DEJ 11

Enthusiasts argue that children learn many important skills through gameplay, and, hence that computer games will make formal learning more pleasurable, motivating and effective (Mitchell & Savill-Smith, 2004). Sceptics tend to argue that computer games might have negative effects on people’s attitudes and behavior (Anderson & Dill, 2000; Walsh, Gentile, Gieske, Walsh & Chasko, 2004).

I think that no matter what the issue you will always see two different sides and this issue is not an exception.  I think that when the subject of using video games in school is spoke of in general terms the reaction ,ma be that they are of no use and just a method of a fun activity however when the subject is discussed in more depth the results are much different.  I think that as research continues to investigate the effect of gaming on learning as well as how students learn the use of virtual games will become more accepted.  Video games have received much media attention as to the effects of violent games on behavior but not much media attention has been devoted to the positive learning aspects which again I believe will change as more research is conducted.  I think that as new teachers enter the field and are spokespersons for the inclusion of games in instruction more educators will be willing to explore the use of gaming in their teaching.

It is problematic to treat what children learn by playing, say, SimCity as a generic set of skills independent of the contexts where the knowledge that they learn is supposed to be invoked. As such, children might learn important things about urban planning by playing SimCity, but they might also learn that people can easily be manipulated. As such, whether SimCity actually is beneficial or harmful in terms of learning depends on how it is used, for what purposes it is used and how this use is embedded in meaningful practices.

I think that when we look at the benefits of a game it is easy to connect games to certain skills but this limits the possibilities.  Games like the Sims may show the concept of urban planning but also a chance for students to try out different behaviors and to decide what actions work and what action did not work which can be carried into real life situations.  I think games like the Sims show the player how their choices have reactions and how to manage life tasks.  I agree that with all games it is how they are used and what learning outcome has been developed.  When a game is played without careful planning and objectives developed how learning can be assessed.

I believe that we as educational researchers can provide more realistic accounts of what computer gaming is about, how computer games might be used in order to facilitate learning in schools, and what, in fact, people learn when engaged in activities of computer game play

I think we are see more and more research about computer gaming and this field will continue to grow.  From the research more commercial products will be designed because new products for profit are always on the horizon.  I also think that you will see more projects like MIT’S Scratch project to aid the classroom teacher in ways to incorporate gaming into the classroom.  I think research will show that student engagement increases as technology is used more in education because they have grown up in a digital world.  The students are used to using these technologies to solve many problems in their daily lives and the addition of technology in the classroom is very natural to them and accepted.

Learning to Play or Playing to Learn - A Critical Account of the Models of Communication Informing Educational Research on Computer Gameplay    by Hans Christian Arnseth