Free Portal 2 educational tools launched by Valve

In what might be the best news ever for school students, Valve has released a bunch of educational tools based on Portal 2, designed to promote exciting careers in AI supervillainy. Wait, no, I read that wrong. It’s designed to promote careers in STEM fields – that’s science, technology, engineering, and maths – not AI supervillainy. Aw.

The program is available on the special STEAM for SCHOOLS, which according to the FAQ is basically a version of Steam for schools. Not just a catchy name, you see. The only game currently available on STEAM for SCHOOLS is Portal 2 and the accompanying Portal 2 Puzzle Maker, an app for creating and editing Portal 2 levels.

“In the Portal world, students interact with physically simulated objects (cubes, catapults, lasers, etc.),” reads the blurb. “The interaction tends to be free-form and experimental and as students encounter new tools and challenges they may develop an intuitive understanding of physical principles such as mass and weight, acceleration, momentum, gravity, and energy. The games also put a premium on critical thinking, spatial reasoning, problem solving, iteration and collaboration skills, and encourage overall inquiry into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) learning.”

Teachers can download the Portal 2 Puzzle Maker, and access and share lesson plans on the official Teach with Portals website. Toxic nerve gas sold separately.