Playing Video games could help students be more successful

By Shobi Imran • December 22, 2017 • 2 Comments

Playing video games could help young people be more successful at university, according to a new study. A University of Glasgow trial found gaming improved communication skills, resourcefulness and adaptability. Researchers suggest this could impact on education success, with students seeing increases in attributes which help employability.

Lecturer Matthew Barr said many video games encouraged "critical thinking and reflective learning". "The findings suggest that such game-based learning interventions have a role to play in higher education", Mr Barr said.

Video games have become a part of life. They are now more than just leisure and entertainment. "Modern video games often require players to be adaptable and resourceful, and finding multiple ways of accomplishing a task. Therefore, it is not surprising that educators, policy makers, investors, and developers are trying to build games for students. However, the real reason game-based learning is so popular is not only because video games are extremely effective teaching tools; they are also relatively inexpensive to build and to distribute.

Video Games are potentially a useful learning tool. They have been found to promote student engagement, whether video games also promote subject learning and other benefits over the traditional classroom model. Video games have the potential to inspire learning, if they are used in the right way and can help students improve coordination and visual skills.

The Benefits of Video Games for Students

Contrary to the traditional belief that gaming is merely an addictive source of entertainment and diversion, recent research has proved that gaming has numerous benefits for children and adults. The following are some of the best benefits of playing video games.

1. Improves Brain Power-Research suggests that playing video games can change the brain regions responsible for attention and visuospatial skills and make them more efficient. Games that require players to search, negotiate, plan various approaches in order to advance to a new level, and implement strategies can help improve their brain development.

2. Improves Leadership Skills-Video games provide a place for players 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 them with their extra-curricular activities. The multi-player approaches allow players to participate in leading a team - a valuable skill to learn for the future.

3. Improves Decision making-Sometimes the player does this almost every second of the game giving the brain a real workout. According to researchers at the University of Rochester, led by Daphne Bavelier, a cognitive scientist, games simulating stressful events such as those found in battle or action games could be a training tool for real-world situations. The study suggests that playing action video games improves quick decision making in players.

4. Improves reading skills-The young gamer reads to get instructions, follow storylines of games, and get information from the game texts. A study of 10-year-olds who played 12 hours of an "action" video game found it improved their reading speed without any cost to accuracy. The researchers found those who had played the video games had better attention skills than before and they were able to read faster without losing any accuracy.

5. Improves cooperation with others–Many multiplayer games such as Team Fortress 2 involve cooperation with other online players in order to win. These games encourage players to make the most of their individual skills to contribute to the team. According to a survey by Joan Ganz Cooney Center, teachers report that their students become better collaborators after using digital games in the classroom.