Benefits in Gaming in Libraries
Benefits in Gaming in Libraries
Michealene Tollison
michealene.tollison@eagles.usm.edu
Course #557 Compute Applications in Libraries
April 20, 2015
Benefits in Gaming in Libraries
Introduction:
Gaming in libraries has been around since around the 1850’s. In the early years libraries used chess and billiards to draw in patrons. While the gaming allowed the user to play the games they were exposed to the library and the benefits of books at the same time. While a child is using games in the library, at home, or in a school setting they are improving and stimulating their cognitive growth. As time rolled on video games and computer games were introduced to the library setting. Gaming has brought to the libraries that offer gaming, learners and users throughout times that are willing to learn.
While gaming today is offered on computers or video gaming equipment, educational developers use this means to forward a student’s hand eye coordination, intellectual thinking, social status, and strategic thinking. By using games in the classroom or library one must understand the outcome of the game being used as the learning tool. Well-designed games motivate players while challenging them.
Understanding what makes a game both fun and educational:
Making a game fun and educational for children and young adults has been a challenge for the gaming industry. Some of the elements involved in a game to educate is:
How to play the game
How to score points in the game
What kind of challenge does the game offer
Are there surprises in the game
New information at regular intervals
Memorization of what happens in the game in the previous setting
Hand eye coordination
Types of Games:
There are several types of gaming.
Computer gaming is played on the computer. Whether using a diskette, or going online to play or download the game. There are some games that come installed on the computer like: Hearts, Chess, and Mahjong. These games teach strategic thinking, hand eye coordination, and mathematical skills.
Other games are used in a piece of equipment designed especially for games. Some of these are Xbox and WII. These gaming devices are designed to introduce specific games to the user. There are many games available for purchase to go with these gaming devices. Video games are usually played on a dedicated device or machine that is installed with a memory device such as a diskette.
Deciding if a game is educational or not must be decided by the user, or parent of the user. While many adults think gaming is a useless trait, gaming does teach skills in demand today. Games provide information for the player in multiple levels. Information may be hand eye coordination while using problem solving. The game may involve visual stimulation. Progress is either charted or mapped to inform the player of their standing. By purchasing educational software the parent or guardian is assured the educational value of the game.
Ratings:
Ratings of the videos will help educators to understand what age group the video is set up for or the individual playing the game. The Entertainment Software Rating Board or ESRB sets up the ratings on the video games. Think of it like you think of a movie rating. They are similar.
EC = Easy Childhood, 3 years old and older
E = All ages, 6 and older
T = Teens, 13 and older
M = Mature, 17 and older
A = Adults only
By using these ratings a parent, teacher or librarian can deduce whether an item is appropriate to the individual. However one should play or look at the games being played in order to fully assess the rating of the game.
Why do People Play Games:
"People play games not because they are games, but because they’re the most engaging intellectual thing we know." While we learn ethical and moral decision making through memory games, matching games, and bingo games one could say by playing these types of games one could develop ethical and moral decision making.
Libraries using gaming:
By offering games and playing completions in the library, that library can bring in more teenagers and young adults. Studies show that more male players of games are involved after grade 5 than female. By using these studies the library can make programs to bring the players into the library and introduce them to gaming while introducing them to reading. Video games are part of our culture whether we like it or not. Games are fun to play and we learn in the process of playing. Gaming produces great thinkers.
References:
Gibson, J. (2008, February 28). Are Video Games Educational? Retrieved April 15, 2015, from http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Video_Games_Educational/
Gaming 2.0: Playing Games in Houston Leads to Families Learning and Having Fun Together. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2015, from https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-243960134/gaming-2-0-playing-games-in-houston-leads-to-families
Article: "The Benefits of Playing Video Games," Isabela Granic, PhD, Adam Lobel, PhD, and Rutger C.M.E. Engels, PhD, Radboud University Nijmegen; Nijmegen, The Netherlands; American Psychologist, Vol. 69, No. 1.
