Head over to GDC Vault to watch an excellent overview of the Games for Education/Impact sector by Mark DeLoura from the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy. And don’t forget to sign up for the weekly Games For Impact Report using the following URL: http://bit.ly/gfir-subscribe

A View from the White House: Games Beyond Entertainment

The overview follows:

Games are a form of media that can be used for many things. Sure, we love using games for entertainment. Who doesn’t? Over 90% of America’s youth play games. But why do we stick so doggedly to this notion that using games for anything else is some peculiar blasphemy? Do you think the same way about movies? Books? Games are still maturing. Games for entertainment? Absolutely. But let’s unshackle games from our expectations of what they have to be or not be. Let’s harness their unique features to help teach our children complex subjects, to motivate each other to become healthier, and to conduct scientific research collectively. Games are capable of so much. Don’t we owe it to the art form to explore all its possibilities fully? How is your government exploring games as a form of media, and how can you get involved to shape that future?