4 Reasons Why Gaming Must Be Used in Education

4. Technological Familiarity Has Outmoded the Classroom

Did you know that over 28 million of us play Farmville every day, and there are over 5 million people who play World of Warcraft for 40 hours a week? More to the point, does that even surprise you? If no, there€™s a good reason why. Gaming, or technology on the whole, has effectively moved the goalposts of modern life. Since the turn of the 20th century, we€™ve undergone a digital revolution; our pockets can now store the equivalent of an arcade machine, a stereo system, a room full of music and an entire office€™s worth of personal admin, on something we can fit in a pocket. Our games consoles are more powerful than some satellites. If we couple such progress with the invention of the internet, we can now say we live in a world where technology is utterly ubiquitous; everyone is connected to something, and we don€™t even need the wires. Hell, you wouldn€™t be reading this article if this wasn€™t true. Consequently, it is possible to argue that in light of this 24/7 exposure, the way we process information has been utterly changed. Whereas before the advent of the internet our sources of interaction were limited- newspaper, the phone, television etc., we are now exposed to an absolute gamut of conflicting information merely by turning on our computers. As a result, we have become more discerning consumers of information, rather than the passive spectators we used to be. The presence of a gigantic morass of information requires us to be more active in what we choose to take on board, and thanks to technology we can make these choices almost instantaneously. This phenomenon of becoming intellectually more active has been actively stoked in younger demographics by the presence of gaming. Think about it; unlike any other medium, gaming is completely defined by its interactive nature- it€™s a unique selling point that distinguishes it from more passive media such as films or TV. But not only does it encourage the need to be intellectually active, it requires the participant to be active at pace. Ever since the days of arcades, the need for twitch-speed decision-making has often been the deciding factor between success and failure, and as the gaming phenomenon has grown in popularity more and more individuals are being exposed to this cognitive quickening. This veritable omnipresence (again, that 97% stat comes to mind) cannot be underestimated- whether consciously or unconsciously technological ubiquity has made students much more adept at processing information, but more importantly, they expect it to come at them quickly. Yet when a student enters the modern classroom, all this progression is lost. They are confronted with a system that has barely moved since the 1950s. The active engagement drummed into them by today€™s modern world is dropped for intellectual passivity, as they hand over their autonomy to a teacher who might occasionally ask them a question. This absurd classroom situation has baffled industry experts- Jason Ediger (the Director of iTunes U and Mobile Learning at Apple) likens it to being on board an aircraft insofar as you must turn off all devices and stay in your seat. All pace is dropped, all empowerment is dropped, and unsurprisingly, pupils become bored and disengaged. The classroom simply lacks the rapid interactivity and becomes instantly demotivating as a result. Minds wander, and results suffer. But why hasn€™t the classroom simply moved on? Read on to find out.