Game based learning is making a come back — again. The rapid growth of game industry has aroused wide interest among educational technology researchers as well as digital learning and training material producers. In this talk, the process of game based learning is demystified. The questions of how learning happens in game environments, how it can be facilitated and designed are considered. The proposed design principles are discussed through game examples and recent research findings. Finally, the question will be answered: Are the odds for, or against, learning games at this time?
Kristian Kiili is a senior researcher at Tampere University of Technology, Information Technology at Pori, Finland and a Visiting Scholar in Stanford University. He got his Master's in Education from the University of Turku in 2001 and his doctorate at Tampere University of Technology in 2006. He did his doctoral thesis on educational game design. Kiili has studied computer assisted learning and design of game based learning environments and has taken part in several research and development projects on this area. Kiili has published over 30 international conference papers and journal articles on his research area. Currently he is running a three-year research project on user-centered learning game design funded by Academy of Finland.