I recently asked my nine-year-old daughter if she thought playing video games helped kids with reading. She looked up from her world in Minecraft and said, “No!” If you ask an adult the same question, you will likely receive the same response along with many reasons why video games might be considered harmful to children. Some of those reasons might include violence or inappropriate content; sedentary lifestyles that result in obesity; lack of social skills development; little use of imagination; or a waste of time. While those are valid concerns, researchers and educators are discovering the positive impact video games have in the classroom.

I recently joined the Twitterverse. I resisted at first because I wasn’t into following celebrity tweets or re-reading what my friends had already posted on Facebook. I also did not want another social media account to follow However, after a conversation with a fellow educator , I was convinced I needed to create a Twitter handle to connect professionally with other educators.