The Benefits of Gaming
There are an increasing and significant number of benefits that are associated with gaming and the implementation of gaming into an educational setting. Gabe Zichermann (2011) points out in his TED Talk, "How Games Make Kids Smarter" that perhaps the world is simply too slow for our children today.
Children involved in gaming develop multiple multitasking skills that are essential in today's world.
1. They develop the ability to chat using both voice and text
2. They develop the ability to operate a character in both short and long term objectives
3. They develop the ability to manage interruptions
(Zichermann, 2011).
Education-based gaming in the form of video games and simulations provides a "way to meet student needs and leverage their interests for increased student learning" (Tromba, 2013, p. 20). There is a growing body of research which shows an increase in understanding and acceptance that computer-based learning tasks appear to engage students more effectively than traditional school tasks, leading to increased concentration (Ronimus, Kujala et al., 2014). Gabe Zichermann (2011) references Andrea Kuszewski's findings that increasing fluid intelligence, the intelligence used in problem solving, is based on five principles:
1. Seeking novelty 2. Challenging oneself 3. Thinking creatively 4. Doing things "the hard way" 5. Networking Zichermann likens these five points to the basic pattern of a video game and points out that gaming provides children with a continuous process of learning that is constantly evolving and moving forward. |
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When used as an educational tool, gaming increases motivation, develops autonomy and adaptability, and provides children with new and interesting environments and projects, as well as an incredible opportunity for collaboration (Saleh, Prakash, & Manton, 2014; Tromba, 2013). In addition to this, gaming allows for cognitive skill development, such as deduction, pattern recognition, and decision making (Cuenca Lopez & Martin Caceres, 2010). Gaming can also develop students' imaginations within a virtual world and provides a unique opportunity for students to travel to different places and times, bringing history to life through gaming (Young et al., 2012).
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