Lord Puttnam issues call to action

Lord David Puttnam has called on the UK games industry to support ELSPA's new initiative to promote videogames as educational tools for use in both the classroom and workplace.

Puttnam's comments came in a recorded speech broadcast at yesterday's launch event for new ELSPA report 'Unlimited Learning: Computer and Video Games in the Learning Landscape'. He described the report as "nothing less than a call to action; an insistence that partnerships that require new thinking, new alliances and new actions can't be delayed.

"Perfectly reasonably, children today expect a lot more engagement than can possibly be offered through textbooks alone," Puttnam continued.

"And it doesn't stop at children. Trainee lawyers, policemen, nurses, doctors can all do than simply sit and take notes on the best professional practices; they can simulate, and they can engage in complex real life tasks.

"What we're talking about here is computer games not just as games, but as a whole new form, or platform, of learning - and one that has quite literally unlimited learning potential."

However, Puttnam went on, games companies must start demonstrating their commitment and support for the initiative if it is to succeed.

"We need to first of all achieve a firm consensus that this will not just be technologically feasible, but will also have the enthusiastic support of UK games manufacturers and policy makers," he said.

"Surely, as people with serious creative ambitions, we need to demonstrate that we're not just receptive but actually willing and able to work together to create the kind of tools that, in a world offering information on tap 24/7, will still manage to grip the imagination of learners of all ages."

To read the full report, visit the ELSPA website.