Unbiased Survey Says Video Games Are Great For Learning
from the everything-I-need-to-know-I-learned-from-galaga dept
While plenty of people like to focus on how they think video games can harm kids, we’ve posted several stories about how video games can be beneficial to children — whether it’s helping with ADD, making them better business thinkers or keeping them fit — and now there’s scientific proof, after more than half of teachers in the UK say they improve pupils’ skills and knowledge. Wait a second — instead of actually trying to determine if games are helpful to kids, they just ask teachers if they think they are? Since the results were so overwhelming, the next step of the project (which happens to be sponsored by Electronic Arts) is to develop school lesson plans based around three Electronic Arts games. Not that we’re skeptical of this project or anything, given EA’s role, but it sounds like they’re trying to back it up with some pretty weak science. More research — and better research — into the positive effects of video games, rather than just their downsides, would be useful.
Comments on “Unbiased Survey Says Video Games Are Great For Learning”
No Subject Given
All this research into the influence of tv/computer on kids is so inutile. We all daily conducting this and i think not many can find spending time in front of the tube, anything but wasted time. These are no substitutes for human interaction.
Re: No Subject Given
What does the human interaction provide that an electronic interface won’t?
Throughout high school I babysat the kids next door where they constantly had math learning games – they were top in their class and only started because their human teacher was incompetent.
People place too much value on the benefits of looking at a person. The benefits of technology are generally scoffed at by Luddites much as, I’m sure, the telephone was decades ago when it “removed the human experience”.
We’re all still here. If you want social development, go talk to people. If you want skills or knowledge development, don’t assume that a single human is by default superior to a piece of technology crafted by a team of experts.
Re: Re: No Subject Given
I agree with you that technology can be just as beneficial in the learning environment as anything else but it takes drive and motivation to make it possible. Human interaction has a way of giving people more direction needed to learn on there own compared to an electronic based education. Let?s face it all education in general boils down to what the individual is willing to take out of it. A good teacher can make the difference but if you generally want to learn an incompetent teacher (as you put it) will not keep that individual from excelling.
I personally was diagnosed with ADD as a child and had a hard time in the class room. I believe and my parents will agree, that spending time on the computer and having an actual interest and desire in what I was doing through video games and the Internet gave me the drive to want to communicate more effectively through the computer consequently enhancing my reading and writing skills it was a huge stepping stone in my education. At the same time to this day I completely depend on spell check lol.
Re: Unless they are idiots
When was the last time you were in school? A few hours on Wikipedia is more interesting and informative than a week in public education.
Re: Re: Unless they are idiots
Amen!
Re: No Subject Given
Bad grammer much?
Re: No Subject Given
There is a huge difference between spending hours in front of the TV and watching sitcoms or spending hours in front of the TV watching National Geographic, Discovery channel, History channel or Public broadcasting programs. The same goes for the difference between spending 5 hours playing WOW or 5 hours playing Math Blaster or an educational game. Wow and sitcoms have their place in life but I agree don’t have much educational value. Nothing however can replace the importance of human face to face interaction. Chatting on the internet with friends is not the same as going out with friends and talking face to face. Many people who enclose themselves in their house can be brilliant but lack many social skills which hurt them in the workplace. How do you learn teamwork and how to compromise when online all you do is flame someone if you disagree. A close example of smart people who lack social skills is homeschooling. The children can move at their own pace and many are extremely smart, but since they never went to school and associated with other people, they lack many social skills. A bad teacher falsley gives you a bad grade. In school you have to learn how to work with superiors and be able to approach them if there is a problem. That just doesn’t happen at home with your parents.
To sum it all up, the internet, tv, etc are huge resources and we all have access to a great wealth of knowledge but none of it can replace face to face human interaction.
Re: Re: No Subject Given
Why do you need social skills in order to educate yourself? I have found that I perform better without human interaction because I don’t have to rely on the lowest common denominator being the one that messes up every project I work on.
As for public education these days, it is a joke. It has been ever since the teachers lost control of their classrooms because public policy and politics have taken over. My son is never going to be subjected to public education because all they teach there is how to get your public assistance and keep from getting a job.
Re: No Subject Given
I don’t want to sound rude but it’s hard to take anybody serious when they respond to a well written article with a sentence like ” We all daily conducting this and I think not many can find spending time in front of the tube, anything but wasted time.”
Do you see my point?
No Subject Given
I agree with you that technology can be just as beneficial in the learning environment as anything else but it takes drive and motivation to make it possible. Human interaction has a way of giving people more direction needed to learn on there own compared to an electronic based education. Let?s face it all education in general boils down to what the individual is willing to take out of it. A good teacher can make the difference but if you generally want to learn an incompetent teacher (as you put it) will not keep that individual from excelling.
I personally was diagnosed with ADD as a child and had a hard time in the class room. I believe and my parents will agree, that spending time on the computer and having an actual interest and desire in what I was doing through video games and the Internet gave me the drive to want to communicate more effectively through the computer consequently enhancing my reading and writing skills it was a huge stepping stone in my education. At the same time to this day I completely depend on spell check lol.
I myself play video games 10 hours straight each weekend. It gives me something to work toward…as in looking forward to adding a new game to my collection and what-not. I am a student and video games do not make me lose focus on my daily work. Also, when little kids whom the parents know are not mature do things to act out a video game who’s fault is it? The parent who bought the game and allowed he/her to be influenced by it or the child. Do the parents really have any right to sue if it’s their fault? In history we’ve had controversy over any and all types of media and this controversy is only temporary and will be pushed to the side when a new type of media approaches. Comic books, music, television,and video games can be the reason why a lot of kids don’t do drugs as well as the reason why they do. But, the parents can regulate the type of media their children are introduced to and it’s not the media’s fault. Please take a moment to consider that the parents are at fault as well as the children.