Digital Game-Based Learning

Rating:
Summary: Digital version not well done
Review: Always enjoyed the hardcoved edition (5 stars). Recently downloaded the Adobe Acrobat version and found it lacking the functions to efficiently read it on a mobile device with Acrobat Reader for Palm Devices. Publisher failed to tag the file to allow jumps from the Table of Contents to the referenced page. The pagination is also 18 pages off. I would not recommend the digital version if there are plans to read it with a mobile device.

Rating:
Summary: He gets it! Great book!
Review: I think this book illustrates very clearly on some of the issues of "today's youth" problems. If you were to read beyond the scope of what Marc is suggesting with game-based learning, you will also began to understand why the Gen X, Y, Z are what and whom they are. The diet they have been raised on and how they are built from it is an interesting study on this generation and to a certain extent, a cultural observation of their thinking, choices and being.

Why do I say "problems"? For the simple fact that we sometimes don't understand the youth and we find that it is "them" that is the problem. Given the fact that we have been around longer and therefore wiser, theoratically, we should be wiser in finding new ways to reach them. Unfortunately, being around longer also means being more set in our ways and Marc is proposing that we teach by using games would raise a few eyebrows.

While this book has addressed some of my understanding with learning with the younger generation, can anybody recommend me a book that will teach the older generation to learn new things without the eyebrows?

Rating:
Summary: Scholarly yet remarkably readable
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Another step towards truly realized CAI
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting overview but bland critques spoil the effect
Review: This is a very timely book in my opinion. Prensky gives a reasonable overview of trends in games and several likely future developments. Copious lists of heuristics and tips are offered to the reader. Almost all the case studies have at least one useful insight - however many case studies drag on too long and are in need of substantial editing. Moreover, at least 50% of the case studies relate to corporate programmes which are not accessible to the general public - or the research community.

Prensky's writing style is intensely personal and his judgements are often based on subjective assesments. Worst of all, he turns over large sections of the book to game designers that uncritically trumpet their products. There is still something of value here, once you read between the lines.

In summation I found the reviews of trends and products useful. His explanation for what keeps a game's audience and market together (content) resonates with my own experiences. The book fell down by being mistitled. It is not about game based learning but about games and the opportunities for game based learning. Do no expect to build a 'learning' game from what is here - just not academic enough. The book has little if any information on existing game engines and how they might accommodate learning initiatives which is a major shortcoming. Secondly, many of the major points in the book flow from anecdotes and opinions. It is hard to assess their worth, but experience can be a better teacher on occasions than a library. Thirdly, the book plugs Prensky's own work fairly relentlessly. Good for him but it creates an imbalance in the presentation.

Overall, I found much in the book that was interesting and useful to know. If the opinion pieces were supported by more complete referencing it would be an excellent text.

Rating:
Summary: Digital version not well done
Review: This is an interesting book because it's not so much about games as it is about learning (maybe that's why one reviewer found it boring). For educators and instructional designers, this book is about how to motivate people to learn through pleasurable and challenging activity. Structuring learning activities with this in mind can benefit any learner-- corporate or classroom. Linear, computer or web-based learning programs are boring. Games provide a key to sustained learning-- motivation. Before you build another one, my recommendation is to read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Rich, Insightful Guide to E-Learning Games
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Rich, Insightful Guide to E-Learning Games
Review: 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.