By - Dannii Foley
There is no questioning that computer games have long been recognised for their enormous entertainment value. In recent times, we have been witness to what can only be described as a massive technology revolution, so it was only a matter of time before computer games were recognised for their potential in areas other than entertainment.
The world is changing to become much more technologically oriented, and education is just one of the many areas that has seen technology begin to change its very constructs. The changes have been both slow and rapid, but change itself has been unavoidable. There has been some brief research into the area of computer games and education, however, it is as the issue becomes increasingly relevant that the issues will be inevitably explored.
The central issues involved with this topic include: the shift from entertainment to education, the implications for educational frameworks and game developers, the issue of gender, and computer game content regulation
To even begin to understand the educational potential and opportunities of computer games, it is important to first understand the shift in thinking from computer games only being recognised for their entertainment value, into the medium being recognised for its growing potential in other areas, specifically as a valuable educational tool. There are currently some overlying strengths and weaknesses of the education/technology relationship. Major strengths of computer games in education include their ability to bring new and important skills into the learning environment, skills which already are, and will continue to be of massive benefit to students growing up in our increasingly informational society. The obvious weaknesses of the relationship is that the convergence of computer games and learning is a relatively new phenomenon, and one with little research and theorisation. Much more needs to be understood about computer games and the child audience, before education is recognised as being a valuable role of computer games in the same way entertainment has already established itself.
Most learning in the future will occur through a technologically mediated learning/enjoyment combination of experiences (Bergen, 2001:115). So it is very important to thoroughly consider both the present and potential implications of involving computer games in the educational process. There are also implications for the role of teachers and the participation of students. There are various threats and opportunities of computer games as an educational tool. The opportunities exist in the benefits this technology relationship will have for both students and teachers. For students, some of the benefits can be seen in the various cognitive skills acquired through play, basic and complex skills which are and will continue to be extremely valuable in an increasingly technologically oriented world. Opportunities for teachers exist as they ‘now have the capacity to introduce playful elements into many more learning experiences through computer software programs and internet exploration’ (Bergen: 2001:114). And with computer games providing educational entertainment, teachers may achieve greater success in retaining the attention of pupils in ways that the more traditional learning structures could not offer. The role of teachers may be focussed more strongly on developing the social aspects of their students such as critical thinking, interpersonal communication and a sense of empathy. All vitally important developmental areas for students. On the other hand, there is a strong possibility of negative social implications. This idea of such a massive change could be viewed as a threat to existing educational frameworks, however with careful consideration of the education and technology relationship, the opportunities offered by computer games could both improve existing educational frameworks and teacher/student relationships and roles.
Within the issue of gender and computer games in the context of education, there are various important areas to consider. Some of these issues include the gender imbalance within various aspects of games and gaming, from the stereotypical gender representation of game characters, and the unbalanced frequency of game playing amongst girls and boys. It is also useful to consider the types of games that appeal to each gender, and examine them in the context of the specific game content and its educational value, computer skills required for play, and through the various aspects of the games that appeal uniquely to each gender. For example, researchers have learned that ‘the quality of graphic and multimedia design is of great importance to girls’ (Agosto, 2001:3). It is also commonly inferred that boys have somewhat of an advantage over girls in developing many computer-based skills as a result of their more frequent interaction with the medium as a form of entertainment. This should serve as a useful suggestion to educational game developers to thoroughly understand their audience. The relationship between different game texts and their audience is the key to developing educational games that will act as successful and appealing educational devices.
In her article ‘An investigation of cognitive processes engaged in by recreational computer game players: Implications for skills of the future,’ Hitendra Pillay stresses that the distinction must be made between educational computer games and conventional computer-aided learning, and emphasis given on the role of educational software designers to think outside the square in order to create effective and efficient knowledge-based communication systems. With the role of computer games in education growing so rapidly, it is important to consider the role and responsibility of game designers and developers. Communication is obviously the key issue for game designers, which involves understanding the existing educational frameworks and their potential for beneficial change, and also thoroughly understanding the student audience to ensure games are both educationally valuable and appealing.
It is not solely the role of game developers to guarantee valuable educational content within computer games. So who does decide? In Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Authority [1] is currently the main authority on the regulation of online content, but the nature and authority surrounding computer game content regulation is becoming a rather hot topic and the area of much debate. The ideal situation for regulating educational computer game content would involve a collaborative effort between the Education Department, computer game designers and the Australian Broadcasting Association’s content regulation sector. This would ensure that the computer games used within educational frameworks were of high quality and educational value.
Contents |
Computer Games & Education – Entertainment
Computer Games & Education – Implications for Educational Frameworks
Computer Games & Education – Gender
Computer Games & Education - Implications for Game Developer’s
Computer Games & Education - Content Regulation
Agosto, D.E. (2004) ‘Girls and gaming: a summary of the research with implications for practice.’ Teacher Librarian, vol.31, no.3, pp.8-14. [Online] Available: Academic Research Library Database. [Accessed 4 Aug. 2004].
Agosto, D. (2001). Sound, color, and action: Bounded rationality and satisficing in young people’s evaluation of World Wide Web resources. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick. Available://www.teacherlibrarian.com/tlmag/v_31/v_31_3_feature.html
Bergen, D. (2000/2001) ‘Education or Edu-tainment?’ Childhood Education, vol.77, no.2, pp.114-117. [Online] Available: Academic Research Library Database. [Accessed 4 Aug. 2004].
Pillay, H. (2002) An investigation of cognitive processes engaged in by recreational computer game players: Implications for skills of the future.’ Journal of Research on Technology in Education, vol.34, no.3, pp.336-351. [Online] Available: Academic Research Library Database. [Accessed 3 Aug. 2004].
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Jaykanthan, R. (2002) ‘Application of computer games in the field of education.’The Electronic Library, vol.20, no.2, pp.98-102. Available: Academic Research Library Database.
The Australian Broadcasting Association: - http://www.aba.gov.au
Video Game Theory Forum:- http://www.Ludology.org
Education Arcade [Homepage of The Games-To-Teach Project] http://www.educationarcade.org
Game Studies Online:Homepage of the International Journal of Computer Game Research:- http://www.gamestudies.org
--Dannii Foley 12:19, 10 Sep 2004 (EST)
