Games and Simulations in Online Learning

Nearly all early learning happens during play, and new technology has added video games to the list of ways children learn interaction and new concepts. Although video games are everywhere – on Web sites, in stores, streamed to the desktop, on television – they are absent from the classroom. Computer-based simulations, a form of computer games, have begun to appear, but they are not as wide-spread as email, discussion threads, and blogs. Games and Simulations in Online Learning: Research and Development Frameworks examines the potential of games and simulations in online learning, and how the future could look as developers learn to use the emerging capabilities of the Semantic Web. It presents a general understanding of how the Semantic Web will impact education and how games and simulations can evolve to become robust teaching resources.

David Gibson is project co-director of simSchool, a classroom flight simulator for training teachers and the director of the Global Challenge Award, a new competition and scholarship program for high school students that engages students in studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in order to solve global problems. He is currently involved in translating simSchool and articles into Korean. Dr. Gibson is also the Founder and President of CURVESHIFT, an educational technology company that assists in the acquisition, implementation, and continuing design of games and simulations, e-portfolio systems, data-driven decision making tools, and emerging Semantic Web technologies. Clark Aldrich is the co-founder of SimuLearn and the author of two books. He recently lead the international team that created SimuLearn's Virtual Leader, the first-ever learning experience to follow the development cycle of a modern computer game. Virtual Leader has been featured on CNNfn, on CNet, in The New York Times, and in U.S. News and World Report, and it has been sold to some of the largest enterprises in the United States. Marc Prensky is an internationally acclaimed speaker, writer, consultant, and designer in the critical areas of education and learning. He is a published author, the founder and CEO of Games2train (whose clients include IBM, Nokia, Pfizer, and the US Department of Defense), and creator of the sites www.dodgamecommunity.com and www.socialimpactgames.com . Marc has created over 50 software games for learning, including the world's first fast-action videogame-based training tools and world-wide, multi-player, multi-team on-line competitions. He has also taught at all levels. Marc has been featured in articles in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and the BBC, and was named as one of training's top 10 vision