… was probably developed in 1958 by Dr. William Higinbotham, a scientist who was trying to create a simulator to predict missile trajectories. One of the spin-offs of his studies was this tennis game, to be played on an oscilloscope: Tennis for two.

Oh how I used to dread the day I would have to study for the SAT. As a child, I saw how much the kids in TV sitcoms suffered when it came to SATs, and when I finally entered high school with the big kids, I saw how frazzled they all got come SAT time. While I can’t remember whether Jesse Spanno was studying for the SAT during that caffeine pill episode on Saved By the Bell, the show’s message came across loud and clear: getting into college would be stressful and painful. In case you’ve forgotten it or are too young to have seen it, here it is:

I’ll admit it, I was among the (un)lucky who got to take an SAT prep-course my junior year on top of all the other class work, AP work, and extracurricular activities I was involved in. I know that colleges stress that SAT scores are only one part of our application. And that they take the big picture into consideration, yada yada yada. But why risk it, right? My future was on the line!!!

Unfortunately, my instructor, a college student who had scored a near perfect SAT score a few years earlier, was not very interesting. But, her tactics at getting the course’s HIT PARADE vocabulary words like effluvium, pusillanimous, and wampum drilled into my head weren’t bad…my score did go up, as the course guaranteed. And now, almost 10 years later, they’re still in there…no, I did not just go to 5,000 FREE SAT WORDS to look up words I was hoping you wouldn’t know, either :).

A few years ago I took the GRE and discovered the wonder of CD learning. Rather than have to drive to an instructor to get drilled on words that I had practiced on paper flip cards, I got to use computer flip cards on my own time, from my desk, my bed, my kitchen table, or the library. I had gone green and cheap. I thought that was as good as it could ever get!

But, as always, the younger generations shake things up and studying for the SATs is not what it used to be. At a time when SAT scores are falling (guess we got you youngsters beat in one department), the prep courses have had to change tactics in order to reach their tech-savvy audience. I’m sure the prep courses already found ways to incorporate MP3s, but now they’ve even entered the video game market. That’s right, I said video games! Instead of bloodshed and violence, teenagers can now practice the Pythagorean Theorem and writing skills on their video game consoles. And compared to the prep courses that run at around $1,000 a pop, these video games go for about the equivalent of a tank of gas.

Kaplan has teamed up with Aspyr Media Inc. to create their “FutureU” game for $40. Starting in mid-October of this year, a version for the portable Nintendo DS is expected to sell for $30. FutureU allows you to personalize your character and teaches you test-taking skills. Even a downloadable version is in the works!
Princeton Review has joined forces with France’s Ubisoft Entertainment SA to create “MySATCoach” for Nintendo DS. It should be for sale this month and includes drills, practice questions, and 2 practice tests.

My have times changed since I was studying for the SAT/GRE! Good luck Class of 2009!

Image credits: www.gamespot.com