Poll suggests teachers are open to EA games in the classroom
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Jan 13th 2006 at 5:00PM }
A MORI poll recently gathered
teachers' opinions about introducing educational video games into the classroom. The poll was conducted for Teaching
with Games, a research project commissioned by EA & NESTA Futurelabs. Results found that 59% of teachers polled
would consider using video games in their classrooms for educational purposes, while 53% would consider using games to
motivate and engage students. A surprising 91% of those polled believe that playing mainstream games improves
motor-cognitive skills and topic-specific knowledge.However, without enough evidence to support video games' educational value, not to mention a lack of computer equipment to run these games in most schools,
[Thanks, JamesO]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
rta @ Jan 13th 2006 5:31PM
Those days will never come. The Sims doesn't teach you crap. I know, let's make our dumb kids dumber.
4port @ Jan 13th 2006 5:35PM
From 3rd grade (first grade where we had a computer in the classroom) all the way up to 8th grade, I remember all the school computers having games on them. Many hours were spent strategizing with my friends about Oregon Trail and Scorched Earth in elementary school, and later Civ2 in Middle School. It wasn't until High School that games stopped being a form of learning made fun and became a distraction from "real work."
The fact that teachers think games improve motor-cognitive skills more than anything is a huge indication of just what they think of games. A game like civilization teaches planning, strategy, setting long term goals, as well as basic forms of economics. Maybe their deal with EA is to install the latest NFSU on all the machines, but I think that certain games have a lot to teach kids about concepts that most adults don't even comprehend that well.
The question shouldn't be "why put games into the classroom?" but rather "why did they take them out?"
bv @ Jan 13th 2006 5:41PM
lol @ head of the class pic. man the memories of watching that.
Kajex @ Jan 13th 2006 5:50PM
The Sims teach people organizational skills, effective time managment, development of skills by deciding what it more important, perserverence and prioritizing. So... yes, it does teach you important things. Although certain lawyers would suggest otherwise...
Using a game like Call of Duty as a visual look on history wouldn't be so bad, as it does display many of the battles that occurred there, mentions important people and significant events like the climb up Pointe du Hoc. And Dance Dance Revolution is being used as an alternative source of aerboic exercise in Physical Education classes throughout the U.S..
Chachi @ Jan 13th 2006 6:57PM
The idea that videogames should be introduced into a classroom as educational tools is as flawed as the notion that television has a place in an educational cirriculum. These mediums are, ultimately, designed to distract and amuse, with very few exceptions. That is something very separate from enriching and educating.
It's a bit unnerving to see people who say "games don't lead to violence: playing Halo isn't the same as shooting a gun!" turn around and say, "games can work in the classroom as teaching aids: manipulating characters and resources in a virtual playground is the same as dealing with real world issues!" Never mind the facts about average reading comprehension among school children, as well as widespread inability of a majority of the population to name major political figures or point to important countries on a map.
Oh, what's that, the study was funded by EA? They certainly have nothing to gain by having every High School in America order 30-500 copies of The Sims: Algebra Made Easy. I'm sure all of the soda companies that made deals to put Coca-Cola vending machines in most public school cafeterias were just hoping to spread healthy, invigorating drinks to malnurished children. The statistics also have absolutely nothing to do with anything: half of the teachers polled said they would maybe possibly put games in their classroom? OK. Where are the numbers on cognitive and physiological effects of "educational" programming?
Sander @ Jan 13th 2006 7:13PM
I firmly believe that my firm grasp of Medieval and Ancient Rome society and history, especially geography, is from Total War.
I've always had games. Doom came out when I was 5, and I've been playing games all my life, I certainly think that it helps, especially with things like spatial rotation, map reading, imagination and memory.
As a gamer, I also firmly believe that EA suck. Forcing their dredge (the Sims??) down the throat of kids earlier is akin to the tabacco industry selling pretend smoking kits to little kids.
feral_wabbit @ Jan 13th 2006 11:05PM
I think this is the positive spin the video game industry needs right now with Jack Thompson and the anti-Video game group on the rampage
soundboards @ Jan 14th 2006 1:44AM
Nice job on the Head of the Class photoshop there!
Clint @ Jan 14th 2006 2:28PM
Chachi -
I am a teacher and Grad Student in History. I teach US History 1 & 2 and European History and I am studying 20th century German History. I belive that the visually engaging mediums of TV and Videogames are not there to replace the actual lecture and dicussion time but are there to supplement and inspire further learning. I am a Nintendo Kid. I grew up playing videogames and watching the Discovery Channel. Playing games like "Castle Wolfenstein" killing Nazis and watching specials on WW2 inspired me to live my life the way I have thus far. These mediums are incredible in that they allow children to see a wide variety of subjects in a way that is fast, easy, and engaging. Children are prompted to ask questions by what they see (as they like to and should do). It is our job as the teacher or parent to be there to answer the question and to find more ways for that child to explore these new interests. As a teacher and lifelong student I can't imagine taking TV or computers out of the classroom. They are both the revolution of our time and to not make use of them would be fool hardy. Games belong in the classroom and more power to EA if they can get them there. I agree with some of the other posts, with video games it will be easier to get kids to read a map and say the important countries.
Clint
FL HS History Teacher