Kids, Video Games and the Classroom

A panel of education technology experts assessed the educational benefits of video games in an online conference called "Kids, Video Games & the Classroom." The panel, hosted by the Center for Media and Community at the Education Development Center, featured evidence that gaming can be an effective instructional tool in the 21st century.

The panelists at the one-hour session were Chris Dede, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; Marc Prensky, the CEO and founder of Games2Train; and Michelle Halsell, the CEO and founder of Missing Pixel, a company that designs and produces digital media.

Dede, who has conducted significant research on using computer programs as an instrument of instruction, spoke about how a media-based learning style can lead to large-scale reforms in education.

"The media we use, no matter what age we are, influences how we learn," Dede said.

Video games, already among the favorite forms of technology among kids, will become an increasingly influential tool for enhancing learning processes in the next two decades, he said.

One gaming trend involves the concept of the Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE). MUVEs are interfaces based on collaborative work and experiential learning that allow users to enter the virtual world in the form of avatars. Dede compared this type of "situated learning" to an internship in that the source of instruction for both relies primarily on experience and not on teachers or structured curriculum. As an example, Dede referred to River City Curriculum, a MUVE that he developed for middle and high school students. This educational MUVE features digital artifacts from the Smithsonian as well as virtual science tools, such as a virtual microscope.

Prensky's presentation also focused on the instructional value of learning-by-doing techniques in the digital form. Prensky, the creator of more than 50 educational video games, said that his research has led him to value gaming as a key to enhancing motivation, understanding and retention within the classroom.

"I feel strongly that (video games) can help many kids learn -- not all kids of course, but many kids," said Prensky, adding that gaming is more beneficial to kids who are less motivated to learn.

Gaming represents a form of enrichment education, which, in light of the No Child Left Behind Act, has unfortunately taken a back seat to the more testing-centric curricular education, Prensky said. The curricular focus, he said, "is a detriment to learning for our kids."

Prensky explained that the games currently dominating classrooms are primarily "mini" games. These games, unlike "complex" games, are easier to integrate into classrooms but lack the depth and intricacies needed to sustain interest and enhance learning among kids, he said.

Prensky, like Dede, stressed the interrelated value of individual learning and group learning. They said educational video games should incorporate both approaches so that individuals can integrate the knowledge they've gleaned from the more experiential and collaborative group setting. The individual can then apply the group-based knowledge he or she has acquired to other situations.

Halsell, who has been working with digital media for more than 10 years, considered educational gaming from the production perspective. In attempting to find the best ways of using gaming technology to generate interest in learning, her company, Missing Pixel, not only recruits kids to test the games but also asks them how they would design and produce a challenging and engaging video game.

The digital process of bringing ideas to life is crucial to how the final product appeals to kids and to how it enhances their capacity to learn, Halsell explained. She added that while DigNubia, her joint project with EDC, is indeed useful for teaching, the primary objective of the archaeology website to grab -- and keep -- the attention of a young audience.

The fact that video games are already so popular with kids provides the advantage of a built-in and dependable audience, Halsell said. The focus now, she said, must be to study how to effectively integrate education into the digital process.

More information on the Center for Media & Community at EDC and their projects are available on their Web site.