In an effort to curtail how much time young people spend playing video games, China has banned students from playing them during the school week and limits them to just one hour per day on Fridays, weekends and holidays. The new rule took effect Sept. 1, 2021. From my standpoint as a video game designer and scholar […] … learn more→
Tag Archives: video games

5 reasons video games should be more widely used in school

How video games can actually improve cognitive abilities
The conversation around video games has been subtly shifting over recent years. Once almost universally slated as pointless at best, and at worst extremely harmful, video games have come in for what we now know to be unfair criticism. Politicians have used them as an excuse for their own failings over social issues such as […] … learn more→

How student-designed video games made me rethink how I teach history
Imagine you’re a young samurai in Japan in 1701. You have to make a difficult choice between an impoverished life in exile, or the prospect of almost certain death while trying to avenge the death of your dishonored lord. Which do you choose? “Ako: A Tale of Loyalty,” a video game built in 2020, takes […] … learn more→

Video games in the classroom to learn music: is the end of the master class approaching?
Teaching the new generations of digital natives who are currently being trained in schools and institutes requires integrating participatory methodologies that allow them to enhance their interests and hobbies. Aware of this reality, the educational community has been debating in recent years the role that video games can play within the didactic gamification process. The teaching […] … learn more→

Playing video games can ease loneliness during the coronavirus pandemic
As communities across the globe are urged to stay indoors and practice physical distancing measures, feelings of isolation and loneliness are likely to become more prevalent. To combat the potential social and psychological impacts of physical distancing, many people are turning to video games. Video games were once widely perceived as inherently anti-social. However, the World […] … learn more→

Lessons from ‘Spider-Man’: How video games could change college science education
Like many people over the holidays, I spent some time – maybe too much – playing one of the most popular and best reviewed video games of 2018: “Spider-Man.” While I thought I’d be taking a break from chemistry research, I found myself web-swinging through virtual research missions all over New York City. I collected samples of polycyclic […] … learn more→
Videogames and morality – separating fact and fiction
A recently published study in the journal of Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking suggests most videogame players are governed by the same moral codes they apply to real life. But there are a whole host of problems with any attempt to link the actions players take in videogames with real-life situations. At the heart of […] … learn more→
Videogame addiction – fact or fantasy?
I am a Warcraft widow, an affectionate term given to those who have “lost” a partner to World of Warcraft (WoW) as a result of excessive game-playing. I have first-hand experience of the way games such as WoW can be so engaging that entertainment becomes a way of life. Which leads me to the question: […] … learn more→