Recommendation

Recommendation for //Good Video Games + Good Learning: Collected Essays on Video Games, Learning and Literacy//
We have reservations about recommending this book to teachers. The theoretical aspects of this book are strong, both in terms of learning theory and ways in which game creators capitalize on those theories to engage gamers in highly complex learning. Gee also thoroughly describes affinity spaces and their benefits. The application side, however, is weak. While Gee gives a list of "best practice" learning principles, there are not many practical suggestions for implementing them in the classroom. The reader also must consider numerous lengthy descriptions of Gee's gaming experiences and his occasional, oddly placed, and highly debatable statements, such as, "Good video games are good for your soul" (7). Finally, this book does read like a collection of essays. There is a fair amount of repetition throughout the book. If you want the gist of the book and do not feel the need for supporting examples based on Gee's descriptions of the games, you can simply read the last chapter, which provides a summary of learning theory exemplified through good video games.