Friday, February 20, 2009

Goal of this blog

I am starting this blog to keep track of the literature on digital game-based learning (DGBL) and the efforts that libraries and educators are taking to further explore this avenue of active learning in the classroom.

I will specifically be focusing on instructional games. Gaming in libraries is very popular in the literature and dialog of libraryland. However, the majority of these focus on off-the-shelf video games that are more entertainment-oriented than education-oriented. Many public libraries are doing great things by offering video game lending, spaces to play the games within the libraries, and gaming events. These games are educational in a sense that players must learn many things to progress in the game and are very willing to put in the time and mental energy to do it. However, playing the latest version of Halo or Grand Theft Auto will not improve the information literacy skills of our students.

The games I am most interested in are those that try to tap into the joy of learning that video games inspire. I have had moderate success with my own games and am very interested in what other libraries are doing. I believe we have only scratched the surface of games' potential, so this is what this blog will focus on.

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