-
Essay / Educational Games - 1327
Media has shaped our society since the print age. The written press gave way to radio and radio to television. Today, television is giving way to a new medium: video games. Video games control a market that rivals major motion pictures and captures the attention of billions of people around the world. Can these new media be exploited to improve education? Video games are having a positive effect in today's classrooms. Case studies of educational games show that student test scores improve, students receive constant and immediate feedback, and they expect to use technology in school. Society is fascinated by new technologies and it would be negligent not to use the latest technological means to educate our future generations. Case studies to determine the effectiveness of educational video games have been conducted at all academic levels. David McDivitt, a high school history teacher in Oak Hill, Indiana, conducted a study on the game “Making History.” He used his own history class; 110 students divided into five classes. Three classes totaling 65 students played Making History, and two classes of 45 students were designated as control groups. McDivitt began his studies with a pretest covering his educational objectives; European geography, Munich conference, comparisons between Soviet communism and Nazi Germany and the reasons for World War II. The study was conducted for one week. Students in control classes received traditional instruction including textbooks, reading assignments, and class discussions about objectives; the test group played Making History, conducted class discussions, but did not open a textbook. The test group performed extremely well in all objectives. It is also worth noting that the middle of the sheet allows students time to continually work on problems until the objectives are achieved. Thanks to immediate feedback, experimental learning is possible. Experiential learning is best defined as “learning by doing.” Video games can teach skills gradually and allow the player to make mistakes and try again; Practices that could be costly or dangerous in the real world. They can also provide the look, feel, and decision-making challenges of a task, thereby better preparing the student for real-world application (Why Games, 2011). Third, “the most obvious and logical conclusion is that they engage students” ( Hersh, 2009). The students have fun while learning, create competition, talk about it after class. Games automatically create a positive learning environment. “Well-designed video games are natural teachers,” says Dr. Douglas Gentile. (2009).