Video games: a unique educational environment.

[fizix2]

<p>An interesting article. I’m not sure what I think of it yet. :p</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.takingchildrenseriously.com/node/83[/url]”>http://www.takingchildrenseriously.com/node/83&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Some quotes:</p>

<p>

So let’s ask first, “Why do so many adults hate them? What evidence is there that there is anything bad about them?”</p>

<p>If you look at it closely, the evidence boils down to no more than the fact that children like video games. There seems to be a very common tendency among parents to regard children liking something as prima facie evidence that it is bad for them. If they are spending a lot of time doing something, parents wonder what harm it must be doing them. I think this is fundamentally the wrong attitude.</p>

<p>The right attitude is: if children are spending a lot of time doing something, let’s try to find ways of letting them do even more of it. Prima facie, the fact that they like doing it is an indication that it is good for them.

</p>

<p>

S: Could the number of hours children spend playing computer games be harmful?</p>

<p>D: Let me answer that question in two ways. First, how do you know what the appropriate number of hours is? Nobody can know that. If your children were playing chess for several hours a day, you would boast about what geniuses they are. There is no intrinsic difference between chess and a video game, or indeed, even between things like playing the piano and playing video games, except that playing the piano has this enormous initial cost. They are similar kinds of activity. One of them is culturally sanctioned and the other is still culturally stigmatised, but for no good reason. I spent a lot of time playing with Lego when I was a child. For some reason, it never occurred to my parents that because I spent hours and hours with Lego, this was bad for me. If it had occurred to them, they could have done a lot of harm.

</p>

<p>

A video game which is designed to be “educational”, like everything which is designed to be “educational”, tends to be bad. It is making that fundamental error of trying to channel children into a predetermined vision.</p>

<p>Looking at this more broadly, learning to read is an educational video game. Learning to play a musical instrument is an educational video game. Some of these good things by accident have got social sanction. If children get “addicted” to those things, parents overflow with pride. But there is no better criterion for finding out whether something is good for you than whether you enjoy it. There can’t be.

</p>

[Quantumlight]

<p>personally i learn my life skills from starcraft and simpsons</p>

[friedrice]

<p>Starcraft? Are you Korean?</p>

<p>Anyways, even if video games are good, I hate them. That’s because I have way too many video games. I keep playing with my PS3 and others when I should really be studying for the SATs.</p>

[GoldShadow]

<p>To be totally honest, I actually did learn a lot from video games when I was younger. Little bits of knowledge and skills here and there I wouldn’t have learned elsewhere. I’m also an excellent driver now, and I attribute a lot of that skill to video games. A few years ago, I was learning how to drive with my mom in the passenger seat just after it had rained. The ground was wet and the car almost began to spin during a turn but I was able to get it back under control. When my mom asked how I knew how to do that, I could answer with “Gran Turismo” and “Mario Kart”.</p>

<p>Also, a lot of hand-eye coordination and multitasking ability from playing FPS and RTS games, respectively.</p>

<p>Of course, too many video games are a bad thing.</p>

[InquilineKea]

<p>I attribute Age of Empires II for my 5 in World History (no class). :p</p>

<p>of course it depends on how you use the media</p>

<h1><a href=“http://www.marcprensky.com/[/url]”>http://www.marcprensky.com/&lt;/a&gt; is interesting - but he seems to be too selective with his evidence and makes up empty assumptions - still - some of his ideas are interesting</h1>

<p>More interesting:
<a href=“MIT Scheller Teacher Education Program – Playful, Powerful Learning”>http://www.educationarcade.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.educationarcade.org/files/articles/Supercharged/SuperchargedResearch.pdf[/url]”>http://www.educationarcade.org/files/articles/Supercharged/SuperchargedResearch.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>-==
<a href=“http://del.icio.us/inquilinekea/computergames[/url]”>http://del.icio.us/inquilinekea/computergames&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[TritiumKnight]

<p>hahaha…I learned geography from playing the computer version of risk… :P</p>

[InquilineKea]

<p>most importantly though, the forums associated with Age of Empires II did far more for my intellectual development than the game per se.</p>

[ninja.of.love]

<p>Racing the Nurburgring for 24 hours in Gran Turismo 4 taught me a lot about touring car racing.</p>

[fizix2]

<p>NetHack is definitely the reason I want to be a programmer when I grow up.</p>

<p>It also taught me a lot about patience, and how to work towards goals that feel impossible. These days, whenever I encounter a setback, I ask myself “could this possibly be harder than getting my first ascension in NetHack?” Typically, the answer is no – and I proceed.</p>

[TheFinanceGuy]

<p>Age of Empires II saved me in history too.</p>

<p>Gran Turismo taught me how to drive - all those damn license tests made me ready for my DMV test no problem !</p>

[GoldShadow]

<p>

all those damn license tests made me ready for my DMV test no problem

Ah god, license tests were harder than any race. Most frustrating thing ever.</p>

[TheFinanceGuy]

<p>GoldShadow I just re-bought PS2 and got Gran Turismo 3. Started a new game. Realized after getting 2 licenses that the tests were sucking out my soul and saved and turned off the console.</p>

[GoldShadow]

<p>Me and one of my friends spent literally days on the GT3 license tests. Eventually we got the S-license, and that was the biggest relief ever. Seriously, nothing in life seems hard after that. I’m honestly not even sure how we accomplished it; I tried doing them again a few weeks ago and it was impossible.</p>

[TheFinanceGuy]

<p>I loved GT3 so I re-bought it. I raced for a bit. After putting 100,000 Credits in hookups into my car I tried to sell it. They offered me 3,000 credits. Those dirtbags.</p>

[Meteorain007]

<p>Anyone who knows someone who plays WoW knows that video games can be harmful and detrimental to a child’s physical(getting fat), social(no real life friends), and mental(addiction) health.</p>

[welshie]

<p>The article in the original post is ridiculous at best. Are there some possible positive benefits to be garnered from some video games? Sure, I played a lot or RPGs as a kid and, as such, felt like my vocabulary increased because of it. However, video games aren’t arbitrarily deemed “bad” because kids like them; video games are “bad” because kids often times let them get in the way of other, better things for them-- going outside and running around, doing their responsibilities/chores around the house, doing their homework, etc., etc. Similarly, there is certainly an appropriate amount (and inappropriate amount) of time to be spent on video games. As alluded to above, when video games interfere with the rest of your life and the rest of your life’s responsibilities, you are playing to much.</p>

[MBP]

<p>

Anyone who knows someone who plays WoW knows that video games can be harmful

that is only true if the person becomes addicted to the game! i have a good friend that plays WoW, and he still has plenty of friends, he excercises, and, as I said earlier, he isn’t addicted.
he also gets most of his homework done (at least enough so that he can finish the rest before class, like every high school student ;))</p>

[fizix2]

<p>

video games are “bad” because kids often times let them get in the way of other, better things for them

</p>

<p>Just pointing this out –</p>

<p>I think the original article’s premise is that we should not be deciding what’s best for children – they should. They are independent minds, fully capable of making their own decisions. If children think they’d benefit from a video game more than running around outside, who are we to supersede their judgment?</p>

<p>Whether you agree with the article or not depends hugely on whether you accept this premise.</p>

[InquilineKea]

<p>

I think the original article’s premise is that we should not be deciding what’s best for children – they should. They are independent minds, fully capable of making their own decisions. If children think they’d benefit from a video game more than running around outside, who are we to supersede their judgment?

</p>

<p>There’s also the question of unrealized consequences are children capable of realizing that there are unrealized consequences to their actions? (and that some actions are more likely to trigger them than others?) Especially desirable unrealized consequences (obviously, being a 12-year old on a forum with people who are much older than you can be one of the most educational experiences one can have).</p>

[fizix2]

<p>Most are probably smart enough to understand that in theory, if not in practice.</p>

<p>But then again, that’s what the parent’s for – to alert children to what might happen if they skip too much school or try heroin.</p>

<p>Then again, even adults have trouble realizing this sometimes…</p>