An emerging coalition of academics, writers, foundations, game designers, companies like Microsoft and, increasingly, U.S. Military is working to make parents and educators aware of enormous potential for learning contained in gaming medium. While “edutainment,” may work for pre-schoolers, it is primitive when it comes to enormous sophistication of today’s games. We need new and better learning games, and these are finally beginning to appear. Microsoft has sponsored a “Games-to-Teach” project at MIT which is building games for learning difficult concepts in physics and environmental science on X-Box and Pocket PC. Lucas Games has lesson plans to help teachers integrate its games into curricula to teach critical thinking. A UK study by TEEM (Teachers Evaluating Educational Multimedia) has shown that certain games can help youngsters to learn logical thinking and computer literacy. Given almost perfect overlap between profiles of gamers and military recruits, US Military uses over 50 different video and computer games to teach everything from doctrine, to strategy and tactics. “America’s Army, Operations,” a recruiting game released for free in 2002, now has almost 2 million registered users, with almost a million having completed virtual basic training. Academic research into positive effects of games on learning, which not so long ago sat unread on shelf, is being noticed by national media. Theoretical and practical guides such as “What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy” by Professor of Education James Paul Gee, and my own “Digital Game-Based Learning,” are now on bookshelves. Experts, such as former Stanford CFO William Massey, who created learning game “Virtual U.” are working with game designers to build games that communicate their knowledge and experience. Foundations like Sloan, Markle and others are funding these efforts. The Woodrow Wilson school has begun a project called “Serious Games” to increase use of gaming in public policy debates, picking up an effort that begin 10 years ago with “Sim Health” from Maxis.

Yet despite all findings, research, and cries for help from kids in school, many parents and educators still tend to think of video and computer games as frivolous at best and harmful at worst. The press often encourages this with headlines about “killing games” when in fact two thirds of games are rated “E (everybody),” and sixteen of top 20 sellers are rated either “E” or “T (teen)”. To counteract this “name prejudice,” users and funders of today’s “new” educational games often refer to them by “code” names, such as “Desktop Simulators,” “Synthetic Environments,” or “Immersive Interactive Experiences.”

Yet what these new, highly effective learning tools really are a combination of most compelling and interactive design elements of best video and computer games with specific curricular content. The tricky part is doing this in ways that capture, rather than lose, learner’s interest and attention. We are now becoming much better at this. The money and will is there to do it, and our students are crying for it.

I have learned not to wear a red shirt when taking down hummingbird feeder during day. A red shirt causes hummingbirds to flit back and forth in front of my face, as if searching for perfect access to this huge, glorious RED flower they see before them.

Instead of filling hummingbird feeders during day and risking a collision with tiny birds, I often wait until after dark to take down feeder, wash it and fill it with fresh nectar. That way, when hummingbirds are looking for food early in morning, they will find a clean feeder filled with fresh nectar.

As season progresses, hummingbirds dramatically increase their nectar consumption so that by July, I am filling hummingbird feeder at least once per day. I like having hummingbird feeder in front of my kitchen window where I can closely observe hummingbirds as they perch on feeder and dip their beaks into nectar. When light is just right, I can see their impossibly long tongues darting out to suck up more of liquid or to lick off tiny droplet hanging from end of their beaks.

When light is just right, it is also easy to see why they are called "Ruby Throated" hummingbirds. The red feathers at base of male's throat glow like ruby slippers in Wizard of Oz.

All summer long I watch hummingbirds, and as September approaches, they became more and more frantic to eat as much as they can, in preparation for long flight back to South America.

And then, early in September, one day it will dawn on me that I haven't seen as many hummingbirds. As more days pass, remaining hummingbirds leave too. Eventually I don't see any hummingbirds at all, and I know it will be many months, with a long hard winter in between, before I can once again feed hummingbirds that hover in front of my kitchen window.

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