Learning By Design: "Video games, he noted, are long, complex and hard - and yet people spent many hours playing them, involving themselves in complex learning, and even pay for the privilege. The task accomplished by game designers, he observed wryly, "would be like charging fifty dollars to learn algebra."
Comment: This summary of a presentation by James Paul Gee provides a great introduction to what is wrong with learning and right with games. It appears as if game designers understand interactivity and motivation better than many educators. The potential of games in education is enormous...but so are the obstacles. In our department, we've used a variety of games and simulation tools to enhance learning. The results have consistently supported the need for more "learning wrapped in gaming"...but the time and resources needed to develop games are big limitations. The digital divide between "have's" and "have not's" (learners, instructors, institutions, countries) is intensified by use of games. Institutions with resources and expertise can incorporate games...the others suffer. Additionally, the move to game-based learning will substantially challenge idealist's views of open education. Educational institutions will not be the ones to lead the foray into games in learning - it will be for-profit content developers...and the expenses, of course, will be passed on to the learners.