There isn’t a day that goes by that doesn’t find someone trying to draw a link between video game violence and real world criminal behavior.

But where it is usually Grand Theft Auto, or some similarly violent game sparking the controversy, this time MMO World of Warcraft has been tied to a school shooting attempt.

The TimesOnline reports that a 13-year-old male student in France apparently planned to shoot his teachers for giving him poor grades.

I’m sick and tired of people saying that video games are a waste of time and that people are unintelligent for playing them. It’s just not true. The only people who say that are people who have never played a game and don’t realize what really goes into it. I think games are very much educational and should not be shunned.

First, playing video games involves a lot of thought and strategy. Each game has a completely different set of rules that you have to learn and follow. Now you can either sit and read the instruction booklet or you could…

In the Los Angeles Times, writer Alex Pham reports that the San Fernando Library encourages youth to play video games and even invites them to be as loud as they like.

“It lets teens be more comfortable with the library and become familiar with librarians,” San Fernando librarian Lydia Harlan told Pham. “And it’s what kids are into these days.”

In the article, Pham reports that more libraries are turning to video games to connect with technologically savvy youth who might be losing interest in books and stories. In New York, the New York Public Library has even added a collection of books, films, music and maps about video games.

Click through for the full article and a list of recommended books…

Remember when you couldn’t wait to get into high school? It was the place of learning all those subjects and educational keys to really start molding your future and setting your sites on the career of your choice. But after you enter, the classes became harder and though you excelled at one subject you moan as another flopped. It was no longer fun, challenging and at times you feel disconnected.

For Steve Waddell, CEO and Lead Developer of I Support Learning, remembers that all too well and had developed a way to engage students through videogame design.

“The videogame design curriculum is about making learning relevant to the learner by showing them how math, science and language are used in the real world. The big benefit is engagement,” Waddell told Gamertell. “If a student isn’t engaged, as I found myself in school, then it becomes very tough to learn. This is pretty much common sense. If your audience isn’t listening to you they won’t get the message. We’re also excited that universities around the country are starting to give students…

With technology expanding and luring youth away from school, the British are trying to use technology to lure students back to school. One such way is through the upcoming BETT technology fair at Olympia in London starting January 9, 2008.

The goal of this event is to bring together the global teaching and learning community for four days of innovations and inspirations. Some of those inspirations stem from current gadgets children may already own, which is why Sony is getting involved in this technology fair with a few ideas of its own.

Sony, famous for its video-game consoles, came to the event to offer educators a way to reach children who play games and to help make learning fun using the PSP. The handheld was first made available in Europe on September 1, 2005, allowing children to play their favorite games on the go.

Since the recent upgrades and added capabilities such as being able to download videos, the handheld system could be used for educational purposes. Using the latest models, Stimpfig suggests that teachers could create video lessons their students can download and review wherever and whenever they like by simply downloading them to their PSP and watch it later.

Tuusula, Finland was in shock following a fatal school shooting that killed six students and two faculty personnel, and wounded 10 others at Jokela High School in a small Finland town. Flags in Finland were flying at half-staff Thursday, November 8, 2007, and a moment of silence was observed for the eight people killed during more »