We Use Film In Classrooms... Why Not Video Games?

Why not bring in an Xbox or a PlayStation for a class lesson?

Is it too risky?  Do we need to send home permission slips?

So many people play video games now.

It is hard on the weekends for me to get my boyfriend to put his PlayStation controller down. Especially when he is playing a live game, and has a Bluetooth in his ear to talk to his opponent.  Did you even know you could do that? I didn't. If you have a camera, you can watch the other player and their facial expressions. You can play players from all over the world.

As a future educator, I would say that live video games have the potential for adding to an educational experience because you are communicating. You are learning about other cultures if you are playing someone from say, Japan.

How neat.

A video game called Civilization is actually designed for students to learn about history, geography and even game design.  So why aren't we playing video games in class?

Is it because they have been stereotyped for so long as violent? 

That is what I first thought. After investigating, I have found out that it isn't true, like most stereotypes.
Video games can actually help promote the following things:

•  group strategies
• managing disputes
•  probing
•  observing one's environment in response to stimuli
•  creating hypotheses
•  drawing conclusions
•  testing and altering variables
•  hand -eye coordination
•  exploring and assessing information.

These sound like great skills to put on a resume, don't they?

I guess I should play a game with my boyfriend this weekend.

 As teachers, we need to learn to implement  video games into our classrooms, as wild as that may sound to some.

It is the difference of leaving a child behind, or not. As teachers, we have to have many different ways to connect to our students. If we don't they are going to give up and possibly even drop out.

As far as I am concerned, if that happens, we aren't doing our job correctly.

I would definitely suggest viewing a game before bringing it to class, and making sure it is okay with your school district.

But if you can get it approved, I say, why the heck not give it a try?