The schools and universities of today are faced with a difficult task – making sure that the students of today are ready to solve the problems of tomorrow using tools and technologies that are either under development or do not currently exist.  Enabling the next generation of entrepreneurs, scientists, artists, engineers, and workers in general requires teaching young people to be self-driven, experiential leaners vs. passive receivers of knowledge.

When thinking about preparing students for the next generation of jobs and building national competitiveness, policy makers should think about learning environments that are different from traditional desk, pencil, paper and one computer shared among many students.   Students want to learn in the ways in which they work and play; the educational experience must therefore reflect a much richer technological experience, and be accessible wherever and whenever students can engage in learning.   Building these modern innovative learning environments requires new thinking about how best to reach students in an information rich-world.  There is a new trend of gaming in education that is taking students by storm and engaging them in their education in new ways.  Students as young as six years old are creating games with fellow students and trying to solve world problems in a fun engaging environment.

I am excited to announce that the full release of Microsoft Kodu Game Lab, a free fun tool that lets kids from the age of 6 upwards to build their own video games. Kodu helps kids develop real-world skills by encouraging them to analyze a problem and develop a solution. It also promotes Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).  But most of all it’s fun!

In addition, we are also announcing the US Kodu Cup, a competition for kids aged 9-17
years old to win great prizes by creating their own video games.   Submissions close:
May 10, 2011 and Winners announced: May 25, 2011.

Learn more about Kodu, watch this fun video