Do Students want video games in the classroom?

We have all seen the popularity of video games amongst youth and realise that it is an important part of youth culture but can this popularity transcend into the classroom in terms of learning?   A study undertaken in Belgium with 858 Flemish secondary school children was designed to study students’ perceptions of video game use in the classroom. Do students want video games in the classroom and what are the key factors that contribute to students wanting to use video games in their learning? Can student acceptance of video games in the classroom be taken for granted?

Whether video games are useful in a learning environment is a growing area of study and debate and research data is still quite limited.  Most research papers released focus on the benefits of their use in classrooms highlighting their ability to increase student motivation, problem solving skills etc… Yet little study has been done of students’ perspectives and willingness to use them as a learning tool in the classroom.  Bourgonjon et al (2010) regard students as important actors in the e-learning adoption processes hence it is important to engage in these types of studies that focus on student perspectives.  I feel this is valuable as without student motivation engagement and learning will be negligible. The main findings of this study (Bourgonjon et al, 2010) indicate that what influenced students’ preference to use video games in the classroom was:

·   usefulness of the video game

·   video game’s ease of use

·   learning opportunities the video game afforded

·   personal experience with video games in general

These findings indicate that students don’t just automatically accept video games as learning tools in the classroom.  Students prefer a game with the above qualities before they would deem it valuable to their own learning.  Do these findings challenge views and assumptions that digital game based learning in any form is going to be beneficial and motivational to all students of this generation?

This current generation dubbed as the ‘net generation’ or ‘digital natives’ is regarded as being different to any other generation before  supposedly influenced by this generation growing up never experiencing a world without ICT (Bourgonjon et al, 2010). This has lead to stereotypical assumptions being made that all members of this generation have grown up immersed in digital media and games.  This is not always the case from my experience I have encountered many children who are not regular users of ICTs and have only limited exposure at school. The study emphasises that all students can’t be put into one homogenous group of video game users as there are large differences in video game consumption (Bourgonjon et al, 2010).

A major finding in the study was that the experience that students had with video games affected their preference and engagement with video games in the classroom.  The students with limited experience proved more resistance to using video games resulting in the more experienced users benefitting more from the use of video games (Bourgonjon et al, 2010).   Jenkins (2006) identifies a ‘participation gap’ in relation to participatory culture were unequal access to experiences and opportunities with digital media including video games can stunt the growth of youth to engage in full participation in the world of tomorrow.  The interaction that students have with media in this case video games will take on the roll of a ‘hidden curriculum’ that as Jenkins (2006) suggests could be the difference between youth succeeding  and being left behind in school and the workforce.  Educators will need to consider if the lack of experience of some of their students will alienate them and if so come up with ways that they can compensate for this.  With this in mind educators should focus on giving all of their students’ opportunities to explore and become confident with using these medias in order for them to be effective tools in the classroom.

Can another reason for some resistance be the whole idea of video games as just recreational equipment designed for play?  Students can hold a false belief that play is incompatible with learning and therefore video games couldn’t be learning tools (Bourgonjon et al, 2010).  The element of play that video games can provide is an important tool for learning that shouldn’t be disregarded, it can be a crucial method of testing ideas, developing new skills and participating in new social roles (Robertson & Howells, 2008). I feel that educators can address these false ideas and support a play base framework by always introducing video games into the classroom not just as ‘fun’ activities but with clearly defined learning objectives.

If educators want to successfully use video games as learning tools first they need to select quality video games that have a strong purpose and usefulness.  There needs to be a harmony between the pedagogy and engagement with the resource to make it an effective learning device (Van Eck 2006).  I feel that video games just for video games sake would be a waste of time educationally without well defined learning opportunities. Robertson & Howells (2008) agrees and states that games in isolation are not effective and they need to be used in conjunction with other instructional support. The study suggested:

·   Lesson time dedicated to video game literacy

·   Literacy in media education lessons ( enhance level of confidence to use games)  

·   Comparing videogames with other media

·   Studying the content of video games

·   Designing very own game (Bourgonjon et al, 2010)

Yes, according to the study, the majority of students would like to use video games in the classroom yet the notion of play just for fun and play associated for learning needs to be identified.  It is also important that the video games selected by educators can be aligned with criteria of usefulness, ease of use and clear defined learning objectives.  Student experience needs to be taken in to account and strategies ought to be implemented to encourage and support the students that are resistant because of this.  A focus on instructional lessons with a high level of technical support will keep the students engaged and motivated. But the success of students perceiving video games as learning tools relies heavily on whether educators take video games as learning tools seriously and carefully plan and implement them to compliment their learning needs or have them just in the room as a fun activity with no real links to learning objectives.


Golda Mangan.