Should students play software games in school?
Whether or not students playing video games help them become more educated in schools or less educated in schools has become a very controversial topic. According to one article by Mark Bauerlein, studies have shown boys from ages 6-9 were seperated by playing software games after school and not playing software games after school. The students that played software games after school had a significantly lower score on their grades than students that did not play software games. I am neither for nor against if students playing software games helps them with school. I think that depending on the child, it can either help calm their minds to be active in school or cause the child to do poorly in school.
I think if used appropriately, games could be great for students and help them to achieve more in school. One of the pros of children playing software games is that it can help them interact with their peers. Games that involve more than one player can help show teamwork as they reach to a certain goal. Using teamwork within games can help the children apply it in a classroom with their peers around them as well. I also think that schools can use certain education games to help children focus on learning and using more energy instead of them just sitting in class listening to a teacher at all times.
There are also some negatives that come with students playing software games in school. A con to playing software games in school is that students may get to competitive. One of the things that I see in the elementary school that I work in is that boys around the fifth grade level start to get very worked up, anxious, and competitive with one another. I feel as if some students may zone out on the educating part and pay more attention to the winning, competitive side of the games. Another con in software games in school is screen exposure. I remember as a little kid, my parents never wanted me directly in front of a tv, or playing on my gameboy for long periods of time because it tends to hurt your eyes which can also have affects to your brain activity.
All in all I think that there is no significant answer to this question. I think every child is different and learn through different ways. Some students grades may rise when it comes to playing software games, while other students grades may drop.
