The Blue Blog

Article: Computer Games ‘Motivate Pupils’: BBC News, Friday, Jan. 13

Web address: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4608942.stm

            When I was growing up, my parents would not budge an inch when my older sister or I talked about video games.  They refused to buy any kind of game system for us because, in their opinion, the games would consume our homework time and my sister and I would be caught in downward spirals of academic disintegration.  They were equally suspicious of computer games when they became widely available, and we were monitored closely to make sure we were not spending too much time playing the few games we had.  A completely different attitude about the use of games has formed, however, in some schools in England and Wales, as teachers have been exploring the use of computer games to foster motor and cognitive/thinking skills.  This article discusses the possible benefits and disadvantages of using games in the classroom to supplement more traditional educational strategies.

            By the time I had reached college, I had pretty much adopted the same attitude about video and computer games as my parents, and I played my first video game just a few weeks before reading this article.  During the game, I had to learn how to anticipate what my opponent would do and quickly form a strategy to counter him.  I also watched friends playing the popular online role-playing game World of Warcraft, which seemed to involve some complicated strategy forming as well as fast decision-making and memory recall.  After making these observations of people actually playing games, I think that motor skills and cognitive development could definitely result from the careful use of video games in the classroom.  The article also brings up the point that computer games are beneficial because they let students work at their own pace.  In my opinion, any kind of personalized program would be useful in the classroom because of the differences between students in learning speed and style.  Creativity and critical thinking could also be added benefits, and the students could learn more about computers in the process of learning a game.

            Some concerns brought up in the article include what teachers see as the presence of stereotypes of women and people of different nationalities in some games.  While I have only observed a few games being played, I can definitely say that I would also be concerned about this as a teacher because of some of the female characters I have seen.  At times, games will feature women clad in a few scraps of cloth designed only to enhance the presentation of their ridiculously exaggerated figures.  While I suppose students would probably be playing these games at home anyway, I would want to preview any computer programs before using them in my classroom.  Another concern was that video games would cause anti-social behavior.  While I am not versed in the psychology of video game playing, I would guess that if a game were being used in a classroom there would not be any violence involved.  Also, I think that group work should still be a part of the classroom so that students will have the benefits of individual learning and social learning in group efforts.