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Originally posted on the Higher Innovation blog On March 5th 2013, Electronic Arts released the highly-anticipated SimCity for Windows PCs everywhere.  SimCity is an interactive and immersive simulation where you are the mayor of a virtual city with people known as Sims that just want to be happy...

With the release of Microsoft’s most daring OS ever – Microsoft Windows 8, this revolutionary OS is considered to be a major milestone for Microsoft in regards to the shift from in-the-box computing to cloud computing. Adding to it, Windows 8 is one of the 3 key elements in the Microsoft vision on what...

Here's a chance for your students (or you!) to design a brand new character for the popular game Chimpact . The winner’s character will feature in the next Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 version of the game and get a credit - but just as importantly, the winner gets bragging rights over all their mates...

Guest post by Sarah Garcia from Kilbowie Primary School, West Dunbartonshire. Sarah is a Primary 7 (11-12 year olds) teacher at Kilbowie Primary School, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. She has been teaching for seven years and loves helping children to learn. Sarah really enjoys trying to find innovative...

The use of COTS (Commercial off-the-shelf) games in the classroom has grown in popularity in the UK over the last few years and their potential impact is well documented in the Futurelab report, ‘The impact of console games in the classroom’. The findings of this particular report suggest that well structured...

At Kodu Game Lab , the Koduteam is always on the look out for community members that are doing fun and compelling work. In this edition of Community Spotlight, we catch up with Blake M., the creator of Kodu Galaga , who goes by LEGOManiacBlake on our forums. Kodu Team : Can you tell us a little about...

Games like Kinect Sports are great for supporting numeracy. The reason for this is that all of the minigames produce data and numbers. The challenge for creative teachers is to look for opportunities within the game and incorporate these into young peoples’ learning. Getting learners to keep track of...

Games like Kinect Sports are great for supporting numeracy. The reason for this is that all of the minigames produce data and numbers. The challenge for the creative teacher is to look for opportunities within the game and then use this data to incorporate into young peoples’ learning. Getting learners...

Back in March at Internet Explorer's Badger Palooza event at the 2012 SXSW Interactive festival Microsoft unveiled an arcade machine running Internet Explorer 9 featuring an HTML5 game based on the popular animated short film “Marshmallow People” from FilmCow . It was so popular, we’ve made the game...

Taken from our Playful Learning: Computer Games in Education eBook by Ollie Bray (available to view and download below) What are contextual hubs? I like science fiction but I have to admit never really been into Star Trek. However, I do once remember watching a television program on the history of the...

Taken from our Playful Learning: Computer Games in Education eBook by Ollie Bray (available to view and download below) I’ve seen lots of badly dubbed films but I have never seen a badly dubbed computer game. Yet children play the same games in different languages all over the world. In 2010 I took a...

Kodu is a new visual programming language made specifically for creating games. It is designed to be accessible for children and enjoyable for anyone. The programming environment runs on the Xbox, allowing rapid design iteration using only a game controller for input. You can view and download our...

Taken from our Playful Learning: Computer Games in Education ebook (available to view and download below) Quality learning in schools occurs where you have good pedagogy combined with activities that are either interesting or engaging. Gaming is hugely popular in the UK with over 85% of young people...

The Xbox 360 and Kinect ™ for Xbox 360 make great additions to the classroom.  As well as being able to play games, you can use the console and Kinect sensor to connect to other classrooms around the world via Xbox LIVE. Xbox LIVE has loads of features, and some of the best ones include Video Kinect...

There are many reasons why using computer games in the classroom are a successful way for students to learn. The use of games and consoles, such as the Xbox 360 , are just a natural progression of the playful learning environment. Here are some factors that simply explain why computer games are so...

Part 3 of our KODU in the Classroom series of posts builds on yesterday’s post and focuses on ‘Getting Started with the Xbox 360 Controller’. The full eBook can be viewed/downloaded below. KODU Game Lab: Getting Started with the Xbox 360 Controller View more documents from Microsoft Education UK

Part 2 in our KODU in the Classroom series of resources is focused on ‘Getting Started with the Keyboard and Mouse’. View/download the full eBook below. KODU Game Lab: Getting Started with the Keyboard and Mouse View more documents from Microsoft Education UK

The core of the Kodu project is the programming user interface. The language is simple, intuitive and entirely icon-based. Programmes are composed of pages, which are broken down into rules, which are then further divided into conditions and actions. The Kodu language is designed specifically for game...

When considering the future impact of technology on teaching and learning there is an element of crystal ball gazing. That being said, working for an organisation such as Microsoft offers me some unique insights into the plethora of new technologies that are becoming available, which, in turn, allows...

In recent years computer Games Based Learning, or playful learning has started to gain more cohesion in classrooms as a powerful learning and teaching methodology. The 2011 Horizon Report, which seeks to identify emerging trends in future teaching and learning, recognised Games Based Learning as a future...

We are thrilled to announce the availability of our latest eBook, titled ‘Playful Learning: Computer Games in Education’. Written by leading light in this field, Ollie Bray , this eBook combines thoughts, observations, tools and practical tips to help you understand more about using and making computer...

Extract from today’s feature in the Guardian on how technology is revolutionising classroom learning. The use of technology in schools marks an increasing convergence of the classroom with children's home lives. Gareth Ritter, a teacher at a Willows high school in Cardiff , has begun using motion capture...

As mentioned earlier this week, a core focus for us at BETT 2012 is gaming in education. With a dedicated showcase area staffed by the K-Team and inspiring daily presentations by the always motivating Ollie Bray , our stand at BETT 2012 promises to be an essential pit stop for those interested in learning...

The future of technology in education means many things to many different people. eBooks, natural user interfaces, touch screens, gaming in education and the consumerisation of IT are all themes that are voiced when the topic comes up for debate. A hot topic, for sure! Gaming in education and the consumerisation...

In the space of a year, Kinect for XBOX 360 has come a long way. Quickly becoming the fastest selling consumer electronics device of all time and recently crowned T3 gadget of the year , the innovative device is now used for a wide range of non-gaming applications. The recent release of the Kinect SDK...