Thought some here might be interested in perusing the August/September 2005 issue of Innovate. From the Editor's Introduction by Joel Foreman:

Jim Gee opens the issue with a key question: "What would a state of the art instructional video game look like?" Gee's response focuses on the commercial game Full Spectrum Warrior in order to reveal the "good theory of learning" that should inform the design of video games produced specifically for instructional purposes. This theory, which Gee refers to as "distributed authentic professionalism," requires that the player's avatar, the non-player characters (NPCs), and the interaction between them embody the professional knowledge and practices the game's developers expect the user to develop and enact. In turn, David Shaffer argues that members of a profession have an "epistemic frame"—a particular way of thinking and working—and that the training of professionals is desined to create this frame. Shaffer's paper focuses on how to create "epistemic games" in which people learn to work as professionals and in the process develop the skills, habits, and understandings of a post-industrial society. To illustrate, Shaffer describes Madison 2200, an urban planning simulation.

Richard Halverson also contends that valid learning principles inform successful video games and discusses how they might be integrated in educational contexts. He distinguishes between exogenous and endogenous games and argues that the latter offer the greatest potential for educators. However, because endogenous games encourage exploration, they offer a significant challenge for adoption within standards-driven curricula. Addressing this challenge, Halverson outlines how endogenous games may be incorporated in four distinct learning environments.

Melanie Zibit and David Gibson describe simSchool, a video game that prepares teachers for the complexities of classroom management. The authors illustrate how the game's non-player characters (i.e., the virtual students) incorporate a diverse range of cognitive, demographic, and behavioral variables. Through such a design, simSchool offers a "simulated apprenticeship" that prepares teachers to practice the informed decision making required for success in their profession.

Kurt Squire's findings about the benefits of and obstacles to the implementation of video games in the classroom are based on his own attempt to use Civilization III in high school history classes. He argues that rather than thinking about how to design good games for the existing K-12 educational system, educators should focus their energies on how to design an educational system flexible enough to accommodate video games. In contrast, Michael Begg, David Dewhurst, and Hamish Macleod advocate a "game-informed learning" approach that would make conventional learning activities more game-like. The two medical simulations they describe immerse students in a professional identity and generate highly motivated constructivist learning.