Learning with Digital Games: A New Book on Classroom Implementation

Nicola Whitton, over at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK, has a new book out, Learning with Digital Games: A Practical Guide to Engaging Students in Higher Education. The book is geared toward college level lecturers wishing to incorporate gaming in the classroom.

The book assumes no prior technical knowledge but guides the reader step-by-step through the theoretical, practical and technical considerations of using digital games for learning. Activities throughout guide the reader through the process of designing a game for their own practice, and the book also offers:

A toolkit of guidelines, templates and checklists.

Concrete examples of different types of game-based learning using six case studies.

Examples of games that show active and experiential learning.

Practical examples of educational game design and development.

This looks like an excellent resource, and includes several suggested games to try along with case studies and practical implementations. Click here for more info on the book and a link for ordering.

Update:
Eliane Alhadeff has a better write up than mine on the book here.

State of the Blog, September 2008

It’s time for some navel gazing as we take a look at who is taking a look here. I could tell school was back in session when the numbers started spiking in September. Judy Wilson and librarian Katy French over at Palomar College in San Marcos, California added an old post of mine to a list of web sites for students to examine in a course on website evaluation. Learning Family Values While Killing Monsters was written back in November last year, and discussed an article by Robin Torres over at WowInsider.com. I suspect it was included over at Palomar College not just for my excellent writing (haha), but also for the fact I referenced the source material. The instructor indicates sourcing of materials lends credibility to a post.

Those opinion-meisters at Reddit posted a link to my post from late July regarding the new ESA survey indicating females comprise 40% of the gaming audience. Discussion so far has centered around whether females truly comprise 40% of the audience for advanced MMORPGs and not just casual games. Read the profanity-laced conversation here.

Lee Wilson and Nicola Whitton, both of whose opinions I respect, linked to my post on Seven Questions to Ask Before Using a Video Game In the Classroom. Both disagreed with Question 7: Are the graphics and gaming quality on par with contemporary entertainment titles? Both seemed to suggest the graphics in casual titles may not compare with the newest $60 games for home consoles, but were adequate in relaying pedagogical content. I suppose I should have elaborated and indicated I was concerned with really basic graphics that are even below casual game standards. Probably I was thinking of the research outcomes from the old AQUAMoose project at Georgia Tech, where programming a game from scratch (not the programming language Scratch, but literally from scratch) led to some disappointing feedback from the target audience.

To sum up, I’m still here and posting, and thanks for the feedback. The old goal of one post each weekday has been suffering of late, but I should manage to get something of interest up on a regular basis. As always, shoot me an e-mail if you’d like to call my attention to something.