While not technically a tool, the National STEM Video Game Challenge http://stemchallenge.org/ is a contest that your students in grades 5 through 8 will be greatly excited to hear about. The contest asks the question, "Are you one of the nation's top middle school game designers? Our nation's leaders want to know. Why? Because the process of making video games isn't just fun, it can help you develop valuable skills our country needs - skills like critical thinking, problem solving, and creating design."
The competition is open to U.S. students in grades 5 though 8. Students must work individually. There are three ways to enter. First, students can create a written game design document. Second, they may make a playable game using Gamestar Mechanic (http://gamestarmechanic.com/), Gamemaker 8 available from YoYo Games (http://www.yoyogames.com/make), or Scratch (http://mit.scratch.edu/). Finally, students may make a playable game using any open platform.
The competition is described as an "annual" one that is sponsored by the Entertainment Software Association, Microsoft and The AMD Foundation in partnership with the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and E-Line Media. Submissions are open now, and they will be accepted until January 5, 2011. Please share this contest with your students. If any of you have a student that enters, please share with the group by posting a comment here.
Let the gaming begin!
