Videogames, Teens, and.... Civic Education?

Videogames have become a serious target for study by researchers. If youhaven't played a video game in years, you might be surprised at the results of a recent study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and the Civic Engagement Research Group at Mills College.

Major New Study Shatters Stereotype of Teens and Video Games: Game playing is universal, diverse, often involves social interaction, and can cultivate teen civic engagement
- MacArthur Foundation

From the above article:

"A focus of the survey was the relationship between gaming and civic experiences among teens. The goal was to test concerns that gaming might be prompting teens to withdraw from their communities. It turns out there is clear evidence that gaming is not just an entertaining diversion for many teens; gaming can be tied to civic and political engagement. Indeed, youth have many experiences playing games that mirror aspects of civic and political life, such as thinking about moral and ethical issues and making decisions about city and/or community affairs. Not only do many teens help others or learn about a problem in society during their game playing, they also encounter other social and civic experiences:

• 52% of gamers report playing games where they think about moral and ethical issues.
  
• 43% report playing games where they help make decisions about how a community, city or nation should be run.
  
• 40% report playing games where they learn about a social issue. "

"Moreover, the survey indicates that youth who have these kinds of civic gaming experiences are more likely to be civically engaged in the offline world. They are more likely than others are to go online to get information about current events, to try to persuade others how to vote in an election, to say they are committed to civic participation, and to raise money for charity."

Teens, Video Games, and Civics pdf
-Pew Internet & American Life

The Civic Potential of Video Games pdf

I'll post more later!

Edutopia Video: No Gamer Left Behind: Virtual Learning Goes to the Next Level

The following video is from from Edutopia, part of the George Lucus Educational Foundation. It provides a good overview of the at the use of virtual worlds and interactive games in education. Some high schools provide virtual labs to teach science concepts, and others offer courses that teach students how to create games and virtual environments, and in turn, these student learn art, story-telling, math and computer programming concepts.

Teachers report that incorporating virtual learning in their classrooms increases student engagement and academic performance.

This video clip features Doug Whitley,from Kurt Squires and William Shafer, from the University of Wisconsin, students from the Digital Media program at McKinley High School (Washington D.C., and Eric Johnson, from Lucas Arts.



According to Mark Prensky, there are many barriers to the use of simulations and games in education, inlcuding the lack of money, time, and adequate technology. In addition, many educators are not aware of the power that interactive simulations hold for their students.