Digital Game-based Learning (Paperback)

The time has come for Digital Game-Based learning. Thanks to the Internet, video games, and increasingly accessible cutting-edge technology, new learning styles have emerged. The Nintendo and MTV generation process information more rapidly than ever before, prefer graphics to text, and work on several fronts at once, making them champion multi-taskers. As a result, today's new work force is eager for new challenges. But so far, the traditional mainstream business world has done very little to accommodate them, particularly apparent in the realm of training sessions. The question arises: How do you train today's bright young business people for the rules of corporate life in ways that will effectively tap their learning potential and won't put them to sleep?

Written by former vice president of Human Resources at Bankers Trust and present founder, CEO, and Creative Director the groundbreaking games2train.com Web site, this timely and innovative book defines digital game-based learning, explains it advantages and benefits far into the future, where it can be used­­and how.

From derivatives trading to policies on sexual harassment, here are numerous practical ideas and examples of this revolutionary approach to motivating and educating twenty-something workers. Ranging from the use of simple card games and quizzes to twitch-speed games modeled on such popular PC games as Doom and Quake, Digital Game-Based Learning leads the way in melding business conventions with the highly successful ways individuals learn today.

In addition to an array of training ideas, contained here are the views of experts such as Bill Gates, Alan Kay of Disney, J.C. Herz of the New York Times, and many others. Also included are fascinating and informative case studies, based on on-site visits, of many companies and institutions utilizing game-based learning tools and techniques.

Now employees and their companies can gain the full benefits of both today's sharp minds and advanced technologies.

IS YOUR COMPANY TRAINING TODAY'S CUTTING-EDGE LEARNERS WITH YESTERDAY'S METHODS?

"[Marc Prensky] has systematically analyzed the contexts and events of training and has synthesized a logical framework for digital game-based learning."
­­From the foreword by Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan, President, Workshops by Thiagi

"A 'must read' for business managers and HR directors as well."
­­Mark Bieler, EVP, Human Resources, Bankers Trust Company (1989-1999)

"This is a breakthrough book that looks at learning as a high activity, high engagement and high intensity process. Marc Prensky has written a must-read book for our field!"
­­Elliott Masie, The MASIE Center, Editor, TRENDS, e-Letter, and Learning Decisions

Today's up-and-coming workforce is quicker, sharper, more visually oriented, and more technology-savvy than ever before. In order for the business world to truly benefit from the MTV generation's learning power and enthusiasm, traditional training session methods must step into the 21st century by adapting teaching methods to the way individuals learn today. Written by the founder of games2train.com, this innovative book, from the leading creator of cutting-edge training methods and games drawn from his impressive business career, is filled with examples and information to meet the demands of both employees and employers in ways that are effective and enjoyable. From simple card games to those based on sophisticated PC games, here you'll find information on a variety of relevant and intriguing issues, including:

. . . plus, the perspectives and opinions of such leading business experts as Bill Gates, Alan Kay of Disney, J.C. Herz of the New York Times, Seymour Pappert of Lego Mind Storms, Roger Schrank, Neil Postman, and many more. Get equipped to tackle everything from stock picking methods to proper corporate attire to racial sensitivity and sexual harassment policies, with the book and the strategies that will take the business world far into the future starting today.

Marc Prenskyis the founder, CEO and Creative Director of games2train.com, a pioneer in the field of Game-Based Learning. Prior to launching games2train.com, he was the vice president at the global financial firm Bankers Trust, where he founded what was then named Corporate Gameware as an internal startup. He was instrumental in getting Bankers Trust to adopt Game-Based learning to address the needs of its under-30 workers. Prensky also spent six years as the vice president of a Boston-based software company, where he developed the first Game-Based Learning applications for Harvard Business School, JP Morgan, The Boston Consulting Group, and many other clients. He has personally created over three dozen Game-Based Learning software games, including Internet and Corporate Gameware products, business simulations and trading games. His latest creations, Straight Shooter! (for Bankers Trust) and The Monkey Wrench Conspiracy (for think3 software) are the world's first fast-action videogame based training systems. His Internet Game-Based Learning products, Learning Solitaire, The Challenge, Learning Cube-Dude and other, break the mold of what is typically available as Internet training.Prensky holds a BA from Oberlin College, an MBA from Harvard Business School with distinction, and masters degrees from Middlebury and Yale. He is a frequent contributor to magazines and journals, and considered a noted authority in the learning field. He speaks extensively in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. For the past ten years, he has been speaking on the issues treated in this book at training, education and computer conferences. He has delivered talks at Organizational Learning conferences sponsored by The Conference Board in Chicago and by IBM in Tokyo. Additionally, he has keynoted conferences on Generational Change in the U.S. and in Europe.