Free game makers that actually engage the kids are hard to find. I plan to include& update this games list. Remember that swf files can be embedded into ppts or most IWB applications! If you don’t have an IWB, project onto a wall a watch the kids actually PAY ATTENTION! Use one of the ‘fun games’  and the kids may actually look forward to your class! (seriously!)

Here’s all the MAIN links to games w/a thumbnail on this page- http://weblist.me/rtoa-gamemakerslist
Take note that EVERY link on this page is clickable AND GOOD!
The 1st link (it’s also the 1st one on this blog post) IS a good site! I actually contacted the creator & he fixed the login process for me. He IS an edtech specialist.
The 2nd link doesn’t show up- but there’s FREE games on it.

If you use them to make reading games, may I please have an embed code or link so that I may include them in my this for other reading teachers? (All examples listed, are made for Treasures!)

Why don’t you have the kids make games & challenge each other?

Here’s a tutorial for uploading & unzipping a game into MOODLE! http://vle.barkingcollege.ac.uk/cw/tutorial_download_zip/uploading/uploading.html

Here’s some of the places I use to make games:

1)      https://egames.clsllc.com/default.asp-several different games to make- can be downloaded to use on computers w/no internet access. Also can be made in SCORM format for LMS and uploaded anywhere- even moodle!  example http://rtoa.us/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/arrange_it_goose39s_story-_spelling.swfWhen you go to this site, there may be a screen that comes up saying that his site has lost it’s security certificate- I have actually contacted the author- he is a learning specialist and manages, designs and delivers learning solutions for organizations. He actually fixed the program when I requested him to. Y’all know I wouldn’t steer you wrong.

2)      http://www.parapal-online.co.uk/learning/templates/index.htm – hangman, grid boards & more; easy for moodle, too!

3)      http://www.wordlearner.com/ – the really cool thing about this one is that there are printable worksheets for each game; here’s an example http://rtoa.us/wp1/?p=124

4)      http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/stonebrink/Masterlink.htm – have some tech skills? a lot of these you have to tweak, but the kids’ll love ‘em! Lot’s of these can be put into any site- and moodled, too!

5)      Teach-ICT- Here’s the QUIZ home- http://www.teach-ict.com/quizhome.htm This has 23 different online games and 3 that are printable (crossword, word search and Cryptogram). Some of these are HILARIOUS. here’s a link to some countdown clocks, automatic class polls, name generator- all are for excel or ppt except for the name generator.

6)      http://www.sandfields.co.uk/games/games.html -free flash games & resources for teachers; involves some ‘tweaking’- this site has some tutorials! There’s also plenty of ‘powerpoint’ games on here as well

7)      http://vle.barkingcollege.ac.uk/cw/etemplates/index.htmlHere’s another w/downloadable games to fix & upload. Plenty of tutorials. Easy to use in moodle. Matter of fact, this one’ll get you started in moodle! Here’s an example I did in less than 10 minutes (including upload!).

8)      http://www1.lsbu.ac.uk/lluinteractive/index.php- Here a new one- http://www1.lsbu.ac.uk/lluinteractive/index.php- this one’s easy to add to & create games with- great for grammar! Here’s a grammar post I’ll keep updating w/these games!

9)      http://smart.fm/ – smart flashcard service; tailored environment from user input. Add vocabulary words, definitions, sentences and even pictures- from within the smart.fm interface! Go here to learn how the tests are configured. The first and MAIN game is iKnow- it creates a learning space, tailored to the user. You’ll see a preview of what you’re studying, and then be quizzed on it- multiple choice and/or dictation (you can change settings @the top of the beginning page). Then there’s Dictation – sentences/definitions are spoken and the user types in the missing words- gradually moves to typing the whole sentence. When mistakes are made, the user is notified. Dictation is also timed and graded on speed and accuracy. Finally there’s Brainspeed. Arcade-type game for learning fast. Choose speeds from practice, slow, normal and fast. When answers are right- the pace speeds up! After the game is over, a chart shows the best or weakest items and the reaction times and a graph shows all of this compared to other users! All this can be done without signup. HOWEVER- sign up and keep track of scores- and only study what is necessary.

10)   magicstudio- interactive learning resources from teachers, publishers, museums and archives. uploaded, created or selected from the ‘Library’ or from dedicated content channels (from publishers& museums)- also see all content that has been recently shared. Search for resources by tags & rate resources from others. All resources can be viewed in fullscreen (awesowe for IWB or projector).
I recommend viewing this tour video- it shows features as well as HOW to create ‘your’ content. However- WHEN you build content- there’s always help- even videos available to help you- no matter where you’re stuck.
Use resources (yours or others) and make hotspots out of the images (clickable areas that you can add info, including multimedia). Make a drag&drop activity- use a picture & either drag labels (made my MagicStudio for you) or ‘clipart/pictures, etc’ to the appropriate area. Even create feedback for correct/incorrect responses. Create a timeline- add a date, text & multimedia. Create an interactive featurette out media w/text added. Make a quiz- with text & resources- not just questions & answers. Use the Presentation option to combine all these resources into one or make a presentation! ;0)

11)   http://mystudiyo.com/ – you can add multimedia to these games (video, pics, audio);  here’s an examplehttp://rtoa.us/wp1/?p=123

12)   QuizBoxes- Jeopardy-type game that can be played w/up to 6 players/teams; the cost for using this is emailing the author a copy to put on his site- AND the questions, HAVE to be good! In other words, he’ll host it on his server for you! You can just use this one on your pc- there’s instructions about how to do everything- so study this site hard. To download- go here By a teacher- FOR teachers.

13)   Student Response Network- ‘virtual clicker’ software. Use in computer lab or w/wireless laptops. Use if you’re doing a ppt demo or ever just reading from a doc! You do NOT need fancy, expensive software. Students can: raise hand, answer multiple choice & true/false OR respond with text (word/number/phrase/sentence). The software keeps track of the answers and will display it all in a spreadsheet! Who should use this software. Why should you buy this rather than a ‘big named’ product?
By the way- he’s in the last stages of making one for the iPod Touch and iPhone.
Free trial for as long as you like- BUT will only support up to 5 computer connections. There are versions for Windows, Apple and Linux. Here’s the link if you wanna’ buy it.
This is by the same teacher that made the quizboxes jeopardy game! By a teacher- FOR teachers!

14)   http://quizlet.com/ – several games to play; will generate definitions for words & can add pictures from the site or even from your own pc); can create printables for the flashcards and even create online tests or printables; find lists from other people and reuse in yours;  check out this one http://quizlet.com/1400536/gr3-unit-3-1-stone-soup-flash-cards/ Treasures Reading Teachers has a group that includes all grades- sign up & add yours http://quizlet.com/group/36812/

15)   http://www.playkidsgames.com/ -several different game generators; here’s some examples http://rtoa.us/wp1/?p=164

16)   http://classtools.net/ -several different gamemakers can be made here; here’s a link to exampleshttp://rtoa.us/wp1/?p=132

17)   http://www.what2learn.com/ – cute games; kids would love these! Examples: http://rtoa.us/wp1/?s=what2learn Here’s directions for embedding into your website. Now, there’s even directions for adding to PowerPoint as well as adding to Moodle.

18)   http://www.contentgenerator.net/ – has free sample games download and try. These games are easy to add to anywhere- and you have the choice to format in SCORM format. Regular swf or SCORM can be easily update to moodle. After trying them out, there’s suites of other games to try out. Here’s a few examples: http://rtoa.us/wp/category/og/cg/

19)   http://flinklearning.com/ – this one I use at home with my boys. You honestly won’t believe what you get for under $30/year. I bought the Flinkmake subscription, so I’ll tell you about  it. You have to download the software. You add content(words, sentences) for your games. You can connect w/other teachers & make a group & exchange games. You can get content from the main ‘network’ to use as well. You use the software to connect online (it’s automatically configured to do this) & browse the different content- choose and download. The games are hosted on your computer network- & scores are kept for each child automatically. These are great for the IWB’s. Honest to goodness- if you’ve never heard of flink check out this site thoroughly. There’s videos demonstrating the different games. He’s even created a ning demonstrating activities. There’s other subscriptions as well- check them out- you’ll really be surprised.

20)   http://www.education.vic.gov.au/languagesonline/ – is a suite of Game Makers that I found in Australia. Games include, Memory, Tetris, Matching, a sentence completion game, a comprehension task master and a Portal Maker to boot! Some games you have options- like whether to drag&drop correct answers or shoot ‘em. You can add audio, video and pictures to these games. Each game you make can be bundled in 3 ways- as a web page, a zip file and an exe. The author even includes clipart along with  lesson plans and worksheets in case you decide to let your students use it in class.

21)   http://www.superteachertools.com/index.php -jeopardy,speed match, hang man, board game, who wants to be a millionaire and other great tools; example of a jeopardy game http://rtoa.us/wp1/?p=136

22)   Word Duck- sign up and create online word search and hangman games with your wordlists

23)   http://jeopardylabs.com/ – online jeopardy game creator; example here  http://rtoa.us/wp1/?p=140

24)   http://reviewgamezone.com/ – game creator w/sports themes- baseball, basketball, ping pong, soccer, golf and a regular quiz; examples here- http://rtoa.us/wp1/?p=128

25)   http://bubbabrain.com/ -flashcards; kids can use to study for SAT; I’m in hopes that this one will add on and offer more- keep your eyes on this one!

26)   http://www.spellingcity.com/ – many games here- just input your spelling lists. Printables of the games as well as handwriting worksheets; examples here: http://rtoa.us/wp1/?p=122

27)   http://kidsspell.com/ -add a list and they’ll give you a url- use bit.ly to make the link smaller; lot’s of different games made w/the same list automatically! Examples here- http://rtoa.us/wp1/?p=163

28)   PowerPoint Games & Game Templates- I haven’t learned ppt yet, but these look like they’re a lot of fun. ENJOY!

29)   Microsoft Word Games& Game Templates – including printable game boards

30)   Microsoft Excel Games- including self-checking EXCEL spreadsheets

31)   EduBakery- printable word scrambles and bingo cards; more options are supposed to be on their way. I’d like to see this site updated!