Computer and Video Games in Education By: Lindsay Davey, Julie Kleinschmidt, Tyler Augedahl, Joe Kley

IntroductionComputer and video games are being

incorporated into the classroom as technology becomes more apparent in our society. There are many different levels of educational games that can be used to enhance learning. The research that we collected in completing this assignment, has displayed differing opinions in the use of these games.

Method

Ten survey questions were created based upon these two research questions:1. Are computer and video games beneficial in

education?2. How often should computer or video games

be incorporated into the curriculum?

Our survey was created using an online survey website called, Survey Monkey. Our survey contained one True/False, two Yes/No, three open-ended, and four multiple choice questions. After the survey was created, we emailed it to 48 educators, ranging from elementary to college level. All of these teachers teach in the tri-state area. Of those 48 educators emailed, only 22 responded to the survey. Our survey questions are as follows:

Survey Items

1. Do you feel computer and video games belong in the classroom? Why or why not?

2. Describe how you would incorporate computer and video games into your choice of a lesson. Include how much time you would allow the children to spend working with these games.

3. How often do you believe computer and video games should be incorporated into the classroom?

a. Dailyb. Weeklyc. Monthly d. Never

4. What age level would be best suited for computer and video games?

a. K-2b. 3-6 gradec. Junior Highd. High School

5. Which of the following would you prefer using in the classroom setting: computer games, video games, neither or both?

6. Yes or No: Do you think computer and video games could increase a students’ motivation towards a particular subject? Explain.

7. Do you think computer and video games are the education of the future?

a. Yesb. No

8. Computer and video games engage students more in learning than direct instruction.

a. Trueb. False

9. How often do you believe your students are spending outside of school playing computer or video games?

a. 1-2 hours per weekb. 2-3 hours per weekc. 3-4 hours per weekd. 4+ hours per week

10. What content area would be best suited for the use of computer or video games?

a. Mathb. Science c. Music d. Social Studiese. English

Findings

This graph displays that overall, the teachers surveyed would use computer or video games within a month (68.2%) over the 31.8% who would never utilize these games.

This graph displays that most teachers would prefer using computer games rather than video games in the educational setting. 15 educators would use one of the games as opposed to 7 educators who would use neither.

This graph displays that 38% of teachers would prefer to utilize computer and video games in mathematics. 29% of teachers would prefer using these games in science lessons.

Overall in completing research about computer and video games in education, we found that most teachers would implement these games into their classroom curriculum somehow. The educators that were polled believed that computer and video games should be used a supplement to direct instruction. Many teachers also believed that these games could be utilized as a rewards system. If these games were to be utilized, all of the educators agreed that no more than 20 minutes should be spent playing these games per session.

Conclusion The most important aspect that we learned from our

research was that most teachers would utilize computer or video games in their classroom, however these games must be used in moderation. Most teachers said that students’ motivation towards a subject could be increased due to educational games. This may because educational lessons are being presented in a more exciting, hands-on manner.

From the results of our survey we found that most educators believe their students are spending four or more hours per week outside of school playing computer and/or video games. As future educators, this needs to be taken into consideration in order to provide other experiences to our students. If our students are spending that much time at home playing games, they do not need to be playing these games at school as well.

For further research, trials may be completed in regard to specific educational games. Aspects that should be considered may include how the game benefits the student’s grade, attitude, participation, and motivation towards that specific subject.

References Hoffman, L. (2009). Learning through games. Communications of the AMC,

52(8), Retrieved from http://searchebschohost.com

Locke, S. (2010). Game theory. Popular Science. 276(1). Retrieved from http://searchebscohost.com

18%

27%23%

32%

How often do you believe computer and video games should be incorporated into the classroom?

DailyWeeklyMonthyNever

Computer Games

Video Games

Neither Both0

5

10

15 13

0

7

2

Which of the following would you prefer using in the class-

room setting?

38%

29%

10%

14%

10%

What content area would be best suited for computer or video games?

MathScienceEnglishMusicSocial Studies