How Video Games Shape Learning and Children’s Development

Last week, parent Nicole and I talked with @TheGamerEducator Ash Brandin about the challenges we can have when our kids love video games. I had also hoped to ask Ash a lot of questions about what children learn from video games but we completely ran out of time, so I spent a fun day reading 10 books on the topic at the University of New Mexico library (non-students can’t check out books!).

I wanted to know a lot more about:

Why do children find video games so attractive? And can we use that information to make the transitions away from screen time easier - as well as support their off-screen learning?
Even if video games don’t lead children to violence, are they picking up ideas that aren’t aligned with our values?
What useful skills are our children learning from video games, and how is this different from school-based learning?

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Brown, H.J. (2008). Videogames and education. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.

Condis, M. (2018). Gaming masculinity: Trolls, fake geeks & the gendered battle for online culture. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.

Gee, J.P. (2007). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York: Palgrave

Gee, J.P. (2007). Good video games + good learning: Collected essays on video games, learning and literacy. New York: Peter Lang

Gillin, L.E., & Signorella, M.L. (2023). Attitudes toward sexual orientation and gender identity in online multiplayer gaming spaces. Psychological Reports, 00332941231153798.

O’Leary, A. (2012, August 1). In virtual play, sex harassment is all too real. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/us/sexual-harassment-in-online-gaming-stirs-anger.html

Rigby, S., & Ryan, R.M. (2011). Glued to games: How video games draw us in and hold us spellbound. Santa Barbara: Praeger.

Richard, G.T. (2017). “Play it like a girl”: Gender expression, sexual identity, and complex expectations in a female-oriented gaming community. In B. Ruberg & A. Shaw (Eds.), Queer Game Studies (p.163-177). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Schaffer, D., & Loparo, K.A. (2007). How computer games help children learn. Palgrave Macmillan.

Self-Determination Theory (2024). Theory. Author. Retrieved from: https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/theory/

Sliwinski, A. (2007, February 26). Gay gamer survey results with large hetero inclusion. Engadget. Retrieved from: https://www.engadget.com/2007-02-26-gay-gamer-survey-results-with-large-hetero-inclusion.html

Suellentrop, C. (2013, December 13). In the footsteps of Lara Croft. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/arts/video-games/chris-suellentrop-on-the-year-in-video-games.html

Yunkaporta, T. (2021). Sand talk: How indigenous thinking can save the world. New York: HarperCollins.

218: What children learn from video games

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218: What children learn from video games