How can we make sure that our children are learning to be creative thinkers in a world of global competition - and what does that mean for the future of education in the digital age? David Williamson Shaffer offers a fresh and powerful perspective on computer games and learning. How Computer Games Help Children Learn shows how video and computer games can help teach children to build successful futures - but only if we think in new ways about education itself. Shaffer shows how computer and video games can help students learn to think like engineers, urban planners, journalists, lawyers, and other innovative professionals, giving them the tools they need to survive in a changing world. Based on more than a decade of research in technology, game science, and education, How Computer Games Help Children Learn revolutionizes the ongoing debate about the pros and cons of digital learning.

How can we make sure that our children are learning to be creative thinkers in a world of global competition - and what does that mean for the future of education in the digital age? David Williamson Shaffer offers a fresh and powerful perspective on computer games and learning. How Computer Games Help Children Learn shows how video and computer games can help teach children to build successful futures - but only if we think in new ways about education itself. Shaffer shows how computer and video games can help students learn to think like engineers, urban planners, journalists, lawyers, and other innovative professionals, giving them the tools they need to survive in a changing world. Based on more than a decade of research in technology, game science, and education, How Computer Games Help Children Learn revolutionizes the ongoing debate about the pros and cons of digital learning.

High fantasy in the tradition of C.S. Lewis. A fantasy world, strange creatures, a teenaged girl and an impossible quest. Dropped into a terrifying new world, two frightened teenagers are pursued by evil creatures. Streams of light that seem to come from nowhere destroy the evil creatures to set the girls free. Welcome to City of Light The main character, Bri, discovers that a powerful, unseen Being has chosen her to do something she has never done, find something no one has ever found and destroy what no one else can destroy. Can she battle through impossible odds with the help of only five others she meets along the way to fulfill her destiny? Read City of Light to find out

By combining a compelling sermon series with an insightful group of monologues, "At The Cross With Jesus" offers flexible, effective resources that will keep the cross central in your congregation's minds and hearts during Lent. Practical for use in any church, large or small, the material in "At The Cross With Jesus" is perfect for midweek worship or Holy Week services, and could also be used for a Bible study.
The five moving messages in The Symbols Of The Cross examine Jesus' final days by focusing on powerful images from the Passion story. Each homily relates these events to our everyday lives by exploring a specific symbol and the human characteristic it exemplifies. There are also directions for creating a searing memory of these symbols by placing visual representations of each image on a wooden cross.
Symbols included are:
- The Palms (a symbol of our fickleness)
- The Money Bag (a symbol of our greed)
- The Towel (a symbol of servanthood)
- The Crown of Thorns (a symbol of mockery)
- The Nails of the Cross (a symbol of suffering)
In Five Who Knew Jesus, five persons who were intimately acquainted with Jesus describe their personal relationships with him. Through hearing the perspective of those who played critical roles in Jesus' life, we are encouraged to look more closely at our own relationships with Christ during the introspective season of Lent. The monologues may be performed in readers' theater format, but are even more effective if memorized. Few props are required, and costumes are a nice touch but not essential.
Characters represented are:
- John -- a hot-tempered man who becomes the disciple of love
- Mary, the mother of Jesus -- a woman who suffers a mother's pain while humbly accepting God's will
- Peter -- an arrogant man who becomes a humble disciple
- Judas -- the disciple who failed because he thought he knew best
- Mary Magdalene -- a woman of the world who strives to love herself as Jesus loved her
Carl B. Rife has pastored United Methodist congregations throughout Maryland and Pennsylvania for more than 30 years. His sermons and worship resources have appeared in several CSS publications, and he is the author of "Bumper Sticker Religion" (CSS).
Harold D. Shaffer, an active member of St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Arbutus, Maryland, is a licensed clinical counselor who currently serves on the staff of an addictions clinic in Catonsville, Maryland. Shaffer is also on the adjunct faculty of Baltimore City Community College and the Maryland Office of Education and Training for Addiction Services (OETAS).

The authors of Mississippi Government and Politics go beyond the stereotyped view of the Magnolia State to consider the dramatic social, economic, and political changes taking place there in recent years. Yet the past is inextricably bound up with the present, as Dale Krane and Stephen D. Shaffer make clear in developing their central theme: the ongoing clash in Mississippi between traditionalists intent on preserving the status quo and progressives who have grown up with the civil rights movement. Based in part on public opinion polls measuring the attitudes of Mississippians over a decade, Mississippi Government and Politics presents a vivid social history and analysis of the state's executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Krane and Shaffer have contributed chapters on the culture of Mississippi, the origins and evolution of its ruling class, and efforts to modernize the economy and to bring more blacks and poor whites into the power structure. Krane writes about the struggle over public policy, or "who gets what", and the highly ambivalent attitude of Mississippians toward the federal government. Shaffer addresses the shifting allegiances of political parties in the state and the role of interest groups in effecting change. The contributors include leading political scientists and public administrators. Tip H. Allen, Jr., looks at the century-old, much-amended constitution, and Douglas G. Feig considers the dominance of the legislature and the winds of change blowing through it. Thomas H. Handy describes the traditionally weak governorship. Diane E. Wall threads her way through the antiquated judicial system. Edward J. Clynch sizes up tax Policy, and Gerald Gabris delves intothe dynamics of local government. The result is the most comprehensive and authoritative book on Mississippi political culture in many years.