Background readings and websites

Video Games & Medical Education

The Impact of Video Games on Training Surgeons in the 21st Century
James C. Rosser, Jr, MD et al.
Arch Surg. 2007; 142:181-186 with an Invited Critique by Myriam J. Curet, MD


Game Design

GameDev.Net

A large web site for game developers. This page lists numerous articles and tutorials.

Video Games, Toys, Robotic Pets & Entertainment

A compendium of information by the AAAI about artificial intelligence and computer games.


Game Technology

How We Built a Hit Game-based Simulation
An article about the game, America's Army, and how the MOVES Institute managed its development.

The University of Alberta GAMES group web site about their research.

The Wikipedia maintains lists of games and game designers.

Getting into the Video Game industry for animators and artists.

Full Body Interaction, instead of hand-centric interaction, is studied by Jonah Warren.

SCORM
The Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) is a set of guidelines, specification and standards that support creation of reusable learning content as "instructional objects" within a common technical framework for computer and Web-based learning. The Advanced Districuted Learning Initiative provides examples, conformant content, specifications and software at this site.


Games and Learning

Learning about Learning from a Video Game: Rise of Nations
James Paul Gee
University of Wisconsin-Madison

What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy
James Paul Gee

Gee argues that computer and video games have a great deal to teach us about how to facilitate learning, even in domains outside games. Good computer and video games are complex, challenging, and long; they can take 50 or more hours to finish. If a game cannot be learned well, then it will fail to sell well. (For more publications from this group, click here.)

What Can Education Learn from the Video Game Industry?
A Soapbox Panel organized by the Institute for the Advancement of Emerging Technologies in Education
AEL, Charleston, West Virginia

Imagine a school assignment so intriguing that students make it a top conversation topic and organize parties around it. In other words, imagine school grabbing the kind of attention and time that video games do. The panel includes a high school student and game player who bravely kept the academics grounded in reality.

The use of computer and video games for learning
Alice Mitchell and Carol Savill-Smith
Learning and Skill Development Agency, UK

There are many claims about the usefulness of computer games for learning. Computer games can stimulate users and encourage the development of social and cognitive skills, but frequent use can exacerbate negative psycho-social tendencies, be addictive and have health implications. This review of the literature about the use of computer and video games for learning synthesises the key messages from past research studies and makes some recommendations concerning the planning and design of the future 'edugames' .

The Learning Science and Technology R&D Roadmaps
Kay Howell
Federation of American Scientists

The Learning Federation provides a detailed roadmap for research needs if simulation is to become a significant part of the future of learning. (You can download the individual Roadmaps or the Summary.)

The Game Research and Technology web site
Craig Reynolds

An extensive web site is maintained by Craig Reynolds.

Is there any redeeming value to video games?

A list of ten possible ways to improve learning through games.

FAQ Digital Game-Based Learning
Marc Prensky

An FAQ about games and learning.


Game Design

GameDev.Net

A large web site for game developers. This page lists numerous articles and tutorials.

Video Games, Toys, Robotic Pets & Entertainment

A compendium of information by the AAAI about artificial intelligence and computer games.


Game Technology

How We Built a Hit Game-based Simulation
An article about the game, America's Army, and how the MOVES Institute managed its development.

The University of Alberta GAMES group web site about their research.

The Wikipedia maintains lists of games and game designers.

Getting into the Video Game industry for animators and artists.

Full Body Interaction, instead of hand-centric interaction, is studied by Jonah Warren.

SCORM
The Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) is a set of guidelines, specification and standards that support creation of reusable learning content as "instructional objects" within a common technical framework for computer and Web-based learning. The Advanced Districuted Learning Initiative provides examples, conformant content, specifications and software at this site.