Physics colloquium is Feb. 9 A physics colloquium will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, in 211 Witmer Hall. Pete Border from the University of Minnesota will address "Teaching with Video Games." Modern video games are amazing things: they are essentially simulated worlds and can take as much as 100 hours of dedicated play, practice and research to complete. They are also very popular. Most American teenagers play games several times a week. Parents and teachers frequently lament the amount of time spent on them, but to their players games are about practice, solving puzzles, finding answers, and doing research online, which are all good 21st-century skills. Border will talk about harnessing the incredible interest and concentration devoted to gameplay and using it for teaching. This is certainly not a new idea, but there have been many recent advances in the field, and new groups of researchers are studying how to make games that teach. He will also describe courses on “Game Design” at UMC-online, “Physics for Game Designers” at UMN-TC and “Edutainment” at MCAD. Coffee and cookies will be served at 3:30 p.m. in 215 Witmer Hall. -- Connie Cicha, Administrative Secretary, Physics, connie_cicha@und.nodak.edu, 7-2911