5 Reasons to Use Video Games in School Education
Many educational games have been developed as they can be used for education by making good use of the games that children love. Andre Thomas, an associate professor of architecture at Texas A & M University, explains five reasons why games should be incorporated into school education.
5 reasons video games should be more widely used in school
There have been voices claiming that games have a negative impact on young people, and in Kagawa Prefecture, there is an online game addiction countermeasures ordinance that limits the daily game time under the age of 18 to 60 minutes on weekdays and 90 minutes on holidays. In addition to being enforced, China has also enacted rules that strictly limit the playing time of online games under the age of 18. However, there is no clear scientific evidence that the game actually has a negative impact on adolescents.
A rule that 'prohibits online games more than 3 hours a week' has appeared, games are only allowed 1 hour x 3 days a day --GIGAZINE
As mentioned above, the game may be subject to regulation, but the market will be 178 billion dollars (about 19.6 trillion yen) in 2021 and 266.8 billion dollars (about 29.3 trillion yen) in 2025. ) It is expected to grow to scale and is undoubtedly one of the most popular media of our time.
Using games for educational purposes is not a recent story. For example, the game The Oregon Trail, released in 1971, was developed by a history teacher in Minnesota to help students learn, and the Lewis and Clark Expedition across the Americas in the 19th century. The theme is. The following movie is the actual play video of 'The Oregon Trail'.
The Oregon Trail Gameplay --YouTube
For 50 years, video games for education have been actually used in educational settings, and research results have shown that they have achieved a certain effect, but in modern times, games are used for education. Not very common. Associate Professor Thomas cites five reasons why games should be used in education.
◆ 1: Because games help students become interested in the STEM field
STEM is a term that indicates the educational fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, and we should focus on STEM education as a human resource development that will lead the future society in the United States and Japan. Said Associate Professor Thomas.
For example, the University of Oklahoma is developing a game to teach students calculus, and by actually using the game, students' proficiency in calculus has improved. Similarly, Texas A & M University is also developing a learning game called 'Variant: Limits' based on calculus. You can see the preview movie of Variant: Limits from the following.
Variant: Limits ™ Educational Trailer-YouTube
◆ 2: Because the game provides empirical learning
(PDF file) The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) states that teaching students 21st century skills such as creative problem solving is important for developing a future workforce. Associate Professor Thomas claims that games can help you develop your thinking and problem-solving skills.
For example, ' DragonBox Algebra ' is a game that solves math problems in a fantasy world view, and is useful for acquiring skills such as critical thinking. Also, in the ' Civilization ' series, players can become citizen leaders and command the prosperity of the country. In addition, you can succeed as a patron of the arts and a banker at ARTé: Mecenas , where you will be the head of the Medici family and wield economic and political skills. In this way, learners can learn by actually acting through games, and through experiential learning, they can acquire skills and knowledge that cannot be obtained in conventional classrooms, says Associate Professor Thomas.
◆ 3: Players can learn from their mistakes
Video game theorist Jesper Jules argued that 'losing a video game is part of the appeal of the game.' If the game fails, the player feels weak, but can quickly recover and improve their skills.
Associate Professor Thomas points out that games are a natural way to allow students to fail in a safe way, learn from their failures, and try again until they succeed. For example, '
◆ 4: Because students are absorbed in the content
According to a study published in 1982, students spend an average of 60% of their classroom time studying in the classroom. However, research results so far have shown that extending school hours for the purpose of spending more time on learning has little effect. In short, an effective way to increase learning time is to give students more time to work on tasks, which requires them to work with material that interests them.
In the classroom, the teacher teaches the student directly, so to some extent you can manage the student's motivation. However, for homework and other homework, there is another way to motivate students. Applying games to education can increase student motivation and interest, effectively increasing student learning time.
◆ 5: Because games make complex knowledge fun
Theoretically, students are said to not just absorb knowledge, but rebuild it in their own minds. In other words, based on the concepts you have learned so far, you build more sophisticated and complex knowledge and make it your own.
For example, it is difficult to remember the symbols, names, and atomic weights of more than 110 elements. However, the names and types of hundreds of Pokemon, as well as the names and effects of countless moves, are remembered by every child playing Pokemon. Children learn Pokemon data, which is much more informative than the Periodic Table of the Elements, through games rather than looking at the table. 'Pokemon wasn't developed as an educational game, but its design concept could be applied to the design of educational games,' said Associate Professor Thomas.
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