Making a case for the learning game : if everyone plays, everyone wins

This is a description of and rationale for The Learning Game, a cross platform Web application that will act as a portal into an online social network built around education. The application provides a space for users to create, share, modify, translate, and play online multiplayer educational games and simulations. Upon launch language learning will be the focus (specifically Mandarin Chinese and English initially), but The Learning Game is designed to expand to potentially any subject through user created content and regular updating of the application itself. This paper establishes a need for education reform by discussing the costs and shortcomings of existing systems of formal education, and then offers a theoretical background for key characteristics of The Learning Game based on research in education and second language acquisition. A case is made for its potential growth and success, important considerations are laid out, and finally a description of the interface, key features, and initial content is given with further considerations that must be kept in mind during development.