By Jordan Shapiro, Contributor

When I was a kid, time spent with the Atari 2600 console was tantamount to dodging responsibilities. Today, video games are no longer just an instrument of procrastination. For my kids, playing video games is often their homework. Last night they spent hours with Jiji, the adorable penguin who is the centerpiece of the Mind Research Institute’s ST Math software. ST Math is just one example of a learning game that supplements a traditional K-12 school curriculum. Increasingly, game based learning is becoming a central component of the school experience. At the end of January, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at the Sesame Workshop published a report that aims to understand “the market dynamics for digital learning games in K-12 schools” and identify “areas of innovation that are ready for new investment.” The “Games for a Digital Age: K-12 Market Map and Investment Analysis” report, written by John Richards, Leslie Stebbins, and Kurt Moellering, provides “information and recommendations for investors, game developers, and publishers hoping to succeed in the K-12 institutional space.” Despite the many systemic obstacles to moving new products into the K-12 marketplace–”a few multi-billion dollar players, a long buying cycle, selling costs, a byzantine decision-making process, demand for curriculum and standards alignment, requirements for proof of effectiveness, and a need for professional development”–the game-based learning space, which is still in the formative stages of technological evolution, is clearly a sector fertile for investing. As Dave McCool, President and CEO of Muzzy Lane observed, “the stigma of games seems to have pretty much fallen away at this point,” suggesting that serious school district and institutional spending on games is about to skyrocket. Muzzy Lane is one of the big name developers in game based learning, working closely with long established players in the education market like McGraw Hill Education. Last week I wrote about Muzzy Lane’s collaboration on “Government In Action,” a role-playing strategy game designed as a practical supplement for high-school and college classes teaching the basics of U.S. Government. Check out my review: “Government in Action” is the educational game-based version of Netflix’s “House of Cards” series. Not only has the stigma around gaming lessened, schools in general have become receptive to technological innovation. For example, it is becoming increasingly common for every K-12 student to have a computing device, interactive whiteboards are now commonplace, cloud computing is lowering the costs for software implementation, and social networks are increasingly playing a part in our everyday social and educational lives.  It seems likely that game-based learning will no longer be a novelty, but rather a normal part of the school experience in the coming decade. Games are no longer just entertainment. The Cooney Center report distinguishes between long-form and short-form games. Long-form games “are focused on higher order thinking skills” and continue for long periods of time–perhaps a semester, a full school year, throughout a multi-grade curriculum. Short-form games ”provide tools for practice and focused concepts,” fitting neatly into classroom time, perhaps supplementing a core curriculum in …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest