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Do video games benefit or hinder a person's ability to learn?

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Do video games benefit or hinder a person's ability to learn?
There are many things in this world that can both benefit and hinder a person’s ability to learn. Whether the learning experience is in school, or if it is at home, television, many types of music, cell phones, have all been studied to cause problems when people try and learn. However, many technological devices and systems have been shown to help or even improve the ability to learn and understand things. In a 2009 survey done by the
Entertainment Software Association (ESA) found that both the video game market and the computer game market only consists in 10% of video games were shooter and family entertainment games were the highest at 18%. With most public belief in the fact that games are bad just because people play shooting only video games, should realize that some shooting games can actually be helpful for a person. With so many benefits produced by video games such as a boost in creativity, an increase in positive brain activity, and an enlargement in teamwork and social skills, video games are starting to get recognized as a teacher rather than a destroyer.

The first reason as to why I believe video games do not hinder a person’s ability to learn is that they can actually increase a persons ability to be creative through sandbox, simulation, or many types of puzzle games. In some types of sandbox games, they encourage a person to be creative by giving them many resources that they can use to build buildings ways to defend their building and many other objects that they can use to express themselves. In most simulation games people are tasked with controlling machines, such as cars or planes, or maneuvering through military operations. Many simulation games are actually used in the training of military or civilian personnel.
According to Michael Macedonia, a chief scientist and technical director of the U.S. Army Simulation, Training and Instrumentation Command, “...commercial simulators have had a dramatic effect on the military



Cited: 04 Nov. 2013. . Macedonia, Michael. "Games, Simulation, and the Military Education Dilemma." n. page. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. . Rettner, Rachael. "Video Games May Hinder Learning for Boys." livescience, 16 Mar 2010. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. . Rettner, Rachael. "Video Games May Hinder Learning for Boys." livescience, 16 Mar 2010. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. . "The Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games." N.p., n. d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. Video Games Lead to Faster Decisions that are No Less Accurate . N.p., 13 Sep 2010. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. .

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