Video Games in the classroom can be used for/to learn
- Programming
- Animation/Digital Storytelling
- Digital Art
- Project Management
- Storyboarding
Here are my top picks for 2012:
GameMaker
edit 3/1/2014: now called "GameMaker Studio", check out the official "Learn" page that colleague Steve Isaacs and I are contributing to: yoyogames.com/learn(This is the one I use most in my classes. drag-n-drop, extensive customization, possible intro to programming concepts. LOTS of video tutorials on schooltube + youtube)
GameStar Mechanic
(for Elementary to Middle School. Built for the classroom. Plays like an adventure game where you earn new game-building abilities/characters as you play through the storyline.
Kodu
(3D games, drag-n-drop, games can be played on Xbox 360 or PC)
There are others that are built specifically to learn the concepts of programming while building games at the same time:
Scratch
(build games, animations, etc.)
Alice:
(build animations)
