An interesting post from John Rice over at Educational Games Research, on seven questions to ask before using games in the classroom.
Some good points here, and I particularly agree with point five: does the game train or teach? The thinking here ties in very much with my own views on the potential value of games as constructivist learning environments (rather than training environments).
Not sure I agree with point seven though: are the graphics and gaming quality on par with contemporary entertainment titles? Have had some really interesting debates with various colleagues on this very point – I would argue that the graphics are secondary as long as the game design is good (particularly in the case of HE, although I appreciate this post is focused on children).
(A related article that I’ve been meaning to post for a while is Todd Bryant’s From Age of Empires to Zork: Using Games in the Classroom.)
