Video
Games in Classrooms
Video
games are a topic being discussed whether or not they are effective in school
classrooms. All teachers have a different way of teaching and some believe
video games can be used for educational purposes. Six out of ten teachers say
that digital games “help personalize instruction, better assess knowledge, and
collect helpful data” (Richardson
46).
Most of the teachers who incorporate video games choose the ones created specifically
for educational purpose, focusing on math, spelling and other subjects. But
some teachers and parents are still questioning the video game philosophy and
aren’t sure teachers can use them to teach students.
There
is increasingly widespread evidence of the positive effects of video games on
learning. “Gamers are able to explore different scenarios and ideas they
wouldn’t be able to do in the regular classroom setting” (Mifsud,
Velina and Camilleri 33). Minecraft is becoming one of the most
popular games to use in a classroom. It allows players to have the freedom to
create anything in a Lego-like environment. They can create their dream
vacation or the house of their dreams easily. Older students can use this
program to recreate historic scenes and battles to help understand had happened
in that era (Richardson 46).
Some
students prefer to be taught using video games because of their strong interest
in them. This can lead to more motivation and participation in the students for
class work. “Some parents also agree that video games can be tools for learning
in specific subjects and skills like decision-making, design, strategy and
cooperation” (Mifsud, Velina and Camilleri 34). Students will
become more interactive through video games than just the regular lesson in
books. Teachers might also see grades go up due to the students who are more
interested in school now because of video games.
The
main reason that teachers incorporate video games into the lesson is for more
motivation and interaction with the students. “Some teachers would not consider
using video games in their teaching as they deem these to have little or no
educational value; they believe there are better types of resources, and there is
no time for such activities” (Mifsud, Velina and Camilleri 34). Teachers need to
have a balance of letting kids explore on their own while having time to do
school work on the video games. If someone uses too many video games or school
work they might either get bored from school work or get too addicted to the
video games (35).
While
playing gamers can encounter new symbols, letters, and words that they must
learn. “Children who participate in literacy programs, which include online
games, have significantly better letter-naming and letter-sounding skills and
demonstrate significantly story and print concepts, and knowledge of letters in
their names.” Some difficulties can occur while teaching video games to students
like addiction or disobey there teacher. Thus teachers need to have support
from the school so no delays ruin class time (Mifsud, Velina and Camilleri 35).
What
kind of video games are best for learning? Game developers are still debating
on this topic. While research is still limited the National Research Council
found in 2011 that in science, “simulations and games have potential to advance
multiple science learning goals, including motivation to learn science,
conceptual understanding, science process skills, understanding of the nature
of science, scientific discourse and argumentation, and identification with
science and science learning” (Richardson 50). Sylvia Martinez,
president of generation YES, says there are games out there that just ask for
an answer and others that challenge students and make them research the answer.
Games that challenge student’s brains should be the ones used by teachers (Richardson 49). Video games can provide
many different possibility’s that the player must explore and find out.
A
teacher in Flint, Michigan, let his students use games and he said that when
the students learned on the game it didn’t transfer over to when they took
their tests. Even when it seemed they grasped the information on the game they
would forget it when taking the test. He thought that since the games were more
fun than the assessments, the students weren’t as interested. He would always
have to remind them that they just did the same kind of problem on the game (Mader). Video games in
general can be a disadvantage. Video games can become addicting to the player.
Kids are skipping school now days to play their favorite games because of
addiction. (Windhurst). I knew a kid from
my school that chose video games over education and dropped out. Violence can
come from video games if kids decide to imitate what they do in the game.
Obesity is another factor due to addiction to games, because of lack of
exercise and unhealthy eating habits (Windhurst). These are just some
disadvantages of video games outside of school. This does not mean bad habits
or violence will come for students playing during school. If teachers can
control what types of games students play and for how long they play nothing
should escalade out of control.
In
what research I have done I learned some very interesting ways of how video
games can be used. Having students use them during class is totally up to the
teacher whether he/she believes they help. Kids can get more motivated for
school work from video games. Letting them learn hands-on can open up another
way to understand. It’s not like the students are playing all day, but if they
are allowed to play some days they can possibly be more excited about school.
Games do have some disadvantages but they can be eliminated if the teachers
knows what they are doing and how to control the games. It’s all about if the
students are learning and if they aren’t with regular books and lessons it
can’t hurt to try something new.
