GamingandEducation

GamingandEducation:
AreVideoGamesABeneficial
EducationalToolOrAreTheyJustEntertainment
MartinGutierrez

Abstract
Theresearchdoneforthistopicisbasedonthepositiveandnegativeeffectsof
videogamesinaneducationalsetting.Atotaloftwelvearticleswereusedin
conjunctionwiththisresearchinordertofurtherestablishabasisfortheideathat
videogamesarenotonlybeneficialforstudents,buttheymaybeevenbetterthan
traditionalteachingmethodsstillemployedtoday.Thisreportlooksatthepsychological
effectssuchas,mood,attentionspanandconcentrationwithandwithouttheuseof
videogames.Italsousesresearchonhowvideogamescanbeusedinaphysical
environmentinordertoimprovetechniquenecessaryinsportssuchascrosscountry
runningandsoccer.Videogamesareanextraordinarytoolthatcausetheplayerto
immersethemselvesinaworldsimilartoourown,butstilldifferentenoughtomakean
impact.Manyofthesegamesarealreadyteachingchildrenaboutarchitectureorthe
properwaytoswingaswordandthekidsarelearningwithoutevenrealizingit.This
researchwillshowproofthatvideogamesareabenefittotheyoungmindsoftoday.

Childreninthisdayandageareveryfamiliarwithtechnology.Achildofthree
yearsoldalreadyknowshowtolookforvideosontheirparentsphoneorhowtoplay
fruitninja.Whatthesechildrenaredoingwithoutrealizingitislearningtoconcentrate.
Thelearningthattheyaredoingisnotapparentataglance,buttheirarevarious
elementsthathavetocomeintoplayinorderforthechildtoswipecorrectlyand
efficientlyinordertogainthemostpoints.Thisisjustoneexampleofhowvideogames
helptoimproveonaveryimportantaspectoflife.Ifweweretousethistoour

advantageandcreateanimmersivegameforavarietyofdifferentsubjectssuchas,
math,wecanreplacetraditionalteachingmethodswithvideogamebasedlearning.
Mytheoryisthat,videogamescanandwillreplacetraditionalteachingmethods,
ifdonecorrectly.Therearemanynegativeoutcomestoconsiderwhenusingvideo
gamesasonemightexpectchildrenareatanincreasedriskofattentiondeficitdisorder
andviolence.AccordingtoresearchdonebyEllyA.Konijn,MarijeNijeBijvankand
BradJ.Bushman,"Resultsshowedthatboysinthelowereducationalabilitygroup
preferredtoplayviolent,standalonegames,identifiedmorewithvideogame
characters,andperceivedvideogamestobemorerealisticthanotherboysdid."
Obviouslythisisahugerisktotakewiththemindoftheleadersoftomorrow.Whatcan
betakenfromthisisthatvideogamesmaynotbeforeverychild.Childrenwhoarein
thehighereducationallevelpreferedsocialmultiplayergames,buildingupontheir
socialskillswhichwillbehelpfulforadultinteractionsbothcasualandbusiness.
Aggressivebehaviorisnotlimitedtolowerperformingchildreneitheraccording
totheJournalofAdolescence,"Adolescentswhoareexposedtogreateramountsof
videogameviolenceweremorehostile,reportedgettingintoargumentswithteacher
morefrequentlyandweremorelikelytobeinvolvedinphysicalfights."The
aggressivenessagainbringsupthefactthatvideogamesarenotsuitedtomoldthe
mindsofsucheasilyinfluencedchildren.Thefactthateightyninepercentofvideo
gamesinvolvesomeformofviolenceisquitealarming.
Whilethesearticlesbringupanentirelyplausibleargumentthatvideogamesdo
causeviolentoutbreaksandevenattentiondeficitdisorder,theyfailtonotethatthese

gamesarenottailoredtoteaching,theyarejustusedforentertainmentpurposes.With
howmuchdamagearegulargamecando,imaginethepossibilitiesofasimulationfor
exampleforuseinsports.Theideathatvideogamescanhelpinphysicaleducation
soundshypocriticalatfirst,butitsnot.Firsttakeeducationoutoftheequationanduse
apracticalreallifeapplication.TheUSAirForceusessimulationsinordertotraintheir
pilots,asimulationisavideogame,soifthemilitaryusesitinordertotrain
professionalsthensimulationmustbeacrediblesourceofexperience.Theamazing
partofthisisthatthesesimulationsarealreadywidelyavailabletothepublic.Madden
2015andFifa2014aresportsgameswithrealisticphysicenginesandmostimportant
ofalltheyhaveareplayfeature.Thereplayfeatureshowsexactlyhowaplayerthrows
aball,thepositiontheirbodyisinandtheexactstrikingarea,whateveryoucanimagine
canbedonewiththesegames,whatcanbelearnedfromthesegames.Theresearch
showedthatvideogamescanbeusedasanenhancementtophysicaltraining.

Method
Inorderforustogetrealisticresultsalongterminvestigationhastobecarried
outusingvariousdifferentgenresofvideogamesbetweenallthedifferentsubjectsone
mightfindlearningatschool.Wemustalsobringupthefactthatwedonotknowthe
lengthoftimenecessaryforthebeneficialpropertiestocomeintoeffect.TheAmerican
JournalofSexualEducationhasalreadytestedthisexactproblemwithhuman
sexuality.Firstofall,theymanagedtofigureoutthatatleastthirtyminutesareneeded
inordertoreachthepointwherethebenefitsofavideogamearedrawn.Thistime

includesgettingfamiliarwiththegameandlearningitsmechanics.Thisofcourseisa
hugeproblemasclassesareonlyaroundanhourtoandhourandahalflong.
Alreadyexistingvideogamescanbeusedtoteachhumansexualityaswell.
Videogamesreflectsocietyaswhole,gamesaremadethiswayinordertoenticemore
userrelatableconnectionsorevenjusttomakemoremoney.Anundeniablefactthat
GrandTheftAutoforexample,portraysprostitutesinarealisticwayandthisisjustone
instanceofagenderstereotype.Onceweknowthiswecangettothemeatofthe
probleminoursociety.Thesestereotypesareoftenbroughtupinasociologyclass
wheretheyexaminetheinsandoutsofsocialinteraction,butiftheareactively
engagedinthisinteractionfromthegetgotheycannaturallyseetheoccurring
stereotypeandformtheirownopinionsaboutit.Thestudentisthenlearningwithout
actuallyrealizingthattheyarelearning.Theyarecreatingalibraryintheirownheads
aboutwhatisagenderstereotypeandhowwetreatpeopleincertainareas.
Onesemesterisatooshorttermforresearchregardingthisparticularsubject,so
welooktowardsthearticleGodModeishisname.Thisarticlecontainsresearchona
homeschooledchildthatlearnstodevelopgamesoverthecourseofhislifestarting
fromchildhoodthroughcollege.Weneedthisinordertodeterminewhethervideo
gamescanstayasalongtermtoolandaccordingtothisarticletheprospectsare
lookinggood.OverthecourseofhislifeGodModehaslearnedseveralskills
necessarytosurviveasanadultintoday'ssocietyallbylearningtodevelopavideo
game.Onesuchskillistheabilitytoretainskillslearnedinothersubjectswithan
increasedrateofsuccess.Thisispossiblebecausemanygamesrequiretheplayerto

remainfocusedonthetaskathandinordertoachievesuccess.Thefocusthatis
subconsciouslylearnedandtrainedusinggamesistransferredtoreallifepurposes.
Anotheriscriticalthinkingwhichisaskillthatrequiresconcentrationandoutsidethe
boxthinking.Inmath,oneneedstothinkcriticallyinordertorealizewhatmakessense
forthecurrentequation,orinprogramminghowwouldonetranslatetheenglish
languageintocomputerlanguagetocreateausableprogramorapplication.Wecan
gatherfromthisdatathatvideogamesareaflexibletoolthatcanstandthetestoftime
giventhecorrectusage.Videogamedevelopmentforexamplecanteachusskillsthat
canbeusedinotherassetsoflifenotjustschoolwhichcanbringahugeadvantageto
acollegegraduatethatisabouttogettheirfirstrealjob.Forexample,Personaisa
videogamethatteachestimemanagement.Timemanagementisaskillthatacollege
studentneedsduringschooltofinishtheirworkontimeandduringworkinordertoget
alloftheirimportanttaskscompletedinanefficientway.Thisisonlyoneexampleofthe
benefitsthatagamecanhave.

Discussion
For:
Videogamesareaflexibleassetthatcanleadtoquickerskillbuildingand
retention,greaterdevelopmentofsocialskills,athletictechniqueandmotorskills
improvementandalsodevelopusefullifeskillsthatwillbeusefulfromchildhoodto
adulthood.Themaindrawofusingvideogamesisthewaythattheyengagethe
students.Inatraditionalschoolenvironmentthereisnoengagementtotheclass

leadingtomanystudentsnotpayingattentionduetolackofaninterestingtopic,but
videogamescanhelpremedythatwithrealworldexamplesandvisuals.Onemethod
broughtupinthearticleistheideaofusingmultiplayergames,whichcenteraroundthe
teacherguidingthestudentsandthestudentworkinginteamsinordertogrowa
garden.Thisguidancewouldbeusefulinbiologyforexamplewhereinsteadoflooking
attheanimalsandplantspeciesinabooktheycanstudyandexaminethehabitsof
particularanimalsupcloseandevenvirtuallydissectthemtofindoutmore.Theycan
alsogrowtheirownplantstolearnthedifferentstagesofaflorallifecyclewhilealso
learninghowtogarden.Thisisalsogreatbecausethestudentslearntoworkasateam
leadbyaboss,theteacher,whichisbasicallythesameaspracticingforarealworld
job.
Against:
Videogamesaredistractingandarejustaformofentertainment.Theycreatea
violentenvironmentwhichpreysonthedevelopingmindsofyouthswhichinturnmakes
themmoresusceptibletocommitactsofviolence.Videogamesareadetrimentto
childrenwithattentiondeficitdisorderastheamountofinformationgatheredfromonly
fiveminutesofplayingistoostimulatingforayoungmindwhichmakesthechildunable
toconcentrateonwhatisimportant.Theywouldalsobeexpensivetoassimilateintothe
currentacademicmodel,inordertoseetherealbenefitsofavideogameonemustbe
playingitforatleastthirtyminutestogetthefulleffectsandclassesarenotlong
enoughtotakethirtyplusminutesoutjusttoplaygames.Theequipmentwouldalso
needtobeupgradedtothelatesttechnologyandsomeschoolslackthefundingtodo

so.Violentvideogamesareacomponentofthisresearchbecauseduetothelackof
understanding,manyparentswouldbeconcernedthattheirchildrenareatschool
playingdangerousvideogamesinsteadoflearning.

Conclusion
Althoughvideogamesseemtobealiabilityatthemoment,thefactthattheybringso
muchtothetablecannotbeignored.Astechnologymovesforwardwe,ashumans,
needtomoveforwardalsoascurrentteachingmethodsbecomeoutdated,theyhave
beenforawhile,inordertokeepupwithsociety.Childrenarelearningtousetablets
andlaptopsasearlyastheageoftwosoitissomethingthattheyarefamiliarwith.Yes
itwillbeexpensive,yesitmaynotbeperfect,butintheenditwillbeworthitinorderto
givethenextgenerationaheadstartontheskillstheywillneedtohaveinordertobea
productivememberofsociety.

Recommendations
Withtheinformationgivenmyrecommendationwouldbenottoincludevideo
gamesintotheacademicfield,yet.Thefactthatmoneymakestheworldgoaroundcan
notbeignoredasnotonlywouldequipmentneedtobeupgraded,gameswouldalso
needtobedevelopedspecificallyforthispurpose.Trainingwouldalsobenecessaryfor
teacherswholackanysortofexperienceorarejustbadwithtechnologyingeneral.The
useofsportsgamesinphysicaleducationclassestobeusedasguineapigsasthey
arereadilyavailableandareintuitiveforateachertousethereforeneedingless

training.Thesportsgamesarealsoveryinexpensiveandwouldonlyneedasystem
andatelevisiontogetgoing.Moredatacanbegatheredduringthefirsttrialyear.

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