Mathematics, science and video games? A U.S. university professor is urging schools to consider using video games as tools to better prepare children for the work force. For although many educators scoff at the idea of video games in schools, the U.S. military has titles that train soldiers, teenagers with cancer use a game to battle their illness virtually and physically and some surgeons use video games to keep their hands nimble. David Williamson Shaffer, an education science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says schools should use games to prepare children to compete in the work force, where juggling technology is a daily requirement.
"People think that the way we teach kids in schools is the natural way we should learn," said Shaffer, author of the book "How Computer Games Help Children Learn." "But young people in the United States today are being prepared for standardized jobs in a world that will, very soon, punish those who can't innovate. We simply can't 'skill and drill' our way to innovation."
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News source: Reuters
"People think that the way we teach kids in schools is the natural way we should learn," said Shaffer, author of the book "How Computer Games Help Children Learn." "But young people in the United States today are being prepared for standardized jobs in a world that will, very soon, punish those who can't innovate. We simply can't 'skill and drill' our way to innovation."
View: The full story News source: Reuters
Children need to be taught that learning is done for love and pride. It's done to build self-esteem. If we need video games to accomplish this - or if we need to wrap educational concepts around video games, then we're in some deep trouble.
What is even more disturbing is the suggestion that this "standardized" job market of the future seems to require, what, far greater manual dexterity than actual *thinking* LOL.
In any case, this whole article is rather vague and poorly written to begin with. What I can tease out of it seems fairly ominous.
Yeah . . . that's right. I'm telling kids not to use computers or software when learning. lol.
Critical thinking is not developed by an audio/visual game, although a/v materials *can* help inspire interest in the subject in question. Critical thinking skills come (at least begin) with an enjoyment of what is being learned. Now, if video games can help with that, I'm all for it. But there is no substitute for actual reading, and then thinking about what you just read, and then writing it out. Or typing it out - actually seeing the words on page or on screen. It's that simple. But first, you need the right attitude and a genuine interest in what's going on.
The problem here is that the article is rather vague. It doesn't get in to exactly *how* video games can help children learn. Marines in training who use video games which feature multiplayer first-person action can actually benefit from the experience. Flight simulators are the video game tool par excellence for pilots, for example. People who rely on manual dexterity in their jobs can also benefit. Lots of different applications to consider. Some a lot better than others.
Let's just agree then, that the article itself needs some fine-tuning. And if the article must be made to simply stand on its own, then it's leaving a lot of room for questions.
It might seem far-fetched, but I assure you the research that's done at that school isn't to be taken lightly.
-Spenser
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