This week, my 6th grade social studies students conducted research about medieval European topics, then they each remixed, "modded" (modified), or created brand new flash-based video games. They also wrote a reflective essay that explains how their game relates to their researched findings. I used a completely constructivist teaching style, only giving students a short overview, then links to a YouTube tutorial and a PDF step-by-step. No actual coding is required; programming commands are put together by matching color-coded interlocking bricks, although practical knowledge of math (angles, degrees, x, y plane) is inherent in game design. Video game design is not only engaging, and part of STEM (
http://stemchallenge.org/students/scratch/), but it also challenges learners to consider how to teach to the topic they are tasked to study.
This video link fully explains Scratch's potential as a learning tool:
http://vimeo.com/60294183#. Scratch is a free download from MIT Media Labs:
http://info.scratch.mit.edu/Scratch_1.4_Download
Below are links to some of my student's examples (click each picture to play):
