Citation: Chapter 42: Mobile Learning and Games in Special Education Penny Standen & David Brown In: The SAGE Handbook of Special Education: Two Volume Set Edited by: Lani Florian DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446282236.n44 Subject: Special & Inclusive Education (general) Mobile learning and games in special education (5500 words) Introduction Information technology is now a ubiquitous presence in all educational settings as well as places in which people work. While most mainstream schools now rely heavily on this technology to support learning, special education was often at the forefront of its adoption even acting as exemplars for mainstream education (Lilley, 2004). Educational virtual environments had been developed in special schools and adult training centres when virtual reality was still a novel technology in education (Standen & Brown, 2004; 2005; 2006). Now no school or educational setting would be imagined without information technology and there have been some exciting developments since those early pioneering days. In this chapter we intend to cover three of those which we think are particularly pertinent for learners with special needs: serious games, mobile computing and the role of users in the development of the technology. The role of games in education and training A recent development in educational software is to recognise the value of learning through playing computer or video games. For a recent review see Ulicsak and Wright (2010). The term “serious game” has been coined to refer to a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. While the purpose of the game could be serious such as learning a complex concept or a skill, the qualities associated with games are intended to enhance this learning. Although games do not have to be electronic, the majority of the material available on serious games refers to computer or video games. Earlier work on computer games tended to focus on the negative aspects (Elgi & Meyers, 1984) an observation echoed by Williamson (2009): “Games have become a major recreational activity, sometimes considered - especially in the tabloid and conservative press - to be culturally degenerate” (p. 9). Williamson went on to say “yet they have also become increasingly sophisticated and celebrated as a cultural form; they have shaken up the world of entertainment, and they have entered into educational debates and practices” (p. 9). Play and games had been recognised as having an important role in early learning, but Pivec (2007) makes the point that, as education becomes more formal, games tend to be seen as just an “unserious activity” (p. 387).