Videogames do not turn all brains to mush

As someone whose parents almost immediately regretted purchasing me a Super Nintendo when I was five I am used to hearing how videogames “rot your brain”. Videogames can do a lot and mean a lot to a variety of people. To some they truly are the simple medium of escaping day-to-day pressures and just relaxing. Others view games as a work of art that can be appreciated while offering rich experiences. I fall into both categories personally, but I lean more towards the latter. The truth is, videogames are now so embedded into society that they will not be going away anytime soon. This presents a unique challenge never before encountered. 

The stigma of video-games being treated as “useless” or “mind-numbing” must be handled in a different light. Video-games are being used currently to help educate in small amounts and by overcoming these stigma they can grow in usage and in efficiency. Attached to my Diigo account you can find some interesting links about using video-games in education. The largest PC game platform company, Valve, has published multiple lesson plans that are certified to teach in the Common Core methods for a variety of disciplines including, physics, literature, and mathematics. This is just one way that video-games are being implemented in the classroom in an approved way. As is referenced in our class textbook, The Connected Educator, students sometimes feel they have to “turn down” when they enter a class due to the lower level of technology present versus what they have at home. By teaching up with a variety of mediums including video-games, educators are making an active effort to give their students the best possible learning experience. 

Like all tools however they can be misused. Unless specifically using video-games that are programmed for education a video-game as a tool is only as good as the facilitator using it. A lesson plan must be top to bottom designed around implementing the game as a medium and not a simple, “play the game to learn” plan. The facilitator must be mindful as well in the type of game chosen, as well as the maturity of their class. Like picking a movie for the right demographic it would certainly be easy, especially with a video-game, to lose track of your class.