INTRODUCTION

1. Educational Games in the Classroom By: Courtney Collins, Katie Leitschuh, Rachel Stifter, Megan Tacheny, Emily Wermager • 3. How often did you play video games in the classroom per week as an elementary student? • An hour or less • One hour to two hours • More than two hours • None • 4. What type of requirements do you think there should be (if any) on using video and computer games? • 5. Do you recall using a video game in school for extra practice or as a learning tool? If so, which subject/s? • 6. Do you believe video and computer games will enhance learning if used as a supplement to every day class material? • Yes • No • 7. What gaming idea would be best for the classroom? • Computer games • Hand-held games ie: Leapster, GameBoy • Board Games • Gaming System ie: PlayStation, X-box • 8. Do you believe that educational games in the classroom can help personalize learning? • Yes • No • 9. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being of most importance), how necessary it is to incorporate educational games into the classroom? • 1-2 • 3-4 • 5-6 • 7-8 • 9-10 • 10. Who should be in charge of evaluating educational games used in the classroom? • Teachers • Superintendent/ Higher officials • Technology services (if any) • No one, games should not be evaluated. FINDINGS CONCLUSION While the people who responded to our survey had differing opinions on the usage of educational games in the classroom, the majority of people surveyed agreed that video or computer games should be incorporated into the educational system. Computer games can be useful to both educators and students. They also give the educators a different teaching style. Although video games are beneficial, they should not take over the classroom. Games could be used as rewards for the students. There are concerns about the use of video games in the classroom. Our results state the games that are used need to be educational and not just for playtime. Survey takers also thought that it should be monitored that games are non-violent, simple and informative, as well make sure that games are in an educational format. Educators that are using computer and video games in their classrooms can do further research to determine which games are currently available, and compare to find out which is best. By researching the best games, the educator will be able to make a wise decision as to what will work best in their classroom and meet the most of their needs. Using computer and video games in the classroom has many benefits, and if pursued it can enhance the learning for both students and educators alike. REFERENCES Kirriemiur, J., & McFarlane, A. (n.d.). Use of Computer and Video Games in the Classroom. Use of Computer and Video Games in the Classroom. Retrieved January 26, 2010, from www.digra.org/dl/db/05150.28025 News. (2006, October 2). Video games have 'role in school'. BBC NEWS News Front Page. Retrieved January 26, 2010, from http:// news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/ 5398230.stm Simpson, E., & Clem, F. A. (2008). Video Games in the Middle School Classroom. Middle School Journal, 39(4), Retrieved from http:// www.nmsa.org/Publications/ MiddleSchoolJournal/Articles/March2008/ Article1/tabid/1627/Default.aspx • INTRODUCTION • We live in a technology-driven world and students spending more time playing video games now more than ever. This led us to the question; are computer and video games beneficial to education? According to the National Institute on Media and the Family, 92% of children 2-17 play video and computer games at home. This is influencing schools to incorporate gaming systems into their lesson plans. Teachers using games in the classroom can connect with other teachers by a common bond of teaching methods. • There are many different ways computer and video games can be used in the classroom. There are educational games, which have the potential to enhance math, reading, and science skills in the classroom. Gaming systems such as Xbox, GameCube, and PlayStation are not considered educational games in our research. • METHOD • We created a ten-question survey to answer our research question, how are computer and video games beneficial to education? • Our survey was created with Survey Monkey, an online survey website. It contained two Yes/No, three open-ended, and five multiple-choice questions. After the survey was created, it was emailed to 42 participants, which included educators, classmates, students, and parents of students. These participants are located in Minnesota with a majority from the Winona community. Our ten questions were as follows: • 1. What tips do you think would be beneficial for teachers when using video and computer games in the classroom? • 2. How often would you recommend students playing video games in the classroom per week? • An hour or less • One hour to two hours • More than two hours • None This graph shows that 80% of the survey takers thought that video games would enhance learning, while 20% did not think that games would enhance learning. This graph shows that the majority (53%) of the people surveyed felt that video games should only be used in the classroom for an hour or less. 33% of the people said one to two hours, and 14% surveyed said games should not be played at all in the classroom. This graph shows that 88.1% of the people surveyed thought that games would personalize learning, while 11.9% did not agree.