Sesame Workshop: Video games good for kids
A new study suggests that video games can be good learning tools for children. Will educators and governments invest in a digital future?
Studies that look at the effects of video games on kids have been mostly positive of late, with a focus on safe virtual worlds, and devices such as the Nintendo Wii that encourage physical activity.
The new report "Game Changer: Investing in Digital Play to Advance Children's Learning and Health" (PDF) urges educators as well as government and the health care industry to look beyond the stereotype of video games as harmful.
Video games have been shown to help children learn vital foundational and 21st-century skills, including:
- Content (from rich vocabulary to science to history)
- Skills (from literacy to math to complex problem-solving)
- Creation of artifacts (from videos to software code)
- Systems thinking (how changing one element affects relationships as a whole)
Experts in the field of digital learning interviewed for this study concluded that digital games have strong potential. Kids love playing them, but the research has not fully demonstrated with precision why or how they work, as well as how to design them for specific learning goals. Until more is known, our nation cannot fully harness their benefits.
Download the executive summary or the full report .
Via Kotaku
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