Digital Game-Based Learning

This book is about software so I thought it qualified for my list. Besides that, it is an excellent, revealing read into the potential for game-based learning. Game-based learning has kind of a bad rap, even today, because those who do play games are more drawn towards pure entertainment, rather than "learning".

The truth is that the two can be woven together in fascinating ways. Mark's book on Digital Game-Based Learning was one of the first that adequately explored (the first, as far as I know) this subject.

If you are a game developer and interested in exploring the potential in this field, you will find a treasure trove of information in this book. Mark does his research well, and provides detailed footnotes for all of his research; also there are a wealth of quotes to stimulate your neurons. Here is one bit of research I made a mark next to, for example:

Current research in the areas of stress, anxiety, creativity, self-efficacy, and neuroscience shows that more play will improve our learning and performance.

That's a great way of looking at learning - combine it with play, because we like to play. The book is filled with insights into why we like to play, and what makes a game fun to play.

This book is a little over 400 pages long, and I just flipped through my copy - I have reminder marks in the margin next to probably 100 points I found interesting and wanted to be able to come back to later. I may add more excerpts from the book later - but read some of reviews of this book for yourself on amazon.