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Using video games as learning tools?

As a gamer, I have to admit that the idea of video games being used for learning purposes is somewhat boring and in the early years these games never sold very well. Growing up, in school the only computer games I was allowed to play was Oregon Trail, which of course taught children about the western expansion of America.

Others will remember the game "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?", an educational game that was mixed with more serious game play where you had to find Carmen Sandiego in different places around the world. Personally I thought the game was actually very nice, but others may have found it boring just because it was meant to be a learning tool of sorts.

Of course there were many educational games on the PC before CD-ROM's and so on but learning games didn't really lift off till the days when CD-ROM's could be made easily. Lets discuss some of the advantages as well as the short history of video games being used as learning tools.

*CD-ROM

As mentioned above, the art of using video games as a learning tool didn't really lift off till the days where computers and video game consoles used CD-ROM disks. Why you ask? Simply because these disks were cheaper and easier to produce, more so then cartridges even. Remembering the times like they were yesterday, when visiting the local toy store I often saw learning games for the Sega CD console.

Of course all the learning games fell in price quickly at that time, so they were in the bargain bin. I never found any of them that interested me, but some even used sports celebrities and other role models to get children to play them. I thought the idea of learning games back in those days was very silly, but little did I know that one day they would be taken seriously.

After Sony released the Playstation console, it seemed as if game developers were all racing to make great sales from their games designed for the Playstation. Some companies took extreme measures and tested out creating low priced educational games, and for the most part it worked.

*Nintendo

Several years after Playstation, around the time that Nintendo released the DS system, educational games leaped into the mainstream. Big Brain Academy is used both as a educational game for both adults and children, and is even used in hospitals around the world for Alzheimer's patients.

With the release of the Wii console by Nintendo, it seems that educational games will be a very big part of the future. I suspect that schools may one day use video games to teach children, perhaps very soon.

If you are looking for family friendly and educational games I recommend that you buy a Nintendo Wii, Big Brain Academy for Wii is a sequel to the DS version and involves teaching your child as well as developing hand to eye coordination.

*Advantages

Who would have known that one day video games would be a respectable teaching tool, not me anyway, but it is important to know the advantages that come with using video games as a learning tool.

We all know that sometimes it can be hard to keep children still while teaching them, but through games they can be entertained, have fun, and learn at the same time.

Video games are obviously more fun for children then books, and some children also learn better from seeing pictures or clips of historical events rather then just reading about them.

One day, video games will make it possible for students to relive historical events to better understand them, we are in the computer age now, so using video games as a serious learning tool isn't too far fetched.

Learn more about this author, Matt Remley.
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