XplanaZine

♦ Learning to give at a young age
In Club Penguin, a popular online game club for the elementary school set, more than 2.5 million kids gave their virtual earnings to charities in a contest last month. At Club Penguin, children’s penguins have virtual jobs, earn virtual coins and can buy things for their virtual igloo homes. The site held a 10-day “Coins for Change” campaign ending on Christmas Eve in which 2.5 million users donated in some cases as many as 1,500 coins to charities. In turn, the site, owned by Walt Disney Co., divided 1 million real dollars among the charities: the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the World Wildlife Fund and Free the Children. – L.A. Times

♦ Technology + Online + Industry + Partnerships
Perhaps the best way to interest students in a health care career is to give them an early taste of medical school. Even elementary-age kids can connect to the excitement that surrounds the life sciences. To foster that enthusiasm early, the new interactive website BioWorksU.com sets games and experiments against the backdrop of a virtual university. Launched by the Indianapolis Private Industry Council (IPIC), a nonprofit workforce development agency for Marion County, the project was funded by a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. – T.H.E. Journal

♦ China Education Alliance, Inc. Introduces Newly Developed Online Educational Game…
China Education Alliance, a leading distributor of educational resources, offering high-quality programs and training both through online networks and an onsite training center in China, announced the introduction of an online educational game “Fortune Island,” which was a game platform first recommended by the National Educational Game Research Base by the Ministry of Education of China. — Reuters

♦ Tabula Digita Announces First Multiplayer Educational Video Game Tournament for Educators Educators Attending FETC 2008 Can Learn First Hand What Students Love About Gaming FETC 2008
At FETC 2008 in Orlando, Fla. this month, educators will get the chance to play the role of today’s “Generation .NET” students as they compete in the inaugural State Challenge Multiplayer Educational Games (MEG) Tournament. The tournament is being presented by Tabula Digita, an educational gaming company delivering pre-algebra and algebra software programs to K-12 schools and districts. — dBusiness News

♦ Government pledges £30m to get pupils online
In the U.K., the government has pledged £30m of funding over the next three years to help school pupils from low-income families gain home broadband access. The plan will allow pupils to access school work and resources — enabling the download and storage of homework, for example — and get feedback from teachers at home. – ZD Net