Building Simulations, Games, and 3-D Modeling

I attended an all day workshop on Sunday called "Building Simulations, Games, and 3-D Modeling Using Excel, Alice, GoogleSketchUp, and NetLogo". I went with the intent of finding out more about programs that we would use in summer enrichment "technology camps". I was probably most intrigued by Alice. It is a free 3-D animation program that is very simple to use. Students could be engaged quickly and create their own "worlds". The educational advantage to the program is the introduction to programming logic - if you do this, then this happens. Great way to teach some higher order thinking and problem solving in a fun, game-oriented way.