Hello everyone, sorry for the looooong no show. Back here with a gaming resource: Sploder. Sploder is aFlash-based online game creator. It offers 2 types of games: the platformer creator and the shooter creator. Sploder also lets you publish your game on the net and you can email it to friends. A community is created to provide basic training and game sharing.
Go and register: http://www.sploder.com/
Have fun
Since I’ve been volunteering in my son’s class (1st grade), I’ve been looking for web-based educational games for that particular audience. I realize how my professional training and experience has absolutely NOT prepared me for this (Obviously. I never thought that I would be interested in K-12 education). However, this has become quite fun, but at time frustrating because I really REALLY have no clue where to look. So I started by the RezEd-based SIG K-8 Virtual Worlds. For those of you who have not checked out the RezEd.org site, you are really missing an absolutely awesome resource. Do yourself a favor and join (it’s free. and no, i have not personal interests in promoting it besides the fact that the more educators join, the more brains I can pick 
http://www.kidscom.com/ is pretty cool. Thanks to Sally Schmidt, Executive Producer at KidsCom.com, for pointing me toward this site. It is well organized. It offers a virtual community (with a purpose) as well as online games.
Sally Schmidt (01/15/09, RezEd communication): “On KidsCom.com kids play educational games to earn Virtual Points they can use the take care of a virtual pet or buy stuff for their house, character, etc. in our virtual world. Many of the games would be appropriate for 1st graders–we have a math game called Math Monster Crunch, Tangrams game, Maze game, Appetite Attack nutrition game (although it is probably a little advanced for 1st graders). You can find these games easily by going to KidsCom.com and clicking on the Games tab in the top nav.”
source: http://www.leadingvirtually.com/?p=62
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Where is Wonderland going?
Wonderland is impressive for the number and flexibility of features it offers – we describe only some of them here. You can check out the features in the current release (0.4). Upcoming releases will include new features such as enabling avatar posing and improved application sharing (see the roadmap). Project Wonderland’s vision is to create the best possible environment for collaboration in a variety of domains, including business, education, commerce, and entertainment. Because of its open source nature, which allows users to tweak it to suit their purpose, I am confident that Wonderland will find tremendous application in the future.
Similar Articles That Will Interest You:
Rethinking The Value of Virtual Worlds for Virtual Team Collaboration
The Future of Virtual Teams: Collaboration in 3D Web
Leading to Increase Commitment in Virtual World Collaboration
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Quick note to the article’s author about “Nicole was present in the in-world (as they call Wonderland) to receive me”: “in-world” is an expression used by most users of an immersive 3D environment. Not specific to Wonderland or Second Life. And the proper usage would be “Nicole was present in-world to receive me.” (Imagine saying, “Nicole was present outside/inside to welcome me.”
Well, looks like it’s time to take a dive and jump inside Wonderland for a tour.
Interested in a list of virtual worlds organized alphabetically with url, genre, and audience categories? Register as member at the “Association of Virtual Worlds” (http://associationofvirtualworlds.ning.com/)and receive the Blue Book free: a list worth 40 pages long! Last update was May 2008. Pretty cool.
oh and registering is free of course. 
JumpStart World ($10.00) : versions for kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. Mixture of 3D interface and educational activities. http://www.knowledgeadventure.com/jumpstartworld/
Edusim (free): http://edusim3d.com/
SPORE ($39.99): http://www.spore.com/
The much anticipated game finally out. Hopefully, we can dust off the Spore-based curriculum and get it going for Fall 08……..IF we can get an early copy. I just emailed Will Wright via Facebook about possible educational discounts or early release. Let’s wait and see what happens. Can’t wait to get this going for a new Honor’s class.
Below are pieces of the newsletter I received from Spore.com. The much anticipated newsletter #1. Go to spore.com and subscribe to be the first in the news:
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Game software © 2008 Electronic Arts Inc. EA and the EA logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
http://www.ubfunkeys.com/index.html
The UB Funkeys are collectable figures that unlock new zones and a virtual world filled with games and items. Cute and intelligent.
Other virtual worlds catering to our pre-SL much-younger selves:
*Club Penguin http://www.clubpenguin.com (social)
*Kidscom http://www.kidscom.com (climate)
*Mokitown http://mobile-kids.net (road safety)
*Whyville http://www.whyville.net (science)
*Webkinz http://www.webkinz.com (plush pets)
*Shining Stars http://www.shiningstars.com/ (virtual pets)
*Rescue Pets http://www.rescue-pets.com/ (virtual pets)
*Kookeys http://www.kookeys.com/ (plush pets)
*Nicktropolis http://www.nick.com/nicktropolis/game/(social)
*Hutchison, D. (2007). Playing to Learn: Video Games in the Classroom. xxx: Teacher Ideas Press.
website: http://www.playingtolearn.org/
contact: David Hutchison, Ph.D.,Associate Professor,Pre-service Department,Faculty of Education,Brock University,St. Catharines, Ontario,Canada L2S 3A1, (905) 688-5550 x. 3354, (905) 688-0544 (fax), david.hutchison@brocku.ca, http://www.ed.brocku.ca/~davidh/
Summary: Playing to Learn is one of first practical resources that helps teachers integrate the study of video games into the classroom. The 250+ page book features over 100 video game activity ideas appropriate for Grades 4 to 12. Virtually every subject area is addressed, including language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, history, geography, health & physical education, drama, music, visual arts, computers, and business. The book is augmented with several discussion articles contributed by scholars, journalists, and bloggers who routinely write about video games. Also included are dozens of activity modification and extension ideas, Web links, data tables, and photos. Foreword by James Paul Gee.
Status: book ordered (June 6, 2007). personal review pending
Source: slrl D. Hutchison, June 6, 2007
COTS: Commercial Off The Shelf. e.g: The Sims, Creatures-Exodus, StarWars Lego, Spore (one sure hopes sometime in this century!),
COTS gone online: The Sims, Creatures, (possibly the last stages of Spore),
MOVUG: Massively Online Virtual Universe Game – Entropia Universe, DotSoul Cyberspace
MUVEs: MultiUser Virtual Environments – Second Life, Active Worlds, There, Kaneva,
MMORPG: Massive Multiple Online Role Playing Games – World of Warcraft (WoW), EverQuest, Neverwinter Nights, Meridian 59, The Realm, Nexux-The Kingdom of the Winds,
Games v. Simulations definitions (from Goknur Kaplan Akilli (2007). Games and Simulations: A New Approach in Education? Gibson, D., Aldrich, C., & Prensky, M. (Eds). Games and Simulations in Online Learning: Research and Development Frameworks. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Inc.)
G&S:
Games:
Simulations
