Kenneth Berns

English 104 Research Paper

12/13/2013
Video Games are the Future
The world of education is always growing and changing. As new technologies emerge,
new teaching styles and techniques follow. The video game industry is very vast and more than
three quarters of teens spend at least an hour a day using them. Each new generation spends more
and more time in front of their consoles and computers wasting their time. But does all that
time really have to be a waste? Gaming can be used to educate the population at home and in
schools as well. Next generation games are soon going to be able to both teach educate and
entertain at the same time, without having to make compromises. There are already examples of
how this works today.
Video games have plenty to offer generations to come. They are used for military
training, improve attention to detail, expand the imagination, have teaching potentials, and many
other uses. In Sarah Glazers article, Video Games, she explains how playing games is good for
literacy, problem-solving, learning to test hypotheses, and researching information from a variety
of sources. In Marcia Clemmitts article, Digital Education, she point out how most jobs require
computer and electronic training and how it is necessary for kids to learn how to use these skills
and be comfortable with them if they want to be successful. Education is slowly moving towards
becoming electronic as more and more schools adapt electronic forms of teaching into their
classrooms, and the students homes.
Though some games have been used before in schools, such as Oregon Trail and Math
Munchers, the games were not very successful. Students would only play the games if they were
fun, and would not pay attention to the parts that were supposed to teach, or they would just go

through it because they have to, and not enjoy playing the games at all. The problem has always
been how to integrate the learning and the fun at the same time, without compromising the other.
Kids already spend a large amount of time in front of their games, there just needs to be the push
to get them to play the games that can be made educational as well.
Now games are being made that do just that! Even games that are not meant to be
exceptionally educational still can teach many things about literature and critical thinking.
Games such as Assassins Creed, Dishonored, and the Call of Duty series, as an example, are not
generally known to be helpful. But on the contrary, the language used in the first two expands the
individuals vocabulary and teach of times other than their own. As for the Call of Duty series,
from personal experience, it can teach about critical thinking and decision making, as well as
many military technical terms and the language they use to speak with one another. Without even
realizing it, since I was enjoying playing the game, I had completely memorized the military
alphabet and many different signals and phrases that I knew nothing of before.
Though these games are not entirely made for teaching, they can still do the trick. As for
games mainly intended on teaching, or video games only for teaching, advancements are being
made in those areas. The problem used to be that these educational games were never very
entertaining and they were too simple to play. They would not provide the freedom that other
games had to offer. But now games are being made that focus on learning, while still allowing
the freedoms and advanced control that modern gamers are used to. And as for those who do not
already play games, there are transitions that can be made to get into other games and become
comfortable with them.
Teaching literature through games seems odd to most people. The common view is that
video games kill brain cells and make kids dumber. Half of the battle is just getting people to

understand that their conceptions are misguided when it comes to the new advents of technology.
Gaming can be made for the teacher and the student. It can be used as a learning tool, not as a
distraction from learning. This idea is not debated nearly as much as it should because most
people immediately pass it off as unconventional and, therefore, a waste of time and resources.
Though some games are definitely for recreational purposes only, many of them have a lot to
offer minds of all ages and backgrounds. When these tools are used properly, they can come
together to make an experience that both the student enjoys, and that gets enough exposure to
literature and learning that the schools are after. Once these two worlds combine, it will create a
more intelligent population, without the feeling of being bored at school, sitting in the classroom,
listening to the same old lectures.
Benefits of video games can also be traced to life outside the classroom. Especially in
todays market, technology and being used to using these technologies is a big part in the
different industries. There are very few trades left that do not involve knowledge of different
programs. Video games are a fun and easy way to start getting used to using different programs
and being able to adapt to different work situations. They also help on your problem solving
skills as well as your ability to work with others, if it is a team oriented game. And if it isnt a
team game, it can help with solving independent problems and finding solutions without relying
on looking things up.
Certain games are better than others for teaching. For instance, strategy games, such as
the Portal series, work on different parts of the brain and cognitive reasoning than fast paced
games such as the Call of Duty series. Though on the outside they dont seem like they are
helping people, in moderation, they can be used to entertain and help make you more rounded.

One common misconception is that video games are bad and make people violent. This is
not true! Sure, if you take things out of context you can blame them, but using that logic, you can
blame anything on peoples actions. Overuse of violent video games without a conscious of the
real world could cause problems, but that is on the person, and the games shouldnt be blamed
for their lack of judgment. By definition, too much of anything causes problems. As long as the
games are used in moderation, they do not cause harm. In a new study done by Drs. Christopher
Ferguson and Cheryl Olson, it has been proven that video games are not tied to violence. In most
cases, video games actually console unhealthy youth. They help them learn patience and work on
their reasoning and cognition by playing the games that distract them from their other problems.
Even the most violent games, like Grand Theft Auto, dont inherently cause violence. Again, if
things are taken out of context and the person playing already has problems with anger and
violence, then the game would most likely be blamed by most people, but it is proven that the
game does not cause these problems.
Some people think that bringing video games and these new forms of technology into the
classroom is dangerous. Not in the physical sense, but because they will distract students from
learning. This is now the issue that facilitators and teachers must learn to deal with. How can
technology that interests the students be used to teach them, without going off on too many
tangents? For one, there are many ways to control what the students have access to when using
technology in the classroom. These controls are in place to help the learning process and nurture
the environment, not limit the students. If that state of mind is in place, then many new
technologies could help make the learning system more integrated and entertaining for the new
generations who are constantly bombarded with technology.

In many schools, the use of iPads and other tablets have proven to have desirable results.
Those students not only get practice with dealing with systems that they will most likely be using
in the business world, but they got to interact with their education in a hands-on way. Programs
that keep the students interested and engaged paired with an instructor who is able to integrate
these into their teaching, leads to a revolutionary experience for the student and instructor alike.
Instead of making the video games seem like the bad guy, they should be used to educate! Like
any other new phenomena, there will be problems and people who are against it, but this is not
something that can be ignored in the hopes that it will go away. Technological advances are ever
growing and expanding exponentially. With so little funding going towards educational
advances, it seems fair that education should be able to tap into the other areas to help boost their
experience.
There are also some problems that are tied to video games. For one, if they are used too
much, they become a distraction from what is more important. Though this is an opinion, it is
one that is widely recognized. Video games are also linked with people who are referred to as
nerds and geeks, which arent really true, but again go with the popular census. The fact of the
matter is that more than 97% of teens play video games of some sort. The age old taboo on
games making people nerds can therefore no longer apply, since most of those people would not
consider themselves or their friends, nerds. When faced with this statistic, it then seems that
video games and the new emerging technologies should be taken advantage of! If so many
already use it and many more will in the future, it seems like a great way to excite and become
involved with the teens. Not only can games be used for pure recreation, but also to produce
more educational experiences.

Some cultures use gaming and new technologies in education more than others.
Americans are still not used to the idea and are just slowly starting to get into becoming more
technologically advanced in these areas. But in other school systems like in China, for instance,
technology and games are used to teach the children as much as teachers and lectures! The
independence of games and having tools to do individual investigation of what works is
revolutionary and helps all who partake in it. Even if that is not a way that someone learns best,
they can just use other means. Teachers are always trying to get students to do research on their
own and to learn outside of the classroom as well, and this is a perfect transition for that. The
idea that video games are all bad and useless needs to get out of peoples minds in all generations
before this can become a reality.
Another potential problem with placing more emphasis on video games and technology is
the lack of physical education. Video games can also help with this! There are many games that
require physical activity and for those who do not prefer traditional sports, they can still get
exercise through games like Dance Dance Revolution and Wii Sports. That being said, the games
should not be the only form of exercise and people should not forget the importance of going
outside and other forms of working out. And for those who do play sports and are physically
active on a daily basis, they can also learn a lot about those sports and examples of how to play
by using the games. I know from personal experience that I learned a lot about soccer formations
and tactics through playing FIFA games. I also learned specific rules that I would normally not
encounter. These games also helped me learn some of the terminology of the game which is
directly related to the language used in playing.
Aspects of learning and education can be seen in many games, but another point to make
is that some especially focus on language. Sports games teach about the language of the sports,

army games teach about military terms, and online games teach communication between other
players. There are many cases in which you have to talk to other players and communication
could be the difference between winning and losing. Not only does that show teamwork, it also
develops language that can be used in the business world when working on group projects and
making presentations. These skills have many ways of being learned, but the games can just be
another way that the information is received. Even if the language is slang and similar to text
messages, it has been proven that even talk like that helps develop language. Studies have been
done that show that those who text more, have better scores in literary subjects. This carries to
the chat that can be found in most online games.
The integration of video games into the educational system is very close to becoming a
reality. Not only can they be used to better the learning experience for teens, but they also have
been proven to have many other practical uses. It is a different idea than most are used to and can
take some time to adjust to, but with todays modern technology and the world moving more and
more into online services; it would be foolish if we did not try to tap into the vast abyss of
resources to integrate teaching.

Work Cited:
Nauert, Rick, PhD. "In New Study, Video Games Not Tied to Violence in High-Risk
Youth."Psych Central.com. Psych Central, 27 Aug. 2013. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
Glazer, Sarah. "Video Games." CQ Researcher 10 Nov. 2006: 937-60. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
Clemmitt, Marcia. "Digital Education." CQ Researcher 2 Dec. 2011: 1001-24. Web. 13 Dec.
2013.