Salen is the Executive Director of Institute of Play, an organization that promotes games as a learning tool for the 21st century. Institute of Play has used games, play and the principles that underlie them to design schools, programs, games, events, digital platforms and products. Some projects Institute of Play has produced include Quest to Learn, SMALLab (Situated Multimedia Art Learning Lab) Games, Mobile Quest summer camp, and Gamestar Mechanic Strategy Guide. Institute of Play also produced the video game design lab GlassLab, which is developing game-based assessments in partnership with Electronic Arts and Entertainment Software Foundation.