The Benefits of Video Games for Students

I have always been a video game girl; I have mostly been a PC girl, but I also enjoy the occasional PlayStation game.  My favorites have always been the “Nancy Drew” series from the development team HerInteractive; when I was little, I was obsessed with Nancy Drew and I was so excited for the opportunity to become Nancy Drew through the first-person games.  I still play these games to this day, and have collected every single game.  I have already written an article giving my reasons for why video games can actually be a good thing; for this article, I will explain how they can benefit students.  

While one widely held view maintains playing video games is intellectually lazy, such play actually may strengthen a range of cognitive skills such as spatial navigation, reasoning, memory and perception, according to several studies reviewed in the article. This is particularly true for shooter video games that are often violent, the authors said. A 2013 meta-analysis found that playing shooter video games improved a player’s capacity to think about objects in three dimensions, just as well as academic courses to enhance these same skills, according to the study.  This enhanced thinking was not found with playing other types of video games, such as puzzles or role-playing games.  Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost learning, health and social skills, according to a review of research on the positive effects of video game play to be published by the American Psychological Association.

1. Problem solving and creativity.  From an early age, video games can help with schooling by working with planning and problem-solving. Games that require players to search, negotiate, plan various approaches in order to advance to a new level, and implement strategies can help improve children's brain development. The process of understanding game rules and learning by doing provides children with essential decision-making skills. Even creatively, children frequently have the option to modify and select character personalities in video games, allowing them the opportunity of self-expression. Some video games also allow children to design and exchange maps or other custom content, helping them build creative and technical skills.

2. Healthy Competition/Leadership Skills.  Video games provide a safe place for students to express their competitive urges.  In addition to building up friendly competition, many video games offer players the chance to take turns leading and following, something that can benefit students with their extra-curricular activities. These multi-player approaches allow students to participate in leading a team - a valuable skill to learn for the future - and negotiating rules.

I hope that this article has at least opened your mind to the possibility of video games being not as bad as everyone thinks.  While some can be controversial, overall, you get from video games what you make of them (if that makes sense.  There has been extensive research done on the positive effects of video gaming for learning that I highly recommend checking out.  Thank you all so much for reading this article!  

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