Sunny day, chasing the clouds away…

I am pretty sure that those of you who are around 30 years old remember those lines very well. Go back to your childhood and I am sure that you will remember days of sitting in front of the TV set, watching Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and all the other awesome characters on Sesame Street. If there is one thing that I am sure of, it is that Sesame Street and the people behind it know a lot about children and know what is good for them.

Thus, when I read about Sesame Workshop’s latest report, I was quite happy! The Joan Ganz Clooney Center recently published a report which discusses the positive effects of video games on children. I like how the report encourages everyone – from educators to parents – to look beyond the stereotype of video games and examine how they can actually be advantageous to the development of children.

Among some of these advantages are:

• Content (from rich vocabulary to science to history)
• Skills (from literacy to math to complex problem-solving)
• Creation of artifacts (from videos to software code)
• Systems thinking (how changing one element affects relationships as a whole)

Indeed, if you think about it, video games can be harnessed to make the learning experience an even better one. While the report does not make conclusive claims, the mere fact that a reliable entity has acknowledged video games as positive is enough to make my day!

Video game enthusiasts in Lakeland, FL, here is your chance to prove just how good you are. This coming Saturday, you can participate in an event sponsored by renowned Best Buy. Here is the news from The Ledger:

The Best Buy Video Classic, a competitive video game event in Lakeland, kicks off Saturday with registration, game and technology exhibits and video game skills assessments.

The event will be at the Freedom Center at 635 W. Fifth St. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The games will begin on July 18, continue to July 25 and take place every third Saturday of the month thereafter with trophies and cash prizes.

Games included in the competition are 2009 NFL Madden, 2009 NCAA (college football), Fight Night (boxing) and 2009 NBA on the XBOX 360 and Play Station 3.

The cost to enter is $10 if you bring your own game controller and $15 if you do not.

The event is presented by Game Time Entertainment and will partner with the Education and Enlightenment Group to raise money for youth scholarships. For more information, contact Greg Simpkins at 863-660-9381.

I find it a bit funny that you have to pay more for the entrance fee if you do not have your own controller. Then again, if I lived in that area and were to join, I would definitely want to bring my own controller. You never know what a new controller might do to make your playing different, right? Anyhow, for those of you in Lakeland, go dial that number up there and plan your weekend!

Oh my. I honestly do not know how to react to this. People of the younger generation are probably cringing and wondering what is going on. Truth be told, I do not think that anyone younger than myself can remember that Michael Jackson used to be COOL. Yes, I remember when we were still in grade school, and everyone was trying to do the moves that Michael Jackson did. Well, those were the days.

Anyhow, rumor has it that the King of Pop is looking into the video game sector to make another comeback. You all know that he is going to have a concert at London’s O2 Arena pretty soon. Well, the additional news is that he is also going to have a video game released. I am not sure as to the truth in these rumors but Ben Dutka at PSX Extreme writes:

According to Euro website 9Lives, the King of Pop will attempt to rock London’s O2 Arena, and a game will follow this effort. All we know is that it will be available for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and Wii and it should be ready for the holiday season. Now, I would like to see Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker 2, but I’m relatively certain that isn’t going to happen. The first game was a cult classic that actually shipped with the Sega Genesis for a brief time, but it was hardly the epitome of quality and/or technical achievement. We can be nostalgic all we want…the game really wasn’t that good. But damn, it brings us all back, doesn’t it? Anyway, we’ll let you know whenever Jackson chooses to make this project public, and if it may follow in the footsteps of blockbuster franchises like Guitar Hero and SingStar.

Okay, I am not a fan but I don’t dislike the guy either. Let me say that I’ll sit the fence on this one and share my thoughts when and IF the game is released.