| Research published by University of Rochester | | | | for them to design learning in the language and speed |
| neuroscientists C. Shawn Green and Daphne Bavelier | | | | their students need and relish, despite their best |
| has grabbed national attention for suggesting that | | | | efforts. |
| playing "action" video and computer games has | | | | An emerging coalition of academics, writers, |
| positive effects - enhancing student's visual selective | | | | foundations, game designers, companies like Microsoft |
| attention. But that finding is just one small part of a | | | | and, increasingly, the U.S. Military is working to make |
| more important message that all parents and | | | | parents and educators aware of the enormous |
| educators need to hear: video games are not the | | | | potential for learning contained in the gaming medium. |
| enemy, but the best opportunity we have to engage | | | | While "edutainment," may work for pre-schoolers, it is |
| our kids in real learning. | | | | primitive when it comes to the enormous |
| Any observer knows that the attitude of today's | | | | sophistication of today's games. We need new and |
| children to video and computer games is the very | | | | better learning games, and these are finally beginning |
| opposite of the attitude that most of them have | | | | to appear. Microsoft has sponsored a |
| toward school. The amount of time they spend | | | | "Games-to-Teach" project at MIT which is building |
| playing computer and video games - estimated at | | | | games for learning difficult concepts in physics and |
| 10,000 hours by the time they are twenty-one, | | | | environmental science on the X-Box and Pocket PC. |
| often in multi-hour bursts - belies the "short attention | | | | Lucas Games has lesson plans to help teachers |
| span" criticism of educators. And while years ago the | | | | integrate its games into curricula to teach critical |
| group attracted to video and computer games was | | | | thinking. A UK study by TEEM (Teachers Evaluating |
| almost entirely adolescent boys, it is now increasingly | | | | Educational Multimedia) has shown that certain games |
| girls and all children of all ages and social groups. One | | | | can help youngsters to learn logical thinking and |
| would be hard-pressed today to find a kid in America | | | | computer literacy. Given the almost perfect overlap |
| who doesn't play computer or video games of one | | | | between the profiles of gamers and military recruits, |
| sort or another. | | | | the US Military uses over 50 different video and |
| The evidence is quickly mounting that our "Digital | | | | computer games to teach everything from doctrine, |
| Native" children's brains are changing to accommodate | | | | to strategy and tactics. "America's Army, |
| these new technologies with which they spend so | | | | Operations," a recruiting game released for free in |
| much time. Not only are they better at spreading | | | | 2002, now has almost 2 million registered users, with |
| their attention over a wide range of events, as | | | | almost a million having completed virtual basic training. |
| Green and Bavelier report, but they are better at | | | | Academic research into the positive effects of |
| parallel processing, taking in information more quickly | | | | games on learning, which not so long ago sat unread |
| (at "twitchspeed"), understanding multimedia, and | | | | on the shelf, is being noticed by national media. |
| collaborating over networks. | | | | Theoretical and practical guides such as "What Video |
| What attracts and "glues" kids to today's video and | | | | Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And |
| computer games is neither the violence, or even the | | | | Literacy" by Professor of Education James Paul Gee, |
| surface subject matter, but rather the learning the | | | | and my own "Digital Game-Based Learning," are now |
| games provide. Kids, like and all humans, love to learn | | | | on bookshelves. Experts, such as former Stanford |
| when it isn't forced on them. Modern computer and | | | | CFO William Massey, who created the learning game |
| video games provide learning opportunities every | | | | "Virtual U." are working with game designers to build |
| second, or fraction thereof. | | | | games that communicate their knowledge and |
| On the surface, kids learn to do things - to fly | | | | experience. Foundations like Sloan, Markle and others |
| airplanes, to drive fast cars, to be theme park | | | | are funding these efforts. The Woodrow Wilson |
| operators, war fighters, civilization builders and | | | | school has begun a project called "Serious Games" to |
| veterinarians. But on deeper levels they learn infinitely | | | | increase the use of gaming in public policy debates, |
| more: to take in information from many sources and | | | | picking up an effort that begin 10 years ago with |
| make decisions quickly; to deduce a game's rules | | | | "Sim Health" from Maxis. |
| from playing rather than by being told; to create | | | | Yet despite all the findings, research, and cries for |
| strategies for overcoming obstacles; to understand | | | | help from the kids in school, many parents and |
| complex systems through experimentation. And, | | | | educators still tend to think of video and computer |
| increasingly, they learn to collaborate with others. | | | | games as frivolous at best and harmful at worst. The |
| Many adults are not aware that games have long ago | | | | press often encourages this with headlines about |
| passed out of the single-player isolation shell imposed | | | | "killing games" when in fact two thirds of the games |
| by lack of networking, and have gone back to being | | | | are rated "E (everybody)," and sixteen of the top 20 |
| the social medium they have always been - on a | | | | sellers are rated either "E" or "T (teen)". To |
| worldwide scale. Massively Multiplayer games such as | | | | counteract this "name prejudice," users and funders |
| EverQuest now have hundreds of thousands of | | | | of today's "new" educational games often refer to |
| people playing simultaneously, collaborating nightly in | | | | them by "code" names, such as "Desktop |
| clans and guilds. | | | | Simulators," "Synthetic Environments," or "Immersive |
| Today's game-playing kid enters the first grade able | | | | Interactive Experiences." |
| to do and understand so many complex things - from | | | | Yet what these new, highly effective learning tools |
| building, to flying, to reasoning - that the curriculum | | | | really are a combination of the most compelling and |
| they are given feel like they are being handed | | | | interactive design elements of the best video and |
| depressants. And it gets worse as the students | | | | computer games with specific curricular content. The |
| progress. Their "Digital Immigrant" teachers know so | | | | tricky part is doing this in ways that capture, rather |
| little about the digital world of their charges - from | | | | than lose, the learner's interest and attention. We are |
| online gaming to exchanging, sharing, meeting, | | | | now becoming much better at this. The money and |
| evaluating, coordinating, programming, searching, | | | | will is there to do it, and our students are crying for |
| customizing and socializing, that it is often impossible | | | | it. |