Video Games and Learnig

You’reBrain on Video Games

            The main argument of the video ‘You’re Brain on Video Games’ is that playing video games, such as violent first person shooter games, helps with your over health. People who play video games more than non players have shown to:

·         have better eyesight

·         better decision making reaction time

·         are able to better keep track of objects

·         are able to switch back and forth between tasks with ease

It tells how you can’t compare two completely different forms on media tasking, such as video games and multimedia, because the effects of both are completely different. The presenter ends by reiterating how, in small dosages, video games can help with a person’s learning, and that we need more games that have more in them to help with that learning.

AreGames Making Your Kids Smarter?

      The video ‘Are Games Making Your Kids Smarter’ also gives support to the idea the having children play video games is good for them. The presenter lists the following:

·         people who are able to multitask many different things in the video game world, while also dealing with the outside world

·         video games help people with learning by constantly giving them new scenarios, which help make brain matter

·         video games are made to be pleasurable to people, thus releasing dopamine, thus having the person keep going back to the video games looking for new scenarios

He also describes how games are going into other aspects of our lives, and that in a few years, will dominate the way we live. He also says that we need to stop fighting the gaming trends an become one with them, so that we are closer to the children who are playing them.

BigThinkers: Katie Salen on Learning with Games

            In the video ‘Learning with Games’ Katie Salen describes how helps build skills used in the 21^st century. Some of those skills include:

·         collaboration

·         team building

·         problem solving

·         take on new identities/new way of acting

·         an environment where kids can fail and learn from their mistakes without adverse consequences

One of the things she wants to do is close the gap between learning and games. She says that is hard to do, because we don’t always see the learning that is going on when we see people play games, because we normally see games as leisure time. She also says that she believes the reason students seem to be so successful at games, and not in the classroom is because they know that the game has been designed for them to be successful, and they don’t always view the classroom like that.