October
6 Using video games to hook readers, and vice versa

"Libraries are hosting gaming tournaments, while schools are exploring how to incorporate video games in the classroom," Mokoto Rich writes. Publisher Scholastic launched a new mystery series, "The Maze of Bones," which is tied to an online game; Random House has commissioned its own online game to tie into the next book of its best-selling "Inheritance" fantasy series. Reports Rich, "A recent poll by the Pew Internet & American Life project found that 97 percent of children 12 to 17 play games on computers, consoles and handheld devices." Even PBS stalwart the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is jumping on the bandwagon, supporting an effort to create a public school that promotes learning with game design principles such as instant feedback and graphic imagery. [New York Times]