Videogames: Not Just For Fun

Author: Keenan D.
Essay topic: Videogames and education.

Keenan Duran

Laura Long

English 10

11/11/2016

Videogames: Not Just For Fun

I personally play video games for about 10-15 hours a week. For many other teens and children, that number can easily be doubled. Videogames are quickly becoming one of the most popular forms of entertainment of all time. All this time however, takes time out of students’ studies. There is a compromise though. Videogames do not have to be only fun they can also be very useful in education.

The greatest evidence for games in education is that, video games are natural teachers. The sign of a good game is when the player learns throughout the experience, learning to solve puzzles, new mechanics, and problem solving skills. “In order to ‘beat’ the game and successfully achieve the long-term objective of the game, players typically need to develop a variety strategies and skills.”(Stapleton, 2004) A problem in translating it to traditional school is because video games are learner focused while a typical class room is teacher focused. Also, video games require participation, attract many different demographics, set goals, and help in mental and emotional development. In most videogames you will find basic math and language skills and sometimes social skills.(Griffith, 2002) All these things makes games great natural teachers.

When educational videogames are more game like with an immersive experience, they are able to teach most effectively. A study found that the games worked best as “a single-user immersive world condition.”(Barab, 2009) This means that when games were more like a regular game and had an immersive world they worked better. A good game doesn’t only teach you organically and has fun systems to play with. It also creates a believable world. Thus, it is no surprise that they performed better on standardized tests and performance based reviews compared to textbook conditions and simplistic framing for the games. In order for educational videogames to be effective they cannot be glorified textbooks but full interactive experiences.

Also, video games have had great success in secondary education and training in the past. Educational videogames have worked in overcoming phobias, elaboration on already learned concepts, demonstrations and training exercises, and training in other career fields. For example, there has been examples of games helping people get over the fear of driving and spiders as well as help train firefighters deal with terrorist attacks.(Stapleton, 2004) In a more general sense games are great for spatial reasoning, hand-eye coordination, rehabilitation, and research.(Griffith, 2002) Games have proven in the past that they are able to be used for formal education as well as training and secondary education.

Videogames are naturally viable education tools and have had a measure of success in teaching in various fields. Videogames naturally teach the player so they make for great educational tools. They improve spatial reasoning and hand-eye coordination. Games also naturally have math and language skills as well as improving social skills. Video games have a wide each spanning across gender, age, and demographics. Videogames have worked in the past for education in the past as well for getting over phobias, demonstrating and elaborating on pre-established concepts, and career training.

What can you do to promote educational video games though? No matter who you are you can promote videogames as a medium. A medium of not only entertainment but as an education tool as well. If you are an educator, do your best to advocate for and use videogames in your teaching plan. If you work in the game industry, work to improve “edutainment” games and make them viable. The better the game is the better the learning experience will be. If you are a student, than advocate for more educational videogames. Prove that they are viable for your education, prove that they work.

In an age where videogames and videogame players are more and more common, and  students spend dozens of hours playing games every week the best way to connect to students is through games. Video games have been proven to work in the past, they are natural teachers, and they make learning easy for many demographics that would otherwise have trouble in a classroom. Out of those 10, 15, even 30 hours a week that the average videogame player spends in a virtual world, wouldn’t it make sense for them to learn while they’re at it. Videogames will not replace traditional school but they will definitely improve it.

Sources:

Stapleton, Andrew J. Serious Games: Serious Opportunities. N.p.: n.p., 2004. PDF.
Griffith, Mark. The Educational Benefits of Videogames. N.p.: Education and Health, 2002. PDF.

Barab, Sasha A. "Transformational Play as a Curricular Scaffold: Using Videogames to Support Science Education." SpringerLink. N.p., 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.