A Poison Turned Cure: Video Games in Education

Raya Castaneda

Mrs. Sansom

English 1301

November 29, 2010

Teachers have a very hard job: teach kids what they need to know while keeping

them entertained and engaged in the classroom. Most of the time only one of those

objectives, the teaching-the-kids one, is reached. However, sometimes the teacher has a

hard time even with teaching because he or she can’t convince the class that the material

is fun, or even necessary, to learn. The kids, stripped of their ability to text, to listen to

music, or to utilize their digital devices in any other way, get frustrated because there’s

no “fun” activity, in their mind, to divert their continuously wandering attention. As a

result of their boredom, they tune out the teacher and don’t learn anything. Some teachers

plow valiantly ahead armed with their lectures and textbooks and PowerPoint

presentations, hoping that some students amid the sea of so-called “lazy” kids find the

material interesting enough to concentrate on. Other teachers, however, have realized that

those teaching tools don’t always get the job done, which is teaching kids. These teachers

have found another tool to entice students to pay attention in class, one that’s long been

associated with play and mindless entertainment: the video game.

Video games have long been regarded as kid-attracting attention distracters by

parents and teachers. When someone picks up and begins to play a good video game, he

or she gets immersed into its depths, sometimes for hours on end. For parents, this

magnetism games have on their kids can be quite a hassle to deal with, especially if said

kids haven’t finished their homework yet. For teachers, video games are their worst

nightmare because they turn kids away from studying and doing homework. Some

teachers, however, have spotted the potential that video games have for education: they

satisfy kids’ inner technological cravings, they challenge the kids with its tricks and
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puzzles that require knowledge application to conquer, and they keep the kids focused

from beginning till end. These teachers realize that video games can do what textbooks

and PowerPoint presentations cannot do: make learning fun. Therefore, the use of video

games in the classroom stimulates students’ interest in the class material and enables

students to apply their book- knowledge to simulated situations, resulting in better

problem-solving and analytical student skills as well as engaged students.

Research on the use of video games in education has discovered many positive

effects in kids. First of all, researchers have found that using video games in education

incorporate principles crucial to human cognitive learning, such as problem-solving and

application skills. In June 2009, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop

concluded that video games provide “an important, untapped opportunity” to support

learning (qtd. in “Video Games”). One example of such a video game is SimCity, a game

where the player constructs his or her own city and decides how to run it. The National

Education Association (NEA) recommended the use of Electronic Arts’ SimCity in

classrooms. According to the 2010 internet article “Video Games & Education,” SimCity

plays an important role in many “gaming schools as it has shown to improve students’

problem-solving and analytical skills.” Other parts of the brain improved when video

games were used for education. According to Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad

Is Good for You, video games helped kids improve IQ test scores. Jonathan Roberts adds

to these results, adding that women who play 3D games improve in spatial rotation tests.

Even a surgeon’s skill at “key-hole surgery” improves with the aid of simulation games,

according to Roberts (Phillips).

Another benefit that researchers have discovered is that video games improve

kids’ grades. There was a study conducted by the University of Central Florida that

measured the effectiveness of video games on kids’ math test scores. Two groups of

students took a math test, one that played the video game Dimension-M over a period of

18 weeks, and a group of kids who didn’t play any games. The former group’s math test

scores increase by 8.07 points compared to the increase of only 3.74 points that the latter

group attained (“Video Games”). Even violent video games have a silver lining in terms

of educational benefits. A study done by Daphne Bavelier, assistant professor in the brain

and cognitive science department at the University of Rochester, showed that violent

games helped “improve math performance and other brain tasks” (Matthews).

Just because of the nature of video games, they can make kids engage more in

class. Video games offer a new approach to traditional methods of teaching. They

challenge kids with puzzles that can sometimes take quite a bit of brainpower to solve.

Huna Yusuf, author of the article “Video Games Start to Shape Classroom Curriculum,”

asserts that instead of learning the material, students apply their knowledge through the

use of simulated role playing. The interaction boosts students’ learning. Johnson agrees,

saying that video games can make kids intellectually ‘smarter.’ In order to beat them,

video games “require…complex preplanning and problem solving” (Phillips) on behalf of

the player. Johnson explains that, because games demand so much of the player’s

attention to detail, players as a result absorb more information, are more adaptable to

change in situational details, and “have improved visual attention” (Phillips). Yusuf adds

that if video games can be successfully integrated into a course, “given limited time and

resources” for the teacher, they’ll be successful as teaching tools.

Instead of taking notes and memorizing dates, students apply what they already

know in simulated situations. Examples of games that teach kids while challenging them

include Making History and Food Force. Making History is a video game that simulates

important historic events such as World War II. Students become the leaders of nations,

and they have to decide, based on past data and events, how to lead their own nation.

Making History is meant to “simplify history” and make history fun and accessible to

students (Visscher 38, 39). Food Force, a computer game created by the United Nations,

teaches kids about hunger issues plaguing the world. It lets kids lead their own “virtual

food-aid campaign” (Visscher 35). Educational games can still teach kids while making

the material more fun and engaging than textbooks.

While research has proved that video games would make a useful and exciting

addition to any class, there has also been a built-up opposition against using video games

in the classroom. People against the idea of video games incorporated into education are

concerned that video games will not only fuel the fire of childhood obesity, but also limit

their brain activity and natural reflexes, making them ‘dumber’ as a result. Another idea

about video games is that video games bring only “instant, electronical gratification,”

making other playtime activities look boring to kids (Suellentrop). Also, violent video

games, according to the oppositionists, will only desensitize real-life violence and inspire

aggression upon the kids. They are, as put by Craig A. Anderson, author of the article

“Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions,” “more hazardous

than violent television or cinema” on kids. Gawin McKiernan warns that “…when it

comes to violent video games, any positive effects are outweighed by the negative” (qtd.

in Matthews).
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The opponents don’t come without data. A study conducted in Japan showed that

children use only a part of their brains when playing video games. They “used a smaller

portion of their brains” than children who did simple addition (Hunsinger 13, 14).

According to Dr. Oded Bar-Or, a director of children’s health at the Chedoke-McMaster

Hospital in Hamilton, Canada, “obesity among children has increased quite dramatically

in the last 20 years” (qtd. in Hunsinger 15). As for the violence issue, studies have shown

that violent video games are related to “increased aggressive behavior, thoughts, and

affect” as well as “decreased pro-social behavior” (Anderson), and, according to Bruce

Bartholow of the University of Missouri, Columbia, there is a “reduced brain response”

for people who have a “history of game playing” (Phillips).

While these pieces of evidence appear like they give the opposition a strong

defense, they can still be answered to. For example, the same study by Daphne Balevier

shows that there is a silver lining when it comes to violent video games. According to

Balevier, “people that play these fast-paced games have better vision, better attention and

better cognition” (qtd. in Matthews). The study, which involved games such as Medal of

Honor and Unreal Tournament, also shows that people who play ‘pro-social’ games learn

the importance of teamwork and cooperation, and those people will more likely help

people in need in real life (Matthews). For the health issues, while it can’t be denied that

most video game activity is considered sedentary, there are video games such as the

simulation games like Dance Dance Revolution, or DDR, and Guitar Hero that are being

incorporated into school, and they are anything but sedentary. According to a West

Virginian study that determined the effectiveness of simulation games on children’s

health and well-being, positive effects of DDR include “better arterial response to
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increased blood flow, an increase in aerobic capacity,…no weight gain,” more self

confidence, and a renewed interest in physical education classes (O’Hanlon). Finally, for

the argument that video games only deliver short bursts of pleasure for children, that is a

misconception. The best video games, according to Suellentrop, are puzzlers that take a

very long time to finish, from many hours to many weeks. This “delayed gratification,”

Suellentrop believes, should make gamers more successful in business than nongamers.

Video games have long been known to be used as mere playthings. They have

been marketed that way for years. However, with the decline in kids’ interest in the

classroom, teachers have increasingly turned to video games to spice up the class

material. Studies have proven that video games actually benefit kids in terms of learning

instead of hindering them. Since video games improve kids’ grades, mental abilities, and

focus on class material, they should be welcomed as alternative tools into the school

curriculum.
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Works Cited

Anderson, Craig A. “Violent Video Games: Myth, Facts, and Unanswered Questions.”

Psychological Science Agenda. Oct 2003. Web. 16 Oct 2010.

Haugen, David M., ed. Video Games. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Print.

Hunsinger, Earl. “Excessive Video Game Playing Can Adversely Affect Children’s

Health.” Buzzle.com. 26 Feb 2007. Print.

Matthews, Karen. “Violent Video Games Touted as Learning Tool.” Rochester

Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY). 28 May 2010: n.p. SIRS Researcher.

Web. 15 Oct 2010.

O’Hanlon, Charlene. “Some Video Game Playing Can Have a Positive Effect on

Children’s Health.” T H E Journal, vol. 34, no. 4, April 2007, pp. 34-39. Print.

Suellentrop, Chris. “Playing With Our Minds.” Wilson Quarterly Vol. XXX, No. 3.

Summer 2006: 14-21. SIRS Researcher. Web. 16 Oct 2010.

"Video Games & Education." The Entertainment Software Association - Home Page.

ESA Entertainment Software Association, 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2010.

Visscher, Marco. “Video Games Can Benefit Classroom Education.” Ode, vol. 36, Sept

2006. Print.

Yusuf, Huma. “Video Games Start to Shape Classroom Curriculum.” Christian Science

Monitor. Sept 18 2008: n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 16 Oct 2010.