Educational Effects: Video Games in Classrooms Good or Bad?

Video Games and Education: Good or Bad?

Over the past decade, technologically based learning systems have infiltrated our K-12 school systems throughout the United States. In fact, nearly fifty-five percent of teachers use video games in the classroom to help teach students (Meyer). Many of these learning systems use a video game based platform to help teach young students a variety of fundamental skills, like problem-solving and creative solutions. Incorporating educationally based video games into the regular curriculum has become an effective tool for helping to motivate students to cognitively become better learners. Some of the more popular educational video game programs, like Khan Academy, are played using a computer, however, many other handheld devices are starting to come out with educational video games, like My Word Coach, which was released for both Wii and Nintendo DS.           

Oregon Trail (1985)

Although educational video game programs, like those featured in Khan Academy, have become more popular in school systems in the recent years, learning skills through a video game isn’t a new educational phenomenon. In reality educational based video games have been featured in the United States since the 1980’s, which helped to introduce students to learning fundamental skills, like math, history, typing, and problem-solving, through video games (Heick). One of the most popular early educational video games was a survival based game called Oregon Trail, which was released in 1985. Even though, the educational content and graphics were limited, due to the technologies of the time, games, like Oregon Trail, helped to expose the true value video games can have in the classroom. As technology continued to advance, so did the educational video game into the realm of the 21^st century. Although educational based video games have undeniably received a facelift thanks to the rapid development of modern day video game technology, has the educational content of these games or can it be considered only as an aesthetical change?

Engaging Students with Video Games

Today, video games are being incorporated into the classroom like never before, as not only educationally based video games are featured, but more entertainment based massive multiplayer games have started to be introduced to students, as well. Video games are also being offered to students not as a learning tool, but as a motivational reward. According to a statement from a middle school teacher at Wheatley Educational Campus in Washington D.C., “It motivates the students to continue to move forward with mastering concepts, because its all about content and mastery.” (Meyer).

MinecraftEdu

Currently, one of the most popular video games being adopted into learning environments throughout the U.S. is Minecraft. Due to Minecrafts rapid adoption rate into standardized curriculums, developers of the game even created a more educational based version under the title, MinecraftEdu. MinecraftEdu releases the students into a blocky three dimensional online world, in which allows them to use a variety of fundamental skills, like math and science, in order to help them build and explore their surrounding in the world. Video games, like Minecraft, which were developed initially for entertainment are most certainly changing the look of the what is considered to be an educational game, but many of the fundamental skills the students learn from the games have largely remained the same. Simply incorporating skills, like problem-solving and simple arithmetic, because they have proven to be necessary skills every student needs to learn. So, due to the educational video games lack of incorporating new skills into their user interface, do video games offer any real educational merit or are they a waste of time because they just teach a base level of the same old fundamentals?

Personally, I believe the use of video games in classrooms can be an effective tool for helping young students to learn certain skills, like math and problem solving. I also believe that by engaging students in a reward based system can be extremely beneficial for helping the students become more productive, in terms of the material they need to learn in order to play the games. Exposing students, especially the younger K-8 students, to video games in the classroom can also be a valuable resource for helping students to become more accustomed with the modern technologies of today. Although the video games being adopted into the curriculums certainly carry some semblance of educational merit, not every game can be put into the same category and certainly have no place in the classroom. Although entertainment based games, like Call of Duty and GTA V, still need the player to exhibit similar skills featured in their educational labeled counterparts, the violent and controversial thematic content featured in such games display no educational merit what so ever. Nonetheless, I believe that educational video games in schools are here to stay just as long as they present students with learning a variety of fundamental skills, which are necessary to every student’s education.

Try Some out for yourself!!

Funbrain: Blast-Off
Funbrain: Stay Afloat
ABCya: PaintGo


References:
Carson, E. (2014, September 16) MinecraftEdu: From the Gameroom to the Classroom. Tech Republic. Retrieved November 26, 2015. 

Heick, T. (2012, September 12). A Brief History of Video Games In Education. Teach Thought. Retrieved November 26, 2015. 

Meyer, L. (2015). 4 Innovative Ways to Teach With Video Games. The Journal, 42(5), 20-24.