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The video game industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the USA, with total consumer spending surpassing both music and movie industries (Steinkuehler and Squire, 2014). The time people invest playing video games is stunning. For instance, it is reported that 45 per cent MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) players spend more than 20 hours per week on MMORPGs, and 80 per cent players reported that they have the experience of spending more than 8 hours continuously playing games in one session (Ng and Wiemer-Hastings, 2005).
The wild popularity of video games brings about a number of studies by educators (Gee, 2003; Prensky, 2001, 2006; Squire, 2011); they suggest that video games be used as "a constructive force" (Williamson et al. , 2005, p. 105) in education due to their great learning potential. Empirical studies show that video games have great potential to promote critical thinking, problem-solving and leadership skills (Yee, 2006), support collaborative learning for online courses (Childress and Braswell, 2006), foster intrinsic motivation (Dickey, 2007), etc. In addition, educators begin to apply video games in almost all domains of content learning, such as mathematics, health, history and science (Steinkuehler and Squire, 2014). For instance, the historical simulation game Civilization IV (Civ ) proved effective in delivering content knowledge and triggering students' interests (Moshirnia and Israel, 2010). These studies provide solid support for implementations of game-based learning which emphasizes on "achieving the particular objectives of given educational content through game play" (Kim et al. , 2009, p. 801). However, good instructional strategies which are able to scaffold students' performance without losing the engagement of video games are crucial for effective game-based learning (Young et al. , 2012; Steinkuehler and Squire, 2014).
Applying theories to practice is not easy. Although they acknowledge the positive learning principles of game-based learning, many teachers are still confused with the implementation of integrating video games into their specific contexts. Fortunately, there are a number of practitioners who are successfully pioneering video games integration. In January 2016, I was honored to have a conversation with one of them, Zack Gilbert, regarding his practices and ideas toward using video games to facilitate learning. Zack Gilbert is a 6th grade teacher and a podcast host of EdGamer...