Reply to “Who say’s video games can’t be educational?”

Link to the blog being commented on: http://ftvms212-328-2012.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/who-says-games-cant-be-educational.html

The blog titled “Who say’s video games can’t be educational?” examines why educational games have not been successful so far. The blogger suggests that the reason educational games have not flourished is due to the fact they don’t offer enough player agency. My goal is not to criticise the opinion of my fellow blogger, because there judgement may indeed be valid. However, I do believe there are additional, more complex reasons as to why educational games have not taken off in school environments. Many of these motives are explored in an impressive article titled Video games and education: designing learning systems for an interactive age Video games and education: designing learning systems for an interactive age published by Kurt Squire. The link for this article is http://website.education.wisc.edu/kdsquire/tenure-files/02-squire-ed-tech-refchecV3.pdf.

First of all let’s tackle the question of ‘why are schools reluctant to use video games as a medium for learning?’ Squire claims that for teachers the word “video game” is a disconcerting one. I believe that this is largely due to the fact that many teachers are from the baby boomer generation, thus they are digital immigrants. For digital immigrants new technology can often be intimidating, not only because they are faced with foreign looking devices, but also because they realise they might have to learn a new way of conducting tasks. I think that sometimes immigrant teachers conceal their uncertainty by criticising modern forms of learning such as video games. For example, you sometimes hear of more mature teachers, claiming the only way to really learn is through printed literacy and that new technological developments are making our generation ‘bibliophobic’.

An example of a digital immigrant with a closed mind for technology and an offensive opinion of digital natives (apparently we are the dumbest generation around?) is Mark Bauerlein. Bauerlein’s article titled Video game research and academic achievement makes very clear his detest for videogames, and his belief that they have no educational value. Here is the articles link http://chronicle.com/blogs/brainstorm/video-game-researchacademic-achievement/22105. In the article Bauerlein makes the unsurprising ‘discovery’ that boys who play video games spend less time doing their homework and engaging in after school activities, than those who don’t play videogames. He then goes on to state “If you want your kids to develop strong reading and writing skills, you must limit screen exposure”. I believe that Bauerlein’s obvious distaste for videogames, means that he refuses to consider any of the possible educational benefits of videogames. I mean, if children enjoy video games that much, why don’t schools employ them as a vehicle for learning. Better yet, why not make some of their homework interactive through the use of video games! Because fun whilst doing homework, will mean a great willingness to actually do homework, creating a win – win situation for child, parent and teacher.

In Squire’s article he investigates the multiple benefits of video games in an educational setting. Video games have the capacity to capture a child’s attention because they are fun and engaging, making a child’s learning experience more rich. I completely agree with this benefit; a bit of variety in the way information is delivered, would help children to stay focused in school; a setting which is typically mundane. Games provide the opportunity to structure learning around challenge, allowing to children to move through levels at there own pace, unlike classroom environments where children are expected to progress together. Also, games have the potential to provide children with automatic results and more personalised feedback, something a teacher may have trouble doing quickly on their own.

Squire also states that video games demand deep thinking; they allow children to “learn through doing and creating”, aswell as “through making choices and examining the consequences of those choices”. In other words children that learn through video games will most likely be more cognitively invested in what they are doing, especially when they are provided with agency and feel responsible for their own actions. Squire believes that video games exist as “possibility spaces”, were children can explore, learn and achieve. The chance to explore will help to satisfy a child’s natural sense of curiosity, whilst engaging with information at the same time.

Like Squire, I strongly believe that there is a place for video games in the education sector. I think that as more digital natives become teachers, they will be the ones who revitalise methods of teaching to include video games and the like. Videogames and other technology will be more gradually introduced into schools; I feel it’s not a matter of if or when, but simply a matter of how. The next issue to consider is how will lower socio-economic families and schools afford such technology? How will they be able to keep up with their more privileged counterparts? Is there a way of keeping methods of teaching fair and equal? And if so what are the steps necessary to get there?