Blog #7
Freedictionary.com define Video Game as, an electronic or computerized game played by manipulating images on a video display or television screen. Some of these games as classified as educational.
Freedictionary.com define Video Game as, an electronic or computerized game played by manipulating images on a video display or television screen. Some of these games as classified as educational.
Educational video game can be defined as an electronic medium with all the characteristics of a gaming environment that have intended educational outcomes targeted at specific groups of learners. Some people call these types of games "edutainment" because they combine education and entertainment.
Gibson, (2011) outline the following in his article “Are Video Games Educational?” proofing reasons why these games are educational:
- New information – this is the educational information provided. It may be text or graphics, and is normally unknown by the age group or skill level for which the game is made.
- Memorization – this is the part of the game that rewards good memory. If players are able to remember the new information, they can advance in the game.
- Context and Cognition – this is the part of the game that puts the new information to use. Players win or score points by matching pairs, answering questions or problem solving.
- Gender and Ethnic Balance – the game addresses equity issues through cooperative group play, language diversity, and character gender options
Experts believe that these games make learning fun by using entertainment as an educational tool. These games take a specific type of learning or topic and build a game around that topic. For example, kids might learn math by playing a flying game. The hope is that the child will have fun and forget that they’re learning, but still maintain the knowledge they pick up while playing. These games teach basic computer skills while also offering insight on a particular topic or subject. Sim City is a good example of this because the game teaches the players basic controls on the computer, but also teaches them on how cities are planned, built, and run.
**The video below shows experts view on importance of incorporating video games in education**.
There are studies that show some kids learn by outside stimuli and these games benefit those students. Kids can use the games in addition to their coursework. For example, some kids might find a typing game a better way to learn the computer keyboard than having a teacher talk to them about it.
On the other hand, recent studies by scientist in Madrid Complatense University found that gaming can lead to high drop out rate and low student motivation, students want more feedback from teachers during the learning process.
I see the drop out as a factor, we have students who will skip school to go to the game shops and play games. Others stay up all night playing games and come to school so tired the next day, and sleep through out the whole class period.
Educational games are important in our digital world, but how best can we utilize these games in our curriculum to motivate students to participate in the teaching and learning process?
Reference
Gibson, J. ( 2011) Are Video Games Educational? education.com
