This was recently in the news: _____________

E3 To Host "The Education Arcade"

Representatives from MIT Comparative Media Studies and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today announced the launch of a three-day conference focusing on games in education, as part of The Education Arcade initiative.

The new conference will offer discussion of key issues and emerging trends in the development, use, and marketing potential of games in education. The event will be held May 9th to 11th at the 2004 E3 in Los Angeles, prior to the opening of the Expo show floor, and will be open to the public.

Further details can be found at the following website: http://www.educationarcade.org ___

(I realize "games" has a bad connotation in the education community. Perhaps these researchers mean "2D & 3D simulations & modeling that are both fun and constructivist".)

Anyone thinking they might go? __________

Also here's an interesting article about savants in Wired: "Autistic savants are born with miswired neurons -- and extraordinary gifts. Now researchers are using breakthrough science to expand our understanding of the brain. By Wired magazine's Steve Silberman." http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.12/genius.html

This suggests to me that Squeak might help the autistic - being that it can easily link music, sound, and math together. Also seems to suggest that linear or tabular GUI would be better than a Morphic one for them. ___________

Also: Cover article in Technology & Learning Magazine:

- Top 10 Innovative Projects - "We profile 10 projects that combine collaboration, critical thinking, global implications, in-depth investigations, and a very high student motivation factor." http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=16000694 ___ This article might suggest to us ways Squeak can be use for in-class projects.

Cheers, Darius