Digital Game-Based Learning

This book is a timely, perception description of the value of gaming and the potential of the net. With the console wars in full swing (Sony vs Micrsoft vs Nintendo) and the state of graphics on the PC reaching new heights with Nvidia's GeForce3, more and more powerful PCs and the introduction of Broadband; the opportunity for distance learning or online education has never been better. Of course the same is true for gaming and the convergence of the two is the altruistic message of Marc Prensky's book. Mr. Prensky's book points to the future with promises and warnings supported by a rich amount of research, as demonstrated by his footnotes and bibliography. We let the TV pass by without carefully planning how it could be a force for complementing education. Lets not make the same mistake with the net! This a wonderful eye openner for those that have underestimated gaming (play) and its importance to learning. Just the quotes at the beginning of each chapter make the book compelling and can immediately reveal opportunities in most scenerios. Each chapter is thoughtfully layed out with interesting examples/case studies and methodically introduces a group of concepts then builds to a thoughftul and often unpredictable conclusion. The book is rich with facts and statistics - some of them, while revealing the potential in redirecting gaming, are still frightening. "Each day the average teenager in America watches over 3 hours of television, in on the internet 10 minutes to an hour, and plays 1 1/2 hours of video games." In fact this seems conservative to me, but if Marc is right, there is an incredible amount of untapped potential in reaching America's youth and this book is a deliberate first step. Finally a book both gamers and game designers can love, students can share, parents and kids can discuss and left and right brains can savor.

The book states a clear and persuasive case for digital game-based learning and its ability to adapt to the varying needs of today's workforce. I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking an effective approach to learner-centered training.This book goes beyond providing a great survey of some of the most exciting learning games created. The author does a great job comparing the cultural differences between the "Games Generation" and its predecessors. I believe this would be a great book for managers working with employees from the Games Generation, especially those that question the generation's work ethic. Members of the Games Generation don't need work that is fun all the time, but it does need to be captivating. Getting stuck in a game isn't fun, but it is incredibly engaging. This information may improve working relationships and bridge some generational gaps.

When you set out to tell all about e-learning games, it helps to have a broad background. Harvard MBA Marc Prensky has been a professional musician, high school teacher, business consultant, corporate trainer, and creator of dozens of software e-learning games. He is now CEO of a game company. He brings to the subject an intense love that enables him to find value even in flawed efforts in this fledgeling field, yet he retains the critical capacity and balanced judgment that are the hallmarks of credibility. The book provides a provocative analysis of how widespread playing of video and computer games has created a new under-35 Games Generation that sees the world through radically different eyes than their parents, who can be at best "digital immigrants." Simply transferring tell-test and "sage on the stage" teaching methods to digital media, as many e-learning companies have done, misses the point, he explains. We need to exploit the opportunities to develop new, more engaging approaches--and that primarily means games. People will learn the most technical or boring subjects if presented as part of compelling, fun games. Prensky offers scores of case studies and war stories from practitioners in the corporate trenches. He ranges from simple quiz games to intensive virtual reality simulations, showing that often simple is better, that not only the type of learner but also the kind of subject/skill to be mastered should determine the approach, and that games possess inherent advantages over simulations. He laughs at the outrageous scenarios players deliberately generate in customer relationship games. He notes with respect the capacity of deep simulations and games to draw upon the insights of communities of experts worldwide to generate cutting-edge research results that can then be parlayed into real-world management systems. And he states six objections to e-learning games, then proceeds to blow them to bits like so many villains in a shooter game. In the book are many practical suggestions for getting an e-learning game project approved and funded as well as for how to bring it into reality. Of special value are its list of state-of-the-art games in various categories and its articulation of the advantages of each type. Two suggestions for the second edition: 1) Games and e-learning are at the cutting edge of a controversial transformation of cultures around the world, so it would be nice to have a chapter on e-learning games outside the United States; and 2) someone needs to explain to McGraw-Hill that publishing a book without first proofreading it is an insult to readers and a blot on the corporate escutcheon. In conclusion, e-learning games are a dynamic field that is wide open to creative initiative and promises major long-term benefits. Prensky's book is a rich, insightful guide and makes absorbing reading.

If you are in any way interested in gaming and training -- or if you're just interested in where training is going to be headed in the next 10-20 years -- you should very definitely read this one and learn more about Prensky's company, Games2Train... I have seen Marc Prensky present at a training conference/expo and am becoming a big fan of his work and his vision. His book makes a fabulous and scholarly but remarkably readable case for the confluence of gaming and training in the years to come. And Prensky has managed to make it interactive by tying in a Web site... ...and actually incorporating contests and games into the text of the book. He practices what he preaches.

Prensky's book is full of great information for anyone who is thinking about developing games to help train their staff. It is chock full of examples, links to great games, and strategies on how to get trainers out of the dull-as-dishwater PowerPoint mode and into some gaming-style excitement. Highly recommended.