Author Archives: Rob
Brain Age and Other Video Games for Grandma?
Nintendo of America recently demoed their game, Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day at a recent AARP convention, of all places. Many people consider playing video games a kids’ activity, but soon people might be thinking of … Continue reading
Posted in General, Learning games
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Video Games and the Future of Learning
In a recent paper by University of Wisconsin academics David Shaffer, Kurt Squire, Richard Halverson, and Jim Gee, the authors argue that learning is most powerful when it is personally meaningful, experiential, social, and epistemological all at the same time. … Continue reading
Posted in Games in the classroom, Research and papers
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Videogames as Designed Experience (Squire)
Kurt Squire recently published in a recent issue of Educational Researcher (November 2006) a paper entitled From Content to Context: Videogames as Designed Experience. Squire points out, “As research and development initiatives proliferate, educational researchers might benefit by developing more … Continue reading
Posted in Research and papers
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Digital Game-Based Learning
We revisit Marc Prensky’s paper, Digital Game-Based Learning from the first issue of Computers in Entertainment (2003). Prensky discusses the importance of video and computer games for a new generation of learners. Prensky writes: “What attracts and glues kids to … Continue reading
Posted in Research and papers
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Teaching stock basics: Kabushiki Baibai Trainer Kabutore
A new game by Konami for the portable Nintendo DS system teaches players the basics of stock training, using real Tokyo Stock Exchange market data from the past five years. For novices, the game has step-by-step lessons in stock-market transactions and trading, … Continue reading
Posted in Learning games
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Videogame sales hit record $12.5 billion in 2006
Consumers spent $3.7 billion on video game software and hardware during the month of December, up 28 percent. Sony Corp. plagued by supply issues, sold 490,700 PlayStation 3 game consoles in the United States according to NPD Group. That means … Continue reading
Posted in General
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Kafai: Games-to-teach to Games-to-Learn
Yasmin Kafai in UCLA discusses a difference in philosophy between instructionists and constructionists regarding educational video games. Instructionists have typically tried to “embed” learning into games (using “games to teach”), while constructionists have students construct new knowledge while building or … Continue reading
Posted in Research and papers
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Teaching German with the Sims
Ravi Purushotma at MIT is interested in how learning can foster learning and help dispel global barriers. In a recent paper in Language Learning and Technology, Purushotma discusses how games originally designed for entertainment purposes can be modified to provide … Continue reading
Posted in Games in the classroom
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Gender, gaming, and careers
According to the American Association of University Women’s Educational Foundation Commision on Technology, current estimates suggest that by 2010, one fourth of all new jobs will be technologically oriented. The challenge is paramount for the poor, minorities, and women, as … Continue reading
Posted in Gender and gaming
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Which next-gen console has the best learning potential?
Now that all three major next-generation consoles have arrived (the new Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and Playstation 3), an important question is to consider which one carries the best learning potential. A comparison of all three next gen systems … Continue reading
Posted in General
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