Game Based Learning: Challenges and Opportunities is a book published this year. 

I am delighted that we (myself and my supervisor/advisor) contributed to this book. The sample is available here. We're featured in chapter three of the book. The book is available to purchase here or here.

The book description is as follows:This book is an invitation to delve into the world of Game-Based Learning, to understand the many facets that make games a truly interesting and effective tool to teach and train in the 21st century. It includes nine chapters which were initially presented at the iGBL conference, a conference held throughout Ireland, where researchers, practitioners, students and other stakeholders meet and share their interest in games and education. These chapters touch on some very important topics, including games for health; formal education; poetry and games; science teaching through mobile games; relaxation with gaming devices; and accounting for disabilities with handheld devices. Together, these chapters illustrate the advancements in the field of Game-Based Learning, the challenges faced by developers and educators, as well as the opportunities that this medium can offer. Each chapter is written with practicality in mind in an effort to provide the reader with both a solid theoretical approach and background, coupled to some practical guidelines and suggestions that can be applied easily.

I went to the Teacher Education Policy in Europe conference in Helsinki, Finland in May 2013. It was a thrilling experience. Finland was warm and I was greeted by many welcoming people when I arrived at the conference. I went to the opening session on Thursday regarding education and educational policies across Europe. 

I had read a lot of papers by Professor Hannele Niemi previously and her take on Educational Technology in the classroom. It was interesting to hear her opening address on the policies across Europe and her positive insight into how we are gathered in a conference to express our ideas of the future and research that may take on a proactive role in the classroom. 

I met with other academics from across Europe, from Spain and England who were presenting the following day on areas such as virtual learning and social media. We left the conference after our teas and coffees until the following day.

It was a great experience and I hope to attend many more like this!