Video Games + School = Good Idea? Yes!

Video 1:

Major Claim: In reasonable amounts, video games such as call of duty and others can have a positive and powerful effect on our behavior.

1. Research has showed people that play a lot of video games generally have better eye sight than those that don't play video games. People that don't play video games have about normal eye vision but people that do play have better than normal vision. They can read fine print, like on a medicine jar,  or even see better in the fog.
2. The average adult has an attention span of about 3-4 objects at a time, but someone that plays video games has an attention span of about 6-7 objects at a time. The areas of the brain that control attention are much more efficient in those that play video games. People that play video games are able to go back and forth from a task quickly, which means they can multi task better.
3. Just like wine, when drank in certain amounts and at the right age, it can be very good for you. Same with video games, if played at the right age and the right amount can be very good for you. They are trying to research and do training to make educational video games to use in schools. They want to use video games to have long lasting effects on students.

Video 2:

Major Claim: Things have changed over time, kids can relate more to video games and they catch their attention and interest but the world isn't catching up with video games. Kids have trouble paying attention because while video games have developed, the world around them is stuck in the same place.

1. Kids have to have an amazing ability to multi task to play video games now days. They have to be able to chat, text, control characters, know where their going, and deal with getting interrupted. Things like that actually make you smarter. The act of learning produces more brain matter. A study at Harvard was done, about 5 things that can help you become smarter. Those 5 things are all components of video games. Thinking creatively, challenging yourself, and doing things the hard way. People have to do those things when they play video games.
2. People are getting smarter in the US. It started rising in the 1990s about the same time that video games started to become popular. The pleasure of playing a video and beating it, produces a chemical called dopamine that makes you want to continue to play it.
3. A teacher took a class that was below a 3rd grade reading level and gave them a gaming system and had them do reading and math activities on it and by the end they were on a 4th grade reading level. If you tell them learning is fun, they will start to believe it. Use video games as a type of training don't completely lean on them for everything. If you take something negative and turn it into something positive it will help.
4. With video games, you can teach kids to work together. They want to win so they will work together. The video games can grade them on how they work together. Regular exercises cannot really do that because it all boils down to how the individual does so they act differently.

Video 3:

 Major Claim: Play is an important part of peoples development. Playing is one of the important ways that kids learn. Games get at the kind of social practices and learning experiences that they need in the 21st century. Teamwork, problem solving, and the ability to take on identities. Very forgiving environments for kids to fail in, which we need more of.

1. Video games work in the same way that good teachers work. There is a clear sense of challenge for the player and student, you are giving and figuring out different types of instruction. Game designers are always thinking about what does the person need to know now to be able to do the next task. The teachers do the same thing.
2. It is hard to see the learning going on in video games because people are not trained to see it. The first reaction when you see someone playing a video game is their just wasting time, but if you sit down with them and ask them what they are doing, they will give you a very detailed narrative and they will use good vocabulary. Teachers should think of video games as one part of a larger learning experience, and how can they connect that to reading a book or working on a paper.
3. Video games cause kids to think about who is on the other side. There is also a sense of empowerment and drive to want to beat the game. They watch other kids do it, and they can see themselves in other kids and believe that they too can do it.
4. It provides a lot of social structure. The more social structure, the better kids learn. Parents supporting their kids is helpful in kids learning. When the teacher and parents get involved, they can talk to the kids and see and hear what they are doing. Not only the kids are learning but the teachers and adults are too.

My thoughts:

Before I watched these videos, I believed that video games were very bad for you. I believed in all of the myths that are going around about them. After I watched the videos, I believe that video games should be used to help kids learn. In the first video, it said it can increase your attention span. I believe that it is extremely important to widen your attention span. A greater attention span can help in a lot of aspects in life. With all the multi tasking we have to do, video games is making that easier. In the second video it talked about how video games help kids to work together. With the world we live in now, that is an extremely important skill to have. They need to be able to work well with colleagues and students. Video games can help develop that better than a lot of other things. I think another reason that video games are so important is that, they make you think about who is on the other side. I believe that, that is also an important skill to have. In the working world, you have to think about how to handle certain situations based on who and what you are dealing with. They can learn to put themselves in someone else's shoes and think about how that person would react. Overall, I believe that we should start putting video games into school systems. The results are amazing and it can change the way our kids are learning and help them develop new skills.

Article Supporting Video games in schools Click Here
This article is talking about how about video games would be extremely useful in schools. It would open up learning opportunities and make learning fun. Kids like playing games so if they can combine that with school , they will want to learn and it will stay with them longer. It gives them a new way to think that will be useful in life.