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Grand Rapids, MI – Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Blue Sphere has provided both financial and volunteer assistance to Explorer Elementary in Kentwood to help children learn programming skills using technology aimed at converting passive gamers to productive creators. Kodu is a new software application created by Microsoft Research that can teach programming and logic skills to kids as young as eight (3rd grade) with a simple visual interface. Xbox 360 controllers are used for input, enabling anyone to edit and create their own games on Xbox or Windows.
Explorer Elementary was one of a handful of schools chosen worldwide by Microsoft Research to introduce the Kodu program. Microsoft is closely monitoring the progress of the students using the application. One of the creators is Mark Finch, who did the visual effects for Rock Band and worked on the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero 2. Finch believes that Kodu is about "taking people out of the passive computer user role and letting them create their own content and games,” according to the Kodu website maintained by MS Research (http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/kodu/).
Blue Sphere heard about the project through Scott Quibell, a software engineer for Pfizer Corporation who has worked with Blue Sphere principals Steve Goulet and Chris Hashley on past projects. Scott saw the opportunity to get a West Michigan school involved in a cutting edge technology, but needed funding and help to get the project rolling.
Steve Goulet ended up volunteering to help teach the class with Scott and the team of teachers at Explorer. “For me this was an incredible experience – it exceeded my already high expectations. I witnessed the energy build as the children learned of the potential to create their own games using their own ideas. Harnessing that energy to foster learning and technology growth was easy – these kids are now determined to build these games and will learn programming skills in the process.”
For more information on Blue Sphere’s software development and consulting services, please call (616) 682-1266 or e-mail info@bluesphereinc.com.
Contact:
Lauri Ellens
(616)682-1266
lellens@bluesphereinc.com |
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