Impacts of Playing Video Games on Learning in Children

Literature Synthesis for Applying Research
Impacts of playing video games on learning in children
EDIT 6900
Dr. Janette Hill
Spring 2006
March 29, 2006
Myoungjin Yang Tollett
Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology
The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
Introduction
It has been fascinating for me to watch my 6-year old nephew playing video games since he was three. Many family members have expressed their concerns regarding the number of hours he spends playing video games, about consequences related to his social and behavioral development, and so forth. Thus far, we see no negative influence in his social and behavioral outcomes. According to his mother, he learns Bible stories by playing video games, and he has even learned how to read through a video game. His mother who is a high school teacher is a strong believer in using computer or video games for children in learning. She also stated that more educationally structured computer or video games are needed for young children. Ironically, the video games that taught my nephew how to read were not considered “educational” games.
I have another nephew with severe learning disabilities, Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) being one of them. The only thing that keeps him focused and stable for more than 30 minutes is playing computer or video games. His caregiver has tried different games to engage him with learning. Regardless of the caregiver’s strong belief in using games for him to learn simple arithmetic, he has not made significant progress yet on learning basic mathematics. Nonetheless, the caregiver insists that it is because there are not many computer and video games that are designed for children like my nephew with severe learning disabilities regardless of whether or not the games are educational.
It is commonly known that the average attention span in young children or children with learning disabilities is very limited. Considering that, it is

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