Skyler Johnson

English 1010
Final Issue Exploration

Date: 12/5/2016
English Class
Final issue Exploration
4600 South Redwood Road, Salt Lake City, UT 84123
Dear English Class:
Throughout the last few weeks I have been doing a lot of research on my
question Do video games benefit learning and how? 99% of kids throughout the
world really enjoy video games if they are privileged enough to have them. There
are many kids throughout the world that do not have that privilege of video games.
But that is not who my target group is. I am targeting children that love video
games and want to use them as a tool for education! The Salt Lake library
databases have provided me with so many sources and information on my topic!
And 90% of the information was positive towards my question. However I did
choose to use a source that was negative in order to get all different viewpoints on
my question. I was able to get voices from students, game developers, teachers and
educators, and parents. Every single viewpoint really helped me get a well-rounded
answer to my original question.
The first viewpoint that I was able to get a lot of information from was
students who actually were able to try video games as a learning tool. The articles
that I managed to read and gain information from, the students in each of the
experiments felt the same way at the end. In the article, Students perceptions
about the use of video games in the classroom, by Jeroen Bourgonjon, Each of the
students that benefitted said that the the usefulness, ease of use, learning
opportunities, and personal experience with video games in general. Gender effects
are found as well, but appear to be mediated by experience and ease of use.
(Discussion Paragraph) As you can tell there are quite a bit of factors that go into
students enjoying video games for education. But moving forward in education,
video games are a must for students to be doing, or at least as an option for
students. Video games have helped many students with Mathematics, cognitive
thinking skills, and their overall learning process.
The second viewpoint I was able to get a voice from was game developers. I
read a really interesting study on how the game developers of the game called
scratch, allowed kids to develop their own games! And the purpose of this was to
help generate kids thought processes. The author, Yasmin Kafai, of the article,
Constructionist Gaming: Understanding the Benefits of Making Games for Learning,
states that Making games, we contend, not only more genuinely introduces
children to a range of technical skills but also better connects them to each other,

addressing the persistent issues of access and diversity present in traditional digital
gaming cultures. (Paragraph 2) The game developers had some pretty amazing
results in their study. The results showed that students who designed games really
showed improved focus and cognitive thinking skills. It really helped the students
realize the importance of making their own games. It turned them into the
producers instead of consumers, which was really incredible. And this is just one
way that video games can benefit education.
The third viewpoint that I will be writing about is the voices from Teachers
and educators. I found a really interesting study about the comparison on the views
of using video games as a learning tool from teachers, and librarians in an
elementary school. The author of this article, Amanda Hovious, stated that Digital
games can be good twenty-first-century learning tools because they share similar
characteristics with successful learning environments--they are active, goal
oriented, contextualized, adaptive, and feedback oriented.(Paragraph 1) The
librarians believed that digital games for learning are a great tool if they can get
past some barriers that teachers have bestowed. The barriers include lack of time,
lack of infrastructure, and lack of support. If the teachers can find time to
incorporate games into learning many students would benefit. Even if it is just a
game based lesson to start. Like jeopardy! Librarians highly agree that digital
games are most useful when it comes to education. If teachers were to fix these
barriers it would allow the library to serve as a "third space" for connecting
students' informal and school-based literacy practices!
The final viewpoint that I was able to obtain some useful information from
was parents of students. This viewpoint however was more of a negative one. There
are some parents out there that think video games are violent and are poison to
childrens minds. And I totally agree with that to an extent. However, there are
some pros and cons. In the study, The brain boosting power of video games, the
author Daphnie Bavalier states Children who regularly play action games show
improved ability to focus on visual details and the ability to make correct decisions
under pressure. Call of Duty and Medal of Honor are the types of games that
enhance attention. (paragraph 3) This is where the conflict arises with some
parents! I however think that daphnie is very right when she says that fast paced
games such as call of duty enhance attention. Because you are always in a position
where you have to act and kill the enemy before they kill you. So it makes you think
and focus. On the other hand, these games can be inappropriate for children to be
playing. These games are about war, and killing people with guns, and can be very
violent. Some parents say that when their children play these nasty games they
tend to have more aggressive thoughts and bad values. There is no real evidence
that violent video games and linked with violent crimes. Which is a big part of what
Daphnie describes in her article! There can be so many positive aspects on games.
Such as situational awareness, quick thinking, and developing reading and math
skills just to name a few.
In conclusion, I have a pretty well rounded idea on the original question I first
proposed to myself, Do video games benefit learning and how? With all the

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viewpoints I was able to gather, students, teachers, parents, and game developers, I
would safely say that playing video games for educational purposes in a must! I
found so many facts and so much evidence that it can really help children with their
overall learning experience. And the best part is, so many kids really enjoy playing
games. So to combine that with education is truly a win win for everyone!

Sources:
Kafai, Yasmin B., and Quinn Burke. "Constructionist Gaming: Understanding the
Benefits of Making Games for Learning." Educational Psychologist. Routledge, 2015.
Web. 25 Nov. 2016.

"The Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games." Raise Smart Kid. N.p., 2016.
Web. 25 Nov. 2016.

Bavelier, Daphne, and C. Shawn Green. "The Brain-Boosting Power Of Video

Games." Scientific American 315.1 (2016): 26-31. Academic Search Premier. Web.
25 Nov. 2016

HOVIOUS, AMANDA S., and RICHARD N. VAN ECK. "Digital Games For 21St-Century
Learning." Teacher Librarian 42.5 (2015): 34. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 15 Nov.
2016.

Sincerely,

Skyler Johnson
Final Issue Exploration

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