Thomas
Posted in Video Games and Learning by Thomas on the October 26th, 2008

Think It Ink It write-your-own creative writing story kit allows children to express themselves in an enjoyable way!

In light of the current economy, parents are looking for recession proof toys for the holidays. Enter Think It Ink It Publishing creative writing story kits, the brainchild of Alice Wilder, Ed.D., co-creator and head of research and education of PBS’s Super Why, director of research & development, producer and writer of Nick Jr.’s Blues Clues, and her three partners, Frances Black, Michael Thibeault, and Dasha Ziborova, all in the field of children’s literature. Think It Ink It Publishing is about to change the way kids think and write. It is a professionally illustrated wordless picture book in which children write the story in soft cover and/or online. Online each child’s story is transformed via the Internet into a young author’s very own hard cover, professionally illustrated book. There are four blank wordless picture writing kits to choose from, all available from ThinkItInkItPublishing.com with selections appealing to both boys and girls. They come with creative writing tips and vocabulary help. The creative writing story kits cost $9.95.

creative writing

“As toy buying kicks into high gear around the holidays, parents may be on a budget, looking for bargains and unique gift ideas for parents and (more…)

Game Developers Conference image

Thomas and Cola are on-site at the 2008 Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco this week. This is a special year for us at the GDC, because KidConfidence is getting access to a lot of larger media companies than we’ve had in the past.

In fact, with all the video interviews and special events that Thomas and Cola are covering, they are starting at 7:00am and wrapping up around 11:00pm every night! I talked with Thomas last night and he said he doesn’t even have time to download all the video he’s shooting before starting the next day.

We’ve got some great interviews coming with executives and designers from: Nickelodeon, Neopets, Sony, Electronic Arts and many more.

Stay tuned!

Nintendo’s “Endless Ocean” video game may not have been designed for educational purposes; However, I can’t think of a better way to get your kids excited about the world’s oceans and coral reefs. -Regardless of your geographic location and from the comfort of your own living room. Sea-sickness not included.

Did you know: 2008 is the “International Year of the Reef”?

Having your kids being interested in a subject like Coral Reefs also makes for a great introduction to using Keyboard, Mouse and the Internet (Google) to find answers to (more…)

WebkinzHere is a great article about Webkinz in Knowledge @ Wharton. If you are a parent and are trying to figure out what Webkinz is all about, and wondering if it is ok for your kids to play, you should read this. It contains perspectives from parents with a variety of backgrounds including college professors and an educational psychologist. It also contains some nice vignettes of families and what the kids find to be so interesting about the Webkinz phenomenon. If you are curious about Webkinz, it’s well worth a read!

student hatA new section at “The Game Career Guide” website answers parents’ frequently asked questions about videogames as a career.

Video games represent an important new media, one that is quickly becoming as pervasive as Television, DVDs, movies and books. Because video games are relatively new as a medium, they are often mis-understood by many parents, particularly those who were not exposed to them as kids. Many even view games as anti-social, promoting violence. (Which is part of the reason why we founded KidConfidence).

Parents may wonder if making video games for a living is even possible, and if so what education does it require? Other concerns addressed on Game Career Guide are: “What is the likelihood that my daughter/son will be able to get a job upon graduation?” and “Some of these games schools are really expensive. Do I have to send my child to one?” (more…)

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