That said, there is strong evidence that video games are a treasure trove of learning opportunities, says Fran Blumberg, Ph.D.
"Playing a video game does promote skills,” she said. “But the extent
to which these skills have direct relevance on what one does in school
remains to be seen.”
Blumberg, an associate professor of education and coordinator of the educational psychology program in Fordham's Graduate School of Education, has been researching video games since 1993, and recently finished editing a book on the subject.
Learning by Playing, (Oxford, 2014), which was published in April, brings together contributors from the fields of education, learning sciences, cognitive and developmental psychology, and instructional design, to provide
perspectives on the most current thinking about leisure video game play for academic classroom learning.
The book is split into four sections:
-A foundational understanding of
the cognitive skills and content knowledge that children and adolescents
acquire and refine during video game play.
-An exploration of game features that captivate and promote skills development among game
players.
-Sections on children and adolescents'
learning in the context of different types of games and the factors that
contribute to transfer of learning from video game play to the
classroom.
It all comes together with recommendations for how to
investigate the academic potential of video game play, particularly
using those games that child and adolescent players find most
compelling.
Whether that includes guiding Master Chief through battles between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant, you'll have to read to find out.
—Patrick Verel
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