USA Today reports on MIT’s free online course “Introduction to Game Design” that launched on Oct. 22, 2014: “Massachusetts Institute of Technology today begins a free series of massive open online courses, or MOOCs, beginning with one on the design and development of educational technology. The second course, which begins Oct. 22, focuses on game design. Two upcoming courses will focus on educational games and implementing ed tech.”

“MIT’s teacher education program already focuses on games, among other tools — it developed a middle-school math game, Lure of the Labyrinth, that has a cult following among teachers, and it is piloting a math and science multiplayer online role-playing game. The new courses are being offered through a department called the Education Arcade. But the new courses aim to help students both inside and outside of MIT produce saleable products. The final project for the first course will be a Kickstarter-like pitch for a new game-based educational technology.”