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Matt Goodwin

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Could gaming platforms be used in the school system to improve the education experience and effectiveness in schools?

I watched my younger brother play games for hours with his friends. This is the same group of youth that have no interest in school because its not a challenge or stimulating for them. So I started thinking if this technology could be used in the school systems to engage students. I saw the passive Angel turn into a super driven competitive individual simply because of the challenge placed before him. How can we use this to increase what children get out of their education? Or would this prevent their basic abilities to learn? I know that the military has been using this tech for years to train their soldiers on everything from combat to vehicle operation. It has been proven successful there, but would it hamper basic learning skills? Would their interpersonal skills suffer?

Just a though that I had.

Topics: Computer Simulation Video games collaborative learning high school virtual reality
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    Fritzie Reisner 100+

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    Aug 6 2012: Games are a staple of school curriculum. As an educator and voracious student, I believe it is also important for students to be engaged with content in such a way that they realize how much fun learning is in its own right- thinking and experimenting. Not everything needs to have bright colors, flashing lights, and a screen involved to spark kids' interest.

    We should be grateful for this. Many of us are concerned at our children's and students' screen time.
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    Debra Smith 200+

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    Aug 6 2012: In the most fun I have had in a long time, rehab therpaists introduced me to WII when i was recovering from an unexpected (aren't they all?) stroke. I played tennis, bowling and some games for balance and it was brilliant even if I was very bad. So yes, schools are catching on.
    I however was so bad that the therapist forebade me from buying one yet because they were worried that I would get too excited and fall over on a good backhand shot or just fall off the platform and land on my poor head. I will get one though.
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    Salim Solaiman 50+

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    Aug 6 2012: Very good idea !!

    Need to align games with school curriculum and make school open to accept it.

  • Jonathan Gronli

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    Aug 6 2012: It really wouldn't hinder anything. It's just that the right games need to be used. For example, in history one of the Total War games would be ideal as aside from real world battles, the games were incredibly detailed, bordering on at least Master's thesis level of detail regarding cities of the time, trade, alliances via marriage, troops with both equipment and best strategic use, etc. Social studies/history, Civilization would be great. English (literature), pretty much anything with a story would be good just to study things like narrative structure. It's just a matter of figuring out the right games for the age group and the class.

  • Sophie B.

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    Aug 6 2012: I think that's a great idea! Kids learn so much about video game worlds, what if we incorporated real life learning in a fun way. I think this would be a great way to supplement other learning methods, not replace them entirely. That way they would still acquire basic learning and interpersonal skills.
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