Learning through video games: friend or foe?

Can there be positive learning experienced through Video Games? When you are not required to pay attention, most humans do not. This is true of all ages but significantly more so for toddlers and elementary age children. For them, paying attention is a struggle. Their minds are constantly occupied by fun and and play. They are always experiencing something new and for they most part are voraciously curious about the world around them. One thing that almost universally transcends all distractions and competing demands of attention for them is video games. I have 3 children between the ages of 2 and 6 years old. One thing that I can guarantee will hold their attention is a tablet or television where a game is being played. So, is using this medium to teach good. Or as we've been told for years, only bad? In my experience, positive outcomes have greatly outpaced any negative effects. Throughout this post, I will refer to my experiences specifically with my 6 year old daughter. She has always loved to watch as I played video games and her favorites to this day have always been Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Pokemon Go. These games are more than just fun. I have used them to as a method to employ several key learner engagement principles so that learning can take place at home without them even be aware that they are learning, which is “boring” according to them.

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Learning is often best accomplished by taking on a challenge and trying to understand that which is foreign or new to us. The human brain is an incredible biological innovation, and it seems to be most efficiently used when under pressure to succeed and solve problems.

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Reading and Language

Here at Full Sail, one of the first classes students take in a Bachelor or Associate program is Psychology of Play. When I first became an instructor here, I thought that was a wasted class. Why choose to focus on play? But through raising my own children and seeing what excites them and experiencing the interests and motivations of my students through the years since then, I have come to realize that the best learning is achieved when a subject is fun and there is play involved. So, it is no surprise that my 6 year old daughter has responded so well to learning to speak and read through watching video games. Even students who are learning English as a second language can excel using this method, not just younger students learning their first native language. As a 1st grader, she is reading on a 4th grade level according to test scores.

In the video above, the narrator lays out some of the main ways that video games can help those who are learning English. One that I found particularly surprising was using live play via the internet and the chat functions to have "access to native speakers at any time." (Real English, 2016) While this is not relevant to my daughters experience as she is not chatting during gameplay with others, it is a potent tool for older users. Being able to converse and collaborate with other native speakers of the language is an incredible advantage of video games by giving context to the words being used in real time.

As far as my experience with my daughter, the best example is Zelda: Breath of the Wild. From one and a half, she was trying to pronounce all of the ingredients, items, enemies and locations in the game. These are made up words in most instances so were certainly not a part of her everyday vocabulary. To be sure, she didn't learn how to sound words out from just the games. My wife and I had worked tirelessly through those first 18 months to lay the foundation - letter sounds in the bath, speaking to her not as a child but as any other person, reading books every night before bed, etc. These laid the foundation. The video game provided the medium to test her skills and be challenged. By two, she was fully reading the on screen narrations. Why was this so effective? Because it was fun. It was entertaining. And it held her attention for long enough to make an impact.

STRATEGY A study (Shute, Ventura, and Ke, 2015) identified that there are positives between gameplay and the enhancement of problem-solving skills. Playing video games it seems can help the player to solve problems more effectively. Violent shooter games, may also have benefits for children's learning, health, and social skills, according to this source. I have personal doubts about this, as shooter games can involve some strategy and risk vs reward principles, but the negatives outweigh the positives for me in these types of games. There are plenty available to achieve the same function and goals, without the shooting and violence. To be sure, there is some violence in Zelda, but it is much milder and no blood is portrayed on screen and no human on human violence is ever witnessed. It is make-believe creatures, machines and monsters.

Learner engagement principle two states, “Motivation to learn is promoted when the knowledge to be learned is perceived to be meaningfully related to one's goals. (Reiser and Dempsey, 2018) This may seem out of place in a video game, but it is truly applicable. For example, when playing a game for the first time or in the beginning, you must learn about the game to succeed and progress. Zelda is a great example. If you don’t figure out the mechanics, which buttons to press, what items provide which bonuses and value, you will not be successful. Very quickly, my children grasped this concept only from watching me play. My six-year-old could instantly memorize the attributes of certain items and which buttons to press. What item to use where and when it was optimal. I didn’t have to teach her that. She automatically learned it from watching the gameplay and where I succeed and failed through trial and error. So she was able to see how learning about the items and mechanics of the game was directly relative to the ability to succeed and the outcome and goals of the game.

There is far more to mine from modern video games than language alone. The strategy involved is also a vital educational tool that is often overlooked. Solving puzzles. Risk vs reward calculations. Time management. Battle strategy. Efficiently managing resources. All of these come into play. I cannot count how many times my daughter reminded me that I might not want to use that item right now because of x, y or z. How to defeat a certain enemy based on its weaknesses pitted against my strengths. She learned this from watching the game and forming her own philosophies on strategies that were effective and dismissing those that were not through trial and error.

PATIENCE

The best example of this comes from the game Pokemon Go for my daughter. She has learned to share my passion for the card game over the years, and was recently exposed to the app/game on my phone. And she is obsessed. I reference this game here because she has such a hard time with patience in this game. As it is a phone game, it is purposely designed to make you spend as much money as possible. So it is arguably harder than a console game like Zelda. The learning goal for this game is also much less about reading, although that also happens through trying to pronounce all of the odd Pokemon names in the game, but more about patience and value.

As she plays the game, she is encouraged to catch all of the pokemon. If one is new, it must be caught RIGHT NOW. No matter the resources involved. If she has enough stardust to upgrade a pokemon right now, she will. This game beautifully illustrates this principle. If you rush to catch a low power pokemon just to add it to your pokedex because its new, you may run out of necessary items needed to catch a more powerful pokemon five minutes later. So, strategy and patience are key. My daughter struggles with this but ultimately has learned that she is responsible for the outcome and how much she learns about the game. If she is patient and strategic, she will have a better outcome. If she is not, she will not get the pokemon she is really waiting for. So having her be in charge of her own learning is key to her success while playing the game.

Here is a great example from Zelda. So frustrating...

VALUE & CONSEQUENCE

“There is a long history of behavior management strategies” (Gardner, Sainato, Cooper, Heron, Heward, & Eshleman, 1994) “based on the systematic use of rewards and penalties in accordance with operant conditioning principles” (Beck, 1990). By using a rewards-based system to manage expectation and disappointment, the student is allowed to take responsibility for their learning as well as their failures to learn. This provides a sense of focus and motivation as outlined in learner engagement principle four, “Motivation to learn is promoted when learners anticipate and experience satisfying outcomes to a learning task.” (Reiser and Dempsey, 2018)

My daughter was motivated to learn because she recognized that by learning the words, strategies and values presented in the game, she could directly contribute to the outcome. Certainly, she preferred a positive outcome and the "rewards" that come with that outcome. Higher strength, better characters, movies or "cut-scenes" she could watch, more "money," etc. So she learned the value of, well, learning. But also the value we associate with things. Money is important, so let's budget for the item we really crave. Running out of health can cause your game to be over. So let's manage where we spend health and where we do not. Maybe we shouldn't battle that lower level enemy for the 10th time and save our health in case we encounter a Hinox or Lynel where we will need it more to gain greater rewards. Learners can recognize rewards while learning and see that learning more or more quickly will get them more in the end. This is a hallmark principle of video games and a truly invaluable life skill that can be taken away from them.

At the same time, if we fail to learn from our mistakes, we will gain no rewards. So there are very real consequences to be had if we don't learn. This life skill is just as important. If we do the wrong thing, if we don't learn from our mistakes, we will repeat them and continue to fail. There are consequences to every action we take, and sometimes don't take, and we must accept them. This was the hardest for my daughter to learn because it takes great patience, practice and determination as well sometimes to avoid negative consequences.

What about the negatives? In a 2023 article, Bader Chaarani states about one of his recent studies, “Many media sources have been interpreting [the results to mean] video gaming is good for you. We’re not saying that.” (Stevens, 2023) Allison Stevens, author of the article, goes on to add, "Observed brain changes could come at the expense of other brain functions." (Stevens, 2023)

I believe that violence in video games has been the largest impetus with regard to their dismissal in learning environments. But there are others to be sure. Addition is a huge concern. I will admit, it is very hard for me to "turn off" the game when my daughter is engaged in it. She must be forced to step away. Time awareness is another. It is easy to spend far too long in the game without realizing it. Is this medium also allowing for learning at the expense of other brain functions? I think the main deficit is exercise. There is no movement or exercise generally with regard to these games. I have seen use of games and videos in my children's classroom environment and on YouTube that involve dancing and movement as the main medium to learning. What kid doesn’t like to dance?! This also exemplifies learner engagement principle four, “Motivation to learn is promoted when learners anticipate and experience satisfying outcomes to a learning task. (Reiser and Dempsey, 2018)

Intentionally, video games are created to challenge. You will not always be successful, oftentimes not. So, you need diligence and patience. This can teach in a positive way, by encouraging patience waiting for a rare item or for the right conditions to present themselves or by fostering diligence and perseverance through having to battle the same enemy over and over until you learn how to beat it. But it can often be discouraging to learners, especially young ones. Learning the skills of patience and perseverance is not easy for them. They crave instant gratification, success, and achievement. So, the risk of discouragement through sustained failures is very real. And over time, it is possible for the learner to shut down and become unengaged in the learning and become frustrated. A balance must be struck here to have the desired learning outcome. In situations where the learner becomes frustrated, the learner needs to be advised to turn the game off and take a break.

The final negative I see comes via desensitization. I am intentionally leaving out violence as I don't see games that promote this as being of value in an educational environment. So games like Fortnite, Overwatch, Halo, Call of Duty, etc. I would not consider these good educational tools as the main objective is to shoot and kill. While there is plenty of strategy and value and patience involved with these games, I feel the negatives would outweigh the positives there. The desensitization I speak of has to do with it being a virtual world. Yes, there are consequences. But only virtual ones. There is no physical danger or consequence. So there may be an inclination by the player to be desensitized to real world scenarios and actual physical consequences for actions they take in the physical world vs the virtual game world. The Metaverse, VR and AR threaten to take this to a whole new level. So, I think those should be off-limits for educational environments for now.

Conclusion Video games can certainly provide an incredibly positive and relevant medium for learning environments. They are interesting, attention-holding and engaging for most learners. They can teach basic skills as well as advanced cognitive skills through gameplay, and stand to be somewhat better than traditional learning methods in many ways. All this really gets down to learner engagement principle five, which states, “Motivation to learn is promoted and maintained when learners employ volitional (self-regulatory) strategies to protect their intentions.” (Reiser and Dempsey, 2018) Through practice and trial and error playing the game, learning the mechanics and buttons, memorizing the values of certain items and actions – the player is ultimately responsible for their level of success or failure. Take the time to learn, and you will eventually prevail. Become frustrated and try to rush, you will fail consistently.

However, they must be limited in application as far as duration of time used and game being played. I am reminded of the movie War Games starring Matthew Broderick here. The computer asks, "Do you want to play a game?" Of course, the answer is yes and it unlocks some potentially dangerous and deadly consequences for the user. Simply playing a game is not in and of itself a worthy learning activity. The player must be focused, responsible and open to receiving instruction from the game in order for this to be successful. "Perhaps a nice game of chess?," the computer says at the end of the War Games after all of the havoc has been assuaged with no damage. Yes, perhaps indeed.

References

Real English. (2019, Feb 16). 5 Ways to Learn English with Video Games [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO8VYyV-AZQ&ab_channel=RealEnglish

Reiser, R. A., Dempsey, J. V. (20170110). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology, 4th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf 10.3.3]. Retrieved from vbk://9780134237015

Gardner, R., Sainato, D. M., Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., Heward, W. L., Eshleman, J. W., et al. (Eds.). (1994). Behavior analysis in education: Focus on measurably superior instruction. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.

Beck, R. C. (1990). Motivation: Theories and principles (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Shute, V. J., Ventura, M., & Ke, F. (2015). The power of play: The effects of Portal 2 and Lumosity on cognitive and noncognitive skills. Computers & Education, 80

Stevens, A. P. (2023). Can video games level up your brain? Science News Explores, 2(4), 4.