I intended to spend this week posting about what I have learned at ISTE, but I came across this site last night, and could not wait to share it. Â It combines quite a few of the educational topics that are near and dear to my heart: creativity, self-designed learning, gamifying the classroom, and even programming for kids.
What is Gamekit?  According to their site, “Each month, Gamekit will bring you a new game development challenge to stretch and build your creative muscles.”
The site has four warmups, currently, and I can’t wait to see what they add. Â My favorite one, so far, is “Mod a Board Game.” Â I’ve actually done an activity similar to this in my classroom, asking the kids to take an old board game they no longer play and to make it into a new game. Â You can use a lot of the tools from S.C.A.M.P.E.R. to do this.
Each warmup describes the steps, gives suggestions for how to “dive deeper”, and gives tips for educators. Â Under each warmup is an area for comments, where the community can give examples of how they completed the challenge.
In the “Design a Play Space” warmup, Gamekit has teamed up with Gamestar Mechanic to create a challenge – perfect for those aspiring video game designers.
I am really looking forward to seeing the evolution of Gamekit. Â I love this idea, and will be sharing it with the parents of my students to encourage some creative thinking during the summer months!