Joe Difilippo

Professor Emilia Grant

Writing 1103
2 November 2014
The correlation between video games and learning
As the world grows more technologically advanced everyday, schools have been
lagging behind. While standard classroom learning has worked well in the past, today,
distractions like social media cause students to be unfocused and uninterested. To keep
students interested and focused a new approach much be taken. This new approach comes
in the form of video games. Although video games are generally regarded viewed as a
waste of time, scientific studies have proven otherwise. The article, Investigating the
Impact of Video Games on High School Students Engagement and Learning about
Genetics, discusses the results of a study demonstrating how the use of video games as a
tool for learning substantially increases students level of interest and engagement. Next,
Designing Centers of Expertise for Academic Learning through Video Games shows how
the video game Civilization generated an interest in history in students, a subject that was
previously void of interest. In the article, The Case for Making Libraries full of Toys and
Games, it is discussed how libraries with toys and games verses books can actually make
students better thinkers. Lastly, Action Video Games Make Dyslexic Children Read Better
tells how action video games substantially help with the reading abilities of those who are
dyslexic. On the topic of the correlation between video games and learning, one might
ask the following questions: Is success in video games similar to success in school? Is the

use of video games for educational purposes more beneficial than learning in a standard
classroom setting? Are video games becoming a significant part of learning in school?
Although at first glance they may not appear similar at all, success in video games
is indeed very similar to success in school. Take the most popular online game League of
Legends (LoL) for example. In LoL you work to get better so you can increase you rank
and advance into the next tier. This is not so different from school. In school you work to
get smarter and progress into harder classes, to advance to the next grade level. In LoL,
you keep working to continue to increase your rank, because you want to impress your
friends and one day be the best in the world. This is not so different from school, where
keep working to achieve good grades, because you want to graduate at the top of your
class. This all proves that, in fact, success in video games is indeed very similar to
success in school.
To answer the next question, is the use of video games for educational purposes
more beneficial than learning in a standard classroom setting? The article Designing
Centers of Expertise for Academic Learning Through Video Games, discusses a study
that was preformed on students learning through video games. The study consisted of a
group of underprivileged students who met once a week for two and a half hours after
school. Because the consensus of their least-liked subject was history, the game they
played at this after-school program was the history strategy game of civilization. In
Civilization, players must devise the best plan to expend their empire. To make their
civilization thrive and produce military units, players must take advantage of the patterns
of food growth in different terrains, as well as trading technologies and resources. As was
stated in the article, They literally play their ancient history curriculum (Squire 245).

Students were then given quizzes on the history that they learned from the game. Some of
these questions were, Name five early civilizations and label them on the world map
(Squire 247) and Name the 7 important ancient technologies (247). By the end of the
program, the students boasted a vast amount of knowledge in the history of the country
they regularly played as. Even though history was originally the students least favorite
subject, by the conclusion of the program, Civilization manifested an interest in the
students of reading books on history and watching documentaries.
The next article, Investigating the Impact of Video Games on High School
Students Engagement and Learning about Genetics, evaluates a teacher-created video
game on key genetic concepts. These concepts include pedigrees, blood types and
fingerprints. The experiment consisted of students aged fourteen to eighteen. The first
group comprised of 66 students who participated in the video game on genetics, while the
control group entailed 63 regular students divided into three normal classes. In the game,
students are at a crime scene in a mansion and must use genetics to solve a murder. The
results were an average of 65.39 for the video game group, and 65.62 for the control
group (Annetta 77). But the average level of engage was 53.67 for video game group, as
opposed to 19.33 for the control group (77). Although this study did not significantly
increase the amount of material learned, the levels of engagement shown were
significantly higher than those of normal classroom learning. As someone who found
studying Biology to be rather tedious or boring, a video game like the one used in this
study could revolutionize the way Biology is learned. Because playing the game did not
feel like work to a majority of the students, many said they would have gladly spent more
time on the genetics video game than the allotted 90 minutes. If allowed, this would have

most likely lead to better test grades for the video game group than the control group.
With an increased level of engagement through a whole semester or school year, the
amount of information students learn would be substantially higher.
The article, The Case for Making Libraries Full of Toys and Games, explores the
idea of making libraries with toys and games verses the traditional library with books.
Although it was argued that this would remove the educational value of libraries, a study
performed with 70 six-year olds proved otherwise. It was discovered that children who
participate in more free play have a more-highly developed self-executive function
(Tung). This means that these children are better at figuring out how to things on their
own first before asking for help. For example, a student with a higher level of selfdirected executive function is more capable of figuring out how to complete an
assignment on their own, rather then ask for help if they get stuck. The reason for this is
because these games and toys libraries give kids freedom, versus the structured activities
found in standard libraries, like group reading sessions for example. It may seem that
these toys and games libraries are only for younger kids, but they are also bring in teens
with video games and I-pads. It was found that On average, libraries with video games
or I-pads yield results of a 15 to 20 percent increase in the amount books circulated
(Tung). Another benefit is that kids who participate in high levels of play are proven to
be better at coping with stress (Tung). As a gamer myself, I have benefitted from this.
After a long day at school, work or sometimes even both, video games provide you with
the wonderful opportunity to just sit back, relax and unwind. They ease the stress out of
your mind and allow you to just have fun. Another discovery from this study was that
video games can be just as beneficial as books when it comes to improving your reading

level. It was found that some of the text the children were reading was up to 8 grades
above their reading level (Tung).
According to Action Video Games make Dyslexic Children read better, playing
action video games drastically improves dyslexia (S Franceschini Affiliation). A study
was performed that consisted of two groups of 10 dyslexic children. The control group
played a non-action video game, while the other played the action video game of Rayman
Raving Rabbidson on the Wii. The study took place over the course of nine days, with
each day containing one 80-minute session. Reading, phonological, and attention skills
were evaluated prior to and at the conclusion of the study. The result was that playing
action video games drastically improved speed, without sacrificing accuracy (S
Franceshini Affiliation). Incredibly, it was discovered that the amount of reading speed
gained from these 9 action video game sessions was, on average, greater than the amount
one gains from a year of standard dyslexia treatment (S Franceschini Affiliation). And
the best part is that these benefits of action video games are only limited to just those
with dyslexia. Action video games were found to improve the attention skills of anyone
who plays them. And better attention skills lead to better reading abilities. As opposed to
standard treatments, action video games are a fun cure to dyslexia or anyone looking to
improve their attention skills.
With the advancement of technology, the idea of the gamification of school could
soon become a reality. According to Gamification in Education: Epic Win, or Epic Fail?
gamification is a strategy by which ordinary processes are infused with principles of
motivation and engagement inspired by game theory (Bourgault). The main obstacle
preventing this idea from becoming a reality is the fact that gamification, at a

meaningful level, requires a complete restructuring of activities, assessments and

feedback mechanisms (Bourgault). Basically, courses would have to undergo complete
overhauls for gamification to be implemented. And although this would be very time
consuming, and most likely, very expensive, in the long run it would pay off as students
would benefit immensely from the new learning structure. According to the article,
Gamification Time For an Epic Win? gamification may come sooner then we think. In
April of 2011, the announcement was made that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
had invested more than $20 million to develop game-based learning tools for US
children (Weaver 20). Gamification is the future of schools, because in an increasingly
technological society, gameification provides a fun and alternative way to keep students
interested and engaged in what they are learning.
Although most people hold negative views on video games, theyve proved to be
a great tool for learning. No matter what the subject, video games can be utilized as a
very effective way to learn. The main problem preventing this idea from becoming a
reality is the fact that many people still believe that video games hold no educational
value and are simply utilized as a means of entertainment. In the future, video games
will become a significant tool for education because they provide a more effective
method of learning than standard classrooms do. And although this idea is relatively new
and unorthodox, the results are undeniable.

Works Cited
Tung Anela. The Case for Making Libraries full of Toys and Games. Quartz. (2014).
Annetta L. A. Investigating the Impact of Video Games on High School Students
Engagement and Learning about Genetics. Computers & Education, v53 n1
(2009). 74- 85.
Squire Kurt D. Designing Centers of Expertise for Academic Learning through Video
Games. Theory Into Practice. Vol. 47 Issue 3 (2008). 240-251.
S Franceschini Affiliation. Action Video Games Make Dyslexic Children Read Better
Current Biology. CB (2013). 6-462
Anne Weaver Affiliation. Gamification Time for an Epic Win? Access. (2011). 2023.
Bourgault Kristen. Gamification in Education: Epic Win, or Epic Fail? Online
Teaching Strategies. (2012).