Practices in UX, IxD and Gamification

By on February 9, 2012 in Games & Simulations, User Experience Design

Jackson Young, VP Experience Design for RAPP and I are presenting best practices of user experience and gamification at the New York Creative Village Meetup.

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$20 Million in 7 Minutes

By on June 22, 2011 in Educational Technology, Games & Simulations, Next Tech

Founded in 2004, Games for Change is the leading global advocate for supporting and making games for social impact, including for learning (serious games). The 8th annual Games for Change Festival just wrapped up in New York. Al Gore’s keynote on Monday opened the three-day festival with strong acknowledgement for games and social media’s ability [...]

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App Camp Videos

By on June 16, 2011 in Educational Technology, Kids Media & Technology, Next Tech

If you’ve been reading my posts over the years you know I’ve been a participant, video blogger and fan of Warren Buckleitner’s Dust or Magic — a mini-TED that attracts the top people in children’s entertainment and educational technology. Last year Warren started the Dust or Magic App Camp which just wrapped up its second [...]

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iPads in the Classroom

By on January 4, 2011 in Educational Technology, Kids Media & Technology

It’s been clear for a while that Apple hit a home run with the iPad — both a new tool for consuming digital media and one with many uses for teaching and learning. Now that reports are trickling in from the classrom we can say that, cost aside, the iPad (and its cousin, the Android [...]

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The Next Big Thing in Digital Education

By on November 23, 2010 in Educational Technology

“The next big thing…” is a big promise and the one being made by McGraw-Hill Higher Education as they begin rolling out the latest version of their Connect online content, now integrated with the Blackboard learning management system (promo video — marketing site). After working on “the next big thing…” in educational technology for Pearson [...]

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Whyville, AMD and PBS Join Forces

By on September 29, 2010 in Games & Simulations, Kids Media & Technology

It’s gratifying when your clients and friends do well so I’m happy to pass along the news that Whyville, the subversively educational virtual world for tweens launched in 1999, has partnered with AMD Foundation and PBS to offer game development tools. From the press release: AMD today announced that the AMD Foundation, in support of [...]

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Using Game Mechanics to Power Your Business

By on July 15, 2010 in Business & Marketing, Games & Simulations

There’s a post by Shane Snow and Phin Barnes on Mashable called How to Use Game Mechanics to Power Your Business that’s an excellent primer on a topic many first-time game design clients struggle to understand. Whether you’re looking to leverage game mechanics to drive business or to make a product more compelling, this is [...]

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Gamestar Mechanic in the South Bronx

By on July 14, 2010 in Educational Technology, Games & Simulations, Kids Media & Technology

[Scroll down for update.]  When I heard about eLine Media‘s planned beta test of Gamestar Mechanic I thought it would be a perfect match for the outreach programs organized by New York based NGO The LAMP to teach media literacy in under-served communities. It took less than an hour to reach a meeting of the [...]

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Brain Meets iPad

By on June 12, 2010 in Educational Technology

My post of a cat playing with an iPad was a placeholder until the initial hype died down and more reasoned reviews started coming in. Lee Wilson, President of PCI Education, wrote a very cogent post titled iPad for Education Revisited that praises the iPad’s value as a media consumption and media organization tool, with [...]

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Cat Meets iPad

By on April 16, 2010 in Next Tech

No way around it this is a silly cat video, but it’s worth it (thanks Ecks & Gizmodo). Backstory: I decided to wait for the initial product shakeout and a v2 release of the iPad before buying one. After seeing this I wish I’d gotten in line early and unless you’re allergic, I bet you [...]

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When Toys & Virtual Worlds Collide

By on March 14, 2010 in Kids Media & Technology

When the annual New York Toy Fair and the virtual world conference Engage Expo filled the Jacob Javit’s Center during the same week in mid-February, the two events showcased more than any one person could absorb. Fortunately Warren Buckleitner (Childrens Technology Review) hosted an informal round-table where 18 industry experts talked frankly about the best [...]

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