Computer games are a vital part of the education and learning development of young people. “Whilst there is a lot of controversy surrounding computer games and their negative impact on society, research suggests that computer games can actually be educational and beneficial to help in young peoples learning development” (Crawford 1997, p1). Computer games are played by a wide range of age groups and by both genders, and how much time is spent playing computers games depends dramatically on a range of different reasons. Although the skills and lessons learnt are most helpful to students studding in a particular area (military, business or medical) or young people who are only just starting to develop their skills. Even though there is research that does suggest that computer games are beneficial in the learning development not everyone is in agreement.
Some people believe that players of computer games (no matter their age) shouldn’t be playing computer games, or any other games that are not played outside on a regular basis. Parents that grew up with out the technology that is available today are usually the ones that believe their children should play outside more and wonder why their children enjoy and spend so much of there time playing computer games. Although these children are actually learning, by playing computer games in this age of information and technology it’s successful for their development. As when they start work or go to school they will be more informed about what can be done on a computer, also the positive and some negative skills and lessons they learn during the process of playing these games is evident and also important in their learning development.
“The positive impact of gaming was first recognized some 3000 years ago by military organizations, and current forms of war-gaming were introduced into Europe in the nineteenth century” (Beck 2005) Although computer games are known to be helpful in the training of those in the military, they are also an “effective training tool in areas such as business and medical training” (Gonen, 2007). By using computer games for the above mentioned it would obviously be directed at students or those who are in the military, thus being at least 17 or 18 years of age but computer games not only help this age group but also young children who are developing there skills in a variety of areas.
Computer games “provide sufficient stimulation to engage learners in knowledge and discovery, while at the same time developing new skills” (Amory, 1999). New skills or skills that could possibly be learned or developed further include: team working skills, problem solving skills, money handling skills, and communication skills improve along with their level of reading.
These skills that are learnt at a young age impact their learning forever. All the skills that are learnt by playing computer games help young people to develop in all areas that are of importance. All of these skills learnt by playing computer games will also help the player at school. Team working skills and the development of communication skills are essential in the learning development of young players, these skills shown on online computer games where often people work together or game players discuss how to conquer something that is difficult in the game. Problem solving and reading skills are also skills that are used frequently in all computer games.
Although players not only learn or develop these skills they also are able to learn valuable lessons or experience new things. They learn to deal with hardships and not being able to get something without first working for it, their able to try out new behaviors in a usually safe environment (its a safe environment if they are not playing computer games online), they are able to see the consequences that an action will have, and they become motivated and success driven (it becomes important to win and/or complete a level)
The motivation for all game players is to learn and this is exactly why computer games are important in the development of a person’s education and learning. The lessons they learn whilst playing a computer game add to the skills that they have already learnt or they are able to improve upon them, thus making computer games an important and “effective tool teaching the unstructed area of project execution that gives the student (player) a taste of real-life experiences” (Gonen, 2007) without any unnecessary risks with everyone of all ages able to experience this.
“School-age children’s primary interest in computers is what they can do with them” (Turkle, 1984) and what the majority of them are doing is actually learning. Even though they are playing computer games these games are so entertaining that sometimes players don’t even realize that they are learning. Even so it’s still important for young players to learn the skills and lessons that are experienced in the computer games as it helpful to their learning development. It’s also important that these games entertain the player, which is usually successfully achieved by computer games.
As the research through out this essay suggests playing computer games is helpful for the learning development of young players. It is shown to help them in a number of ways including improvement of their problem solving and team working skills, their communication with others and also their level of reading. It should also be acknowledged how entertaining these games actually are young players manage to keep themselves occupied for periods of time. As this “medium has evolved with astonishing speed, and it is still changing rapidly” (Thomas, 2005) it is expected to increase the amount that is actually learnt by those younger players that are constantly developing their skills, learning and experiencing new things.
