In class last week we discussed the positive and negative effects of implementing the use of video game programming in schools.
On the positive side to this debate, researchers and teachers claim that educational games, such as "Immune Attack" and other scientific learning games, provide life-like experience when playing. Such learning games require students to apply their knowledge of the subject to further proceed to higher levels of difficulty. Teachers have noticed a drastic change in the attention span of students when they are playing an educational video game compared to the standard routine of reading text books and taking notes.
As great as no texts books and notes seems, the utilization of video games in the classroom would bring on a whole new realm of issues. First and foremost, it would be very expensive to purchase the games and the equipment needed to play them. The idea of basing grades on the video game's point system could cause conflict to arise amongst youngersters due to the competitive nature of video games. Other students, such as myself, may have absolutely no skill at playing video games, and would therefor miserably fail. Another issue with video games within the classroom is the fact that they are learning from a machine, a game, with absolutely no real world life experience and does not factor in random occurences and chance.
Ultimately, this subject doesn't spark my interest too much and does not really to myself and my education, so I'm on the fence with this subject.
Being that my major is mechanical engineering, the idea of having video games would be an incredible complement to my education. Incorporating technology in education is making a positive impact and I can only see it getting better. Adding video games would be experimental in it's beginning stages, however its involvement could become more and more effective as it is tested. I look forward to a future where ideas of mechanical engineering can be practiced in video games. This can give engineers hands-on experience, without having to deal with the full risks. It's a chance to learn without facing danger.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there would be certain benefits to having virtual games in the class rooms. For example, kids who have learning disorders and learn from actually interacting with what they are studying, this would be a huge help for them. I think that this is a great idea but should be used only when needed. Certain age groups, educational fields, or learning disorders should get to use this technology. Otherwise, what would be the point of classrooms, schools, or teachers? One could simply sit at home, in their room, playing this game and learning from that rather than at a school from a teacher. Moderation would be key for this technology phase to work in a school.
ReplyDeleteVideo games would be beneficial to education in many ways. I think the main reason that it would help students is that is a different, more exciting way of learning. Every student learns differently so if video games would be incorporated. The costs would out weight the benefits if it was overdone. I think every school could benefit from adding one or two educational games to the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI think video games could help some people learn better. It would be a nice tool that teachers could have in the classroom. On the other hand, I think it should just be there for the student to expand their learning, not built into the course. Some children love video games then again some cannot stand them. Kids shouldn’t have their grade affected by if they can move a controller fast enough. But I think it should be expanded to the kids who hate to study. This could be a great and fun study tool to improve a child’s grade.
ReplyDeleteI think that video games in the class room can be a good thing but they shouldnt necessarily be used to earn a grade in the class as you said yourself and many other students im sure are not extremely tallented at video games so their grade should not suffer because of it. I think that these games should be used as a study tool and a way to earn extra credit if the students use them to study with. Video games grab most peoples attention and if you could use a video game to help you study i bet more students would be interested in studying
ReplyDeleteI think it would be very expensive because kids would need to learn the basic school subjects as well as play the video games. Video games are expensive and if you add textbooks in the ciriculum too then it would be even more expensive. Some kids would do better in school if there were video games but others wouldn't. In class, someone brought up that if the grading scale went to a point system then the students would preform better. However, I disagree with that because kids are either going to push themselves to get good grades/a lot of points, or they aren't. If a kid doesn't want to go to college or even stay in high school, then it won't matter whether or not it's points or grades, they will end their education career.
ReplyDeleteBecause I want to go into the medical field, I would love the opportunity to use a video game as a tool in the classroom. Yes I agree we still need teachers to actually explain the material, but if we could have a hands on tool as we learn it would greatly help in learning subjects such as anatomy. Since upper levels of A&P use human cadavers, using a video game to study the human body would cut costs and also it would be a lot less messy and gross. I love the idea of incorperating some sort of video game in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI think that video games in classrooms would be good for only certain things such as biology and anatomy. The schools could get money from grants from the government to help pay for the games. I still think that books and teachers lecturing are the best combination for students. Students need real life interactions with people to be more sociable and a better asset to employers. I think overall that video games if they are used to be used very minmal and the books and teacher interaction should be kept.
ReplyDeletei do agree with kelleejoooo on this topic. It would take away all the experience of socializing and learning things other than what is on the agenda, or in this case, the game. The only classes i believe could benefit from video game consoles is drivers ed. Instead of paying for an entire new car tat money could be used to pay for the simulator. It would also save the school money by not having to pay to fix the car if any students crash it. Just hit the reset button!
ReplyDeleteVideo games could be used a tool to enhance the learning experience but nothing more. If video games were used in the classroom just as much as a textbook, the video game would lose its "fun" appeal. So I think video games do have a place in a classroom but nothing where it would be utilized all the time because it would detract from what makes the video game useful in the first place: its simply something different than what would usually be found in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI think video games might be useful in the classroom, but for limited purposes. Most likely only used for the grade school level. Younger children love games a lot more than school, and they are not usually old enough to know how to to get around school web blocks, so they should be able to stay focused on the game rather than doing what they are not supposed to.
ReplyDeleteI am on the fence with you. I think that students are already so spoiled when it comes to learning. Why should schools have to find ways to keep their students grades up? That does not seem right to me. Students should WANT to attend school and retain knowledge and if they don't then that is their lose. But on the subject of video games, it is an interesting topic and I think it could be more useful for older students rather than younger children. Texts books are, and should always be the way to go.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I'm more towards no video games in the classroom. Like mentioned in the classroom, I think it is a good idea to have some video games as tools but not as a full take over and not in every subject either. If video games do make it to the classrooms, I think they should have to go through much examination and testing before students are using them to better their education. I can't deny that there are some very good points to having them and not having them but in my eyes, old school teaching with books rules!
ReplyDeleteI think that video games should be in try classroom, but I think they should be used as a tool. I still think that there should be a regular classroom with video games used to teach kids concepts hands on. Some
ReplyDeletePeople would learn better this way instead of reading through pages and pages of a book and taking notes. It
Would bring a new spin to the classroom that I think would help improve scores on everything
From English to math.
I think that using video games in a class room is beneficial to a lot of students because most people learn better with something visual. I don't think that an entire class should be taught with video games and to only base there education on it, but using it as a tool (such as a video clip or prop) is beneficial. I just also feel that it would be hard to grade because some people are good at video games and some people understand the concept but just aren't good at playing it.
ReplyDeleteI agree and disagree with you in a way. I think that video games should be used in moderation. You are right in the fact that they will have no real world life experience. However, I think that video games can be a very good asset in the classroom because I feel like kids will be way more interested in playing video games than sitting in a classroom just listening to their teacher.
ReplyDelete