June 12, 2026
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Game based learning

GSummit 2012 Behind the Scenes: Tim Vandenberg, The Monopoly Teacher

Taavi Lindmaa41 mins

(8/26 Gamification Expert Interviews Unlocked)

Every week until GSummit SF 2013, we’ll be unlocking some special content from last year to give you a preview on what to expect this April 16 – 18.

Listen to the #2 US Monopoly Champ and Math teacher, Tim Vandenberg on his successful experience using Monopoly as a legitimate educational tool. This is one of my favorite sessions of GSummit 2012:

To see more expert gamification videos, visit our Video page or Subscribe to our YouTube channel!

See the latest in gamification by going to GSummit. Register now!

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Sokikom Math Game: an MMO Education Through Social Interaction

Alex Landa56 mins

Educational games have come a long way since The Oregon Trail and Math Blaster.

Sokikom is a MMO math game that aims to help teachers educate their students by using this interactive and math-based online world. After receiving a $2M startup grant funded by The Institute of Educational Sciences as well as former Intel Chairman and CEO Dr. Craig Barrett and Zynga co-founder Steve Schoettler, the game is finally ready to be unveiled to the world and to evolve out of beta.

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Using Games in the American Education System with Robert Torres

Ivan Kuo42 mins

The Gamification Revolution is the only live gamification webcast featuring Gabe Zichermann and fellow gamification experts every Thursday at 1 PM EST/10 AM PST/1800 GMT. Join us and have all of your gamification questions answered by these experts.

This past week’s guest is Senior Program Officer at the Gates Foundation, Robert Torres! Robert has been working as an education researcher with the Gates Foundation and shares his knowledge on how games are affecting the American Education landscape. You can expect to learn about:

  • How gamification is improving student knowledge assessments
  • The current philosophy of american education
  • Robert’s work with game designers and psychologists to measure game learning effectiveness 
  • The difficulty of knowledge transference between different learning systems
  • The ability for games to promote creative thinking
  • Video game violence and its effect on child behavior

Check out the video below for the full interview:


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Be sure to catch this week’s episode featuring the Chief Scientist at Salesforce, JP Rangaswami and learn about his insights on enterprise engagement sciences.

You can now catch the Gamification Revolution every Thursday at 1PM EST/10 AM PST/1800 GMT.

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Kaitiaki iPad App is Preserving Maori Culture with Gamification

Taavi Lindmaa24 mins

Game based learning is taking a specialized cultural approach with a new app designed to “engage and educate New Zealand School children.”

Acording to tangatawhenua.com (Maori News & Indiginous Views):

New Zealand has one of the highest proportions of disengaged students of any OECD country. The majority of students in low decile schools are Maori and are more likely to leave school educationally disadvantaged.

It has been proposed that an accelerated roll-out of e-learning to schools and improving the school-to-work transition may reduce youth unemployment and the resulting social issues.

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Rice University Explores Norse Mythology with a Skyrim Class

Sudarshan Gopaladesikan23 mins

Rice University is piloting English 312, Scandinavian Fantasy Worlds: Old Norse Sagas and Skyrim, for the Spring 2013 semester. Research into the benefits of using video games as an educational tool is vast and has been advocated by people such as Jane McGonigal and Katie Salen. Even Berkeley has taught a game theory course with respect to Starcraft II, and it has been shown to improve critical thinking and analytical skills.

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Games in Education: Getting Girls in the Game

Kevin Shane24 mins

If asked to describe a typical gamer, most people would probably describe a teenage boy playing games in his parents’ basement. Stereotypes do not always match reality, however. Most game players engage in social play by playing either with another person or online, and girls make up 47% of all gamers. What research has shown is that girls are drawn to games for different reasons than boys and that the factors that motivate girls to play are also important aspects of learning. Researchers are investigating how to create games in education that motivate girls and encourage all students in learning.

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Why Bother with Games in Education?

Kevin Shane23 mins

Gamification/game-based learning and schools can be either complementary or, depending how it is done, make things worse. Using games in education, according to a paper published by two Columbia University educators, Joy Lee and Jessica Hammer.

The good news about gamification is…

Gamification in the classroom can be a particularly effective motivational tool for engagement. It can also be a enable teachers to closely guide and reward their students and bring the students into a truly immersive way to learn. Then there’s the fun and joy in a learning experience that result in a “blurring of boundaries” between the formal and informal learning that students will experience all their lives.

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Exploring Ancient Rome through Minecraft

Ivan Kuo32 mins

Awhile back, I reported on one educator’s vision of using Minecraft to educate children about history. For those who don’t know, Minecraft is an open-world sandbox game that allows players literally create and explore anything their heart desires. One especially dedicated group of people has actually recreated a scale version of Ancient Rome in this…

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