Review by: Schönwald, Ingrid (2005-09-13)

Prensky aims high with his publication on game-based learning: “The book is intended to be at the same time visionary in outlook, theoretically grounded, and extremely practical” (p. 5).

Based on his assumption that game-based learning is not just a temporary hype but a fundamental form of learning of the future, he cites the following key reasons why this form of learning will become more popular: it meets the needs and learning styles of today’s and the future’s generations of learners, it is motivating because it’s fun, and it is versatile and effective when used correctly.

The four parts of the book addresse the perspectives of learners, trainers, managers and – implicitly also the vendors – on game-based learning. Throughout the book Prensky illustrates his statements by a number of case studies on the development and implementation of digital game-based learning in corporate and military training.

In his elaborations Prensky uses many provocative statements, such as “if our training or school is boring to our students, it is entirely our fault as educators” (p. 67) in order to emphasise the shortcomings of traditional educational approaches and the need for innovative forms of learning. The book covers many interesting aspect of today’s training challenges and the capabilities of game-based learning, such as the characteristics of the game generation (p. 51), the potentials of games to engage learning (p. 106), key structural elements of games (p. 119) or different types of interactive learning in games (p. 157).

Throughout the book Pensky supports a very positive attitude toward the potentials of game-based learning. He substantiates his assessments with pedagogical, business and pragmatic arguments in a plausible way. However, it seems that his arguments are more based on his personal experiences and judgements, which then are supported by selected suitable studies. Critical issues are rather touched than reflected deeply.

The book is accompanied by a website (www.twitchspeed.com) which is intended to be “an essential part of the book’s experiences” (p. 6). However, one easily gets the impression that this website mainly serves at the promotion of the author’s publications and his company’s services, while the interactive features (such as the discussion board) are unused, and free services are outdated, such as the literature links with no publication after 2000.

In spite of the described shortcomings I found this book inspiring and interesting to read. It contains a number of thought provoking ideas, which trigger reflections on the potentials and drawbacks on game-based learning.