New Educational Videogaming Book Announced

A press release for a new educational videogame book came across the transom today. Children’s Learning in a Digital World initially seems to purport to delve into notions of negative effects surrounding violent videogames. However, the copy reads more along the lines of a much more positive take on educational videogames.

Video games, computers, and the Internet can provide opportunities for problem solving, creativity, and autonomy, and in particular, carefully constructed software can offer an alternative to traditional classroom learning. “Children’s Learning in a Digital World” is one of the first books to examine the impact of computers in both formal or school learning environments and informal learning contexts. It presents exciting and challenging new ideas from international scholars on the impact of computers, the Internet, and video games on children’s learning, as well as the social and cultural issues that affect technology use.

Here is the TOC:

Foreword: Seven Criteria for Investigating Children’s Learning in a Digital World by Richard E. Mayer

Pt. I Informal Learning with Technologies: Opportunities and Challenges

Introduction by Teena Willoughby and Eileen Wood

1 Media Literacy - Who Needs It? by Henry Jenkins

2 Good Videogames, the Human Mind, and Good Learning by James Paul Gee

3 How and What Do Videogames Teach? by Edward L. Swing and Craig A. Anderson

4 Videogame Addiction: Fact or Fiction? by Mark D. Griffiths

5 Meeting the Needs of the Vulnerable Learner: The Role of the Teacher in Bridging the Gap Between Informal and Formal Learning Using Digital Technologies by Laurence Peters

Pt. II Formal Learning with Technologies: Opportunities and Challenges Introduction by Eileen Wood and Bowen Hui and Teena Willoughby

6 Using Technology to Assist Children Learning to Read and Write by Philip C. Abrami and Robert Savage and C. Anne Wade and Geoffrey Hipps and Monica Lopez

7 Tools for Learning in an Information Society by John C. Nesbit and Philip H. Winne

8 Virtual Playgrounds: Children’s Multi-User Virtual Environments for Playing and Learning with Science by Yasmin B. Kafai and Michael T. Giang

9 Can Students Re-Invent Fundamental Scientific Principles? Evaluating the Promise of New-Media Literacies by Andrea A. diSessa

10 Domain Knowledge and Learning From the Internet by Malinda Desjarlais and Teena Willoughby and Eileen Wood

11 The Integration of Computer Technology in the Classroom by Julie Mueller and Eileen Wood and Teena Willoughby Summary and Looking Ahead