7/29/2019 Educational benefits of video games

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Educational benefits of video-gaming

In many nurseries and primary even secondary schools video games are now an essential

way of teaching students subjects and basic life skills. This is because the current younger

generation are in the communication and technological era so the easiest and most efficient

way for them to pick up things fast are through online power points and games and this is

because children find them highly motivating as games are interactive this allows the child

to be involved in the game which is better than normal talk and listen teaching. The video

games can be played repeatedly therefore the information sticks in the childs memory and

the child can be rewarded for being the best at the game with a high score table beating

their friends.

Video games have been shown to improve attitudes, skills, and behaviours towards

teaching. In a study with college students, playing a golf video game improved students'

actual control of force when putting, even though the video game gave no bodily feedback

on actual putting movement or force. Research into video gaming also suggests that people

can learn spatial and visual skills and awareness simply from gaming.

Research has illustrated negative effects of video games on a childs physical health, including

obesity, video-induced seizures, and postural, muscular and skeletal disorders. The research also

suggests that parents should be take two things to priority: the amount of time that children play

videogames and the content of the games.

Correlational research shows evidence that the amount of time spent playing video games has a

negative effect on academic performance whereas playing violent games has a positive association

with antisocial and aggressive behaviour. Content analysis shows a majority of 4th to 8th grade

children prefer violent games.Studies into video gaming have shown these 5 major points that playing violent games leads to

increased physiological arousal, aggressive thoughts, aggressive feelings and aggressive behaviour.

However the effects of pro social help have decreased. These studies include experimental studies,

correlational studies and longitudinal studies. For example, in a study of over 400 3rd - 5th graders,

those students who played more violent video games early in the school year changed to become

more physically aggressive later in the school year, even after statistically controlling for sex, race,total screen time, prior aggression, and other variables.

The research also seems to show that parents have a role to play. Children whose parents limited

the amount of time they could play video game ratings and limited the content of the games, have

children who do better in school and are less aggressive. Regarding limiting the amount, the

American Academy of Pediatrics say children should not have more than fourteen hours per week in

front of a screen based entertainment system such as a TV or video games console. On the other

hand he average school child spends over 37 hours a week in front of a screen. The Academy also

state that video games has a negative effect on children.