Craig Lichtenberg

Technology Paper
11/04/08
CI 405 – Dean
Video Games: Not to be Ignored

Recently in an after school program, a friend of mine had trouble keeping his assigned

student on task. My friend could not persuade her to read instead of playing games on the

computer. Computers are becoming more and more important in a classroom, and many students

are motivated to use them. Students may see computers as a source of entertainment through

video games. Many schools simply use them as a reward for good behavior, or a free time

activity. Video games can become so much more. Video games can become a very important

educational tool in the future. Video games can be used in many different ways to teach very

complex materials with the same techniques that teachers use. Video games can also be used to

inspire students to read either through the game, or about the subject of the game. Most

importantly, video games can offer a way to motivate students to learn on their own time. In the

future, video games have the opportunity to take on a much more important role in education and

already have the foundations that require more attention to be paid to their utility.

Video games use many of the same pedagogical foundations that educators use every day

and can teach very complex tasks. A simple example would be direct instruction. A game can

simply ask a question that requires an answer. Video games can also use experiential learning,

learning by doing, to accomplish goals that teachers can never hope to replicate. For example,

video games can put students in the shoes of a military strategist, or a journalist reporting on

what they see around them in a virtual world (Kebritchi, 1733). Video games can use discovery

learning, or “an approach to instruction through which students interact with their environment

by exploring and manipulating objects, wrestling with questions and controversies, or

performing experiments” (Kebritchi, 1734). One game, The Monkey Wrench Conspiracy, teaches

engineers to use new 3-D software. Throughout the role-playing game, the player must model

everything, from “their gun triggers to their spacewalks, bad-guys and traps” (Kebritchi, 1735).

Although somewhat advanced for elementary level students, the opportunities are there to

encourage students to learn through video games. We can tap into what they enjoy to create

smarter and more creative workers of the future.

One teacher, Kristie Jolly, found that video games may also help students want to read.

She found that one student in particular seemed rather disappointed that the next lesson would

cover science fiction, but she knew that he enjoyed the video game Halo. “Halo has nothing to

do with sci-fi. Halo’s cool!” the student said (Jolly, 81). She introduced him first to a series of

graphic novels, and then a trilogy of longer novels based on the world created in the video game.

Teachers are missing a very new subject area that they can use to encourage students to read. In

Jolly’s study of over 250 eighth graders, 90% of males played video games for leisure, and 30%

of girls (Jolly, 82). She also asked them if they read for leisure, and a bit less than 60% of boys

said yes, and a bit over 50% of girls said yes (Jolly, 82). At least of this small survey, boys play

video games much more they read. However, she also found that only 50% of the students who

played video games knew of books based on video games (Jolly, 83). From my own knowledge

on the subject, not many books based on video games exist at all. There are many video games

that are based on television shows or movies that also happen to have books, but there are very

few that are strictly based on video game storylines. Incorporating video games into the

classroom can be much more than simply using the games themselves for education, but also to

inspire children to read. The books themselves may not exist yet, but this is another great

opportunity for writers and teachers to use to educate students and encourage them to read.
 The biggest reason to use video games as an educational tool is the student’s motivation

to use them. “The Federation of American Scientists called video games the next great discovery,

as they offer a way to captivate students to the point that they will spend hours learning on their

own time” (Anetta, 230). Video games can create motivation in many different ways. Video

games can follow the behaviorist learning theory, “that suggests that learning occurs through

stimulus-response conditioning and generates and sustains motivation through pacing and

reinforcement (Kebritchi, 1731). Even the simple goal of winning is motivation enough for

students to continue if the game is well paced and interesting to them. If over 90% of boys in a

study of 250 eighth grade students play video games for leisure, there is something about video

games that hooks players, or interests them enough to continue to want to play video games.

Students play multiple video games, and have a positive view on video games. Tapping into that

motivation to teach students through video games could be a very useful tool to encourage

learning outside the classroom.

In addition to how video games have and can use educational pedagogy as a basis for its

game play, education may be able to learn something from video games. A game’s interactive

design is something that a teacher may not be able to replicate fully, but it shows that when a

student is actively participating and achieving something, they are more motivated. The more a

student dives into the games timeframe, characters, emotions, or environment, the more

immersed a student can become to the game’s story which can motivate them to continue

(Dickey, 75). Games also have tons of feedback (Dickey, 77). Feedback may be as simple as

winning or losing, or more complicated when, for example, a new obstacle occurs when the

player fails at their initial goal. Education may also be able to learn from video games just solely

based on entertainment value. If students (especially male students), are motivated to play video
games, some entertainment ideas can be lifted from video games and used in the classroom. The

same way that video games try to hook the player into completing the game, teachers need to

hook students into what they are trying to teach, and possibly get students personally invested in

what they are working on.

Many students already spend hours playing video games, and are probably already

learning a plethora of information. Video games give educators and software developers the

opportunity to create specific games dedicated to education. Several games already exist, but not

enough mainstream games that target students use pedagogic approaches to educate the player.

From my own experience, as a child video gamer, games in school were boring, and nowhere

near the caliber of the games that I could play at home. Games in school meant basic flash card

games, or typing games. In recent years, I have seen more educational games available on the

internet than ever before. My cousin plays games for hours on Disney’s website that are

educational and fun. While tutoring this semester, I played a new three dimensional role playing

game where the goal of the game was to run around defeating monsters by solving math

problems. Although from my point of view the goal was simply to solve math problems, my

student felt motivated because he was actively involved and running around a giant maze as well.

Video games have come under fire in recent years because of the violent nature of some

of the more mature games. However, with the massive interest that students have for video

games in general, teachers must at least be aware of them and use them when the opportunity

arises to motivate students. In addition to using video games to motivate students to want to

learn, teachers can use video games to teach many complex ideas. Video games can put students

inside the shoes of someone else, and have them actively participate in the objective. Teachers

can also learn from video games to keep students motivated. Popular games usually have
something that keeps the player hooked and teachers can tap into that idea to try to hook students

on their lessons. Teachers should not let any prejudice against video games continue, and use

them to motivate, teach, and learn.

 Works Cited

Anetta, Leonard. "Video Games in Education: Why They Should Be Used and How They Are

Being Used." Theory into Practice 47 (2008): 229-39.

<www.informaworld.com/index/794508467.pdf>.

Dickey, Michele D. "Engaging By Design: How Engagement Strategies in Popular Computer

and Video Games Can Inform Instructional Design." Educational Technology Research

and Development 53 (2005): 67-83. Ebsco. University of Illinois, Champaign. 5 Nov.

2008.

Jolly, Kristie. "Video Games to Reading: Reaching Out to Reluctant Readers." English Journal

97 (2008): 81-86. Ebsco. University of Illinois, Champaign. 5 Nov. 2008.

Kebritchi, Mansureh. "Examining the pedagogical foundations of modern educational computer

games." Computers & Education 51 (2008): 1729-743. Ebsco. University of Illinois,

Champaign. 5 Nov. 2008.

 Craig Lichtenberg
CI 405 – Dean
11/04/08
Reflective Statement for Technology Standard #4

I chose this artifact because it exemplifies always looking at changes in technology as possibly
changing a part of the future of education. It shows that I am aware of one technology that
students are particularly interested in and have contemplated how to use video games in the
classroom. Video games are not utilized to their fullest to educate students inside the classroom
and outside the classroom. Although I only used a small study in this paper, the massive size of
the video game industry shows that teachers may be missing an opportunity to connect with their
students, and use video games as an educational tool. Students can learn from video games, and
teachers can learn to better teach their students from video games. Video games are something
that I am very familiar with, and feel there is much more use for them than is currently available.