Thank David for adding some more valuable information in our debate. In both David’s earlier posts, he mentioned the issue of gender raised when applying digital games in the field of education. We cannot deny that the gender difference in computer game involvement indeed has been discussed widely by researchers. In the past years, some studies found that boys played video games more than girls did. However, the recent research suggests that due to the emergence of female subcultures adopting contemporary video games designed for males, and the advent of new games that successfully engage female players, the gender gap has started to narrow, at least in the U.S., such that players are no longer overwhelmingly male (Hartmann & Klimmt, 2006). Besides that, Dholakiaa, Dholakiab and Pedersen (1994) indicated that once women are as familiar and comfortable with computers as men are, they may even overstep them in use.
I agree with David’s point that there are consistently fewer female characters than males in video games and when they feature, they are largely passive or portray sexually suggestive behaviour. This is mainly because video games are made by males and made for males (Mou & Peng, 2009). Article revealed that boys preferred violent games and sports games, while girls favored games involving interaction with others (human or non-human) (Snider, 2011). Due to the reason that game industry is more catering for boys’ needs, instead of saying girls lack the interest to play computer games, we can only say that there are only a few options prepared for them. However, along with the emergence of what had been called the “entrepreneurial feminism” (Nzegwu, 2000), more and more companies have been central to the girl’s game movement. They are not only focusing on creating girls-only or girl directed media that stand alongside more boy-centered media, but also striving to develop traditional boys’ games with stronger female characters. Their endeavour will definitely solve the gender issue.
So just like teachers must choose the most suitable textbook among a variety of good or bad textbooks, the challenge for educators is to choose the appropriate computer game as well to well meet all students’ needs. In fact, as long as applying right computer game in education, both girls and boys will gain the benefit. For example, one article (Snider, 2011) indicates that greater videogame playing was associated with greater creativity. Both girls and boys are more creative after playing the video game The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Moreover, De Lisi and Wolford (2002, as cited in Ferguson, Amanda & Rueda, 2007) found that children who played computer games subsequently outperformed a control group on a mental rotation task and that this effect worked for both boys and girls.
David is right when he said that to use the lives students are already in, students can learn how to negotiate with one another and their teacher… caring for one another. I would instead argue that if children are going to be in a culture where computer games are the norm then by allowing them to play games designed around learning means that they are taking part in that cultural experience but also adopting skills from a larger playing field. As indicated by Connolly and Stansfield (2006), online learning with its open access and opportunities for active collaboration in an egalitarian environment will have an important role to play in meeting future challenges.
David also argued that students are less likely to learn “how to learn” if they are expecting to always “have fun”. However, in my opinion, the learning process is happening unconsciously along with game playing. According to Shaffer, Squire, Halverson and Gee (2005, as cited in Connolly & Stansfield, 2006), by creating virtual worlds, computer games integrate “…not just knowing and doing. Games bring together ways of knowing, ways of doing, ways of being, and ways of caring: the situated understandings, effective social practices, powerful identities, and shared values that make someone an expert”. As evidenced in Snider’s (2011) report, children who used the Internet increased their reading scores because the Internet required them to read. Similarly, computer games require students to read, interact with others, and write, and so on. We can say that students indeed are learning something without learning how to learn. As a result, computer games do have benefits beyond entertainment.
References
Hartmann, T., and Klimmt, C. (2006). Gender and computer games: Exploring females’ dislikes. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(4), 2.
Ferguson, C. J., Amanda M. Cruz, A. M., & Rueda, S. M. (2007). Gender, Video Game Playing Habits and Visual Memory Tasks. Sex Roles. DOI 10.1007/s11199-007-9332-z. Retrieved from http://www.tamiu.edu/~cferguson/GenderVisual.pdf.
Snider, M. (2011). Research: Video games help with creativity in boys and girls. USATODAY. Retrieved from http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2011/11/research-video-games-help-with-creativity/1.
Mou, Y., & Peng, W. (2009). Chapter LIII: Gender and Racial Stereotypes in Popular Video Games. IGI Global. Retrieved from https://www.msu.edu/~pengwei/Mou&Peng_gender%20and%20racial%20stereotype.pdf.
Connolly, T., & Stansfield, M. (2006). Using Games-Based eLearning Technologies in Overcoming Difficulties in Teaching Information Systems. Journal of Information Technology Education, 5, 460-476.
Dholakia, R. R., Dholakia, N., & Pedersen, B. (1994). Putting a byte in the gender gap: men use home computers more than women do, but women may have greater potential. American Demographics, 16(12), 20-22.