For Gabe Zichermann, the main problem with educational games is the influence of teacher and parents in the game design. Taking out the fun seems to be the first step to compromise engagement. So it seems there is no reason to take fun out of educational games.
“Fun & work can merge with games”
It is all about game mechanics and game thinking. “If air traffic control can be fun anything can be fun!”
In this engaging presentation Gabe makes clear the importance of gamification and how it works today. He believes intrinsic motivation is vanishing and peoples’ drives are becoming more and more extrinsic and social based as status is the best incentive. Finding a good reward system is key for sucess and fun, he belives, is becoming the new metric.
Digital Media in Education 
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