The BBC has a great article on another step forward towards gaming in academic environments, supporting research conducted by the Institute of Education released last October and highlighting NESTA's fabulous Futurelab.
While it's argued that many of the chart-toppers are violent (in reality, less than 2% of games receive an 18+ certificate per year), Futurelab and others suggest that interactive entertainment can teach students all sorts of things, from car physics and maintenance to social planning.
From the article:
"Games teach life skills such as decision making, problem solving," said Martin Owen, at Futurelab.
There is evidence that Government is watching this line of research closely, with conferences and studies on the subject sponsored by the Department for Education and Skills. Teacher's organisation BECTA getting involved as well.
