Nearly all early learning happens during play, and new technology has added video games to the list of ways children learn interaction and new concepts. Although video games are everywhere - on Web sites, in stores, streamed to the desktop, on television - they are absent from the classroom. Computer-based simulations, a form of computer games, have begun to appear, but they are not as wide-spread as email, discussion threads, and blogs. ""Games and Simulations in Online Learning: Research and Development Frameworks"" examines the potential of games and simulations in online learning, and how the future could look as developers learn to use the emerging capabilities of the Semantic Web. It presents a general understanding of how the Semantic Web will impact education and how games and simulations can evolve to become robust teaching resources.