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Why Gaming in Moderation is Great for Students |
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Why Gaming in Moderation is Great for Students |
Why Gaming in Moderation is great for Students and how Todd Academy uses it to Encourage Learning.
Amid a myriad of articles and research on gaming and its effect on kids and learning comes confusing messages and incomplete information. For years parent’s concerns and worries have been beleaguered by conflicting reports and junk science about gaming and its effects. Headlines about violence, addiction and other detrimental issues have gained notoriety for their content, but didn’t contain the long-term research necessary in such a new field. But now the in-depth studies are starting to pile up, large, long-term case studies have been conducted and the information is starting to clarify the answers. Some life and occupational skills are strengthened by gaming; the experiences it creates and the situations it utilizes:
1) Logical skills and reasoning are strengthened
2) Fine motor skills are strengthened
3) Evidence that eye hand coordination skills are improved
4) Social interaction is strengthened when students are actually playing together
5) Technical skills and technical confidence is strengthened by gaming
6) Gaming also promotes civic engagement
7) Social skills are strengthened
With so much to be gained by gaming, Todd Academy, Inc. is spending this summer building a series of gaming camps designed to encourage: team play, logical thought, technology skills both from writing computer language and actual computer usage, writing and creativity through character building, scene design, word interaction games and etymology support, including college and communication interaction attained while working with our summer partners.
Join us for a summer of learning, creativity and fun. As we play all types of games including:
1) Scrabble
2) Upwords
3) Boggle
4) Dungeons & Dragons
5) Magic
6) Pokemon
7) Axis and Allies
8) Yu-gi-oh
9) Powergrid
10) Charades
11) Risk
12) Khet
We will also be learning to program or write code, build characters and create animated drawings in a variety of computer programs and languages including:
1) JavaScript
2) Html
3) Flash
4) Adobe
5) And many more…..
Articles used in this research:
1) Living and Learning with New Media: summary of Findings from the digital Youth Project http://www.macfound.org/atf/cf/%7BB0386CE3-8B29-4162-8098-E466FB856794%7D/DML_ETHNOG_WHITEPAPER.PDF
2) Kids gain valuable skills form time online http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/20BUKE147TA1.DTL
3) Science gleans 60TB of behavior data from Everquest 2 logs http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/02/aaas-60tb-of-behavioral-data-the-everquest-2-server-logs.ars
4) Games foster Social Interaction Http://computing.in.msn.com/gaming/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1651520
5) Online Gaming Promotes Social Interaction http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/social_sciences/reprot-90874.html
6) Study: Gaming Among Teens Promotes Social Interaction and Civic Engagement http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/study-gaming-among-teens-promotes-social-interaction-and-civic-engagement/?biz=1
7) Teens, Video Games and Civics http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2008/PIP_Teens_Games_and_Civics_Report_FINAL.pdf.pdf
8) Playing with the rules: Social and Cultural Aspects of Game Rules in a Console Game Club http://www.digra.org/dl/db/07311.01363.pdf
9) Girls and Gaming: Gender Research, “Progress” and the Death of Interpretation http://www.digra.org/dl/db/07311.36536.pdf
10) Designing Games to Effect Social Change http://www.digra.org/dl/db/07311.09363.pdf
11) Addressing Social Dilemmas and Fostering Cooperation through Computer Games http://www.digra.org/dl/db/06278.44316.pdf
12) Video Games, Cell Phones and Academic Performance: Some Good News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090324131454.htm