Schools Turn to Video Games Consoles to Help Pupils Learn

By Adam Forrest

OFTEN blamed for spawning a generation of violent youths, computer games are now being introduced in Scottish schools to improve standards in maths, English, art and even physical education.

Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) says half of all local authorities now have video game education projects, following successful pilot schemes involving PlayStation and Nintendo DS consoles in classrooms.

Derek Robertson, who leads gamesbased learning for LTS, said he first became convinced of the power of consoles when watching a couple of his struggling pupils playing a Tetris-style puzzle game on a Super Nintendo.

"I soon realised they were hypothesising, theorising, making decisions and getting success, " he said. "It showed they were clever, even if their problemsolving ability hadn’t been engaged in other contexts. It seemed the game designers knew more about engaging young people than educationalists." Robertson helped set up the Consolarium, a centre for video games research and teaching initiatives, in Dundee last year, and hopes to build on the interest shown in a project at the city’s St Columba’s Primary.

Pupils were given a Nintendo DS and a copy of Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training, which sets numerical, lexical and cognitive challenges. After 10 weeks, teachers witnessed a significant upturn in results on tests, as the popular game stimulated new levels of concentration and tackled the stigma of being "brainy".

Connor Burry, 11, in P6 at St Columba’s, is one pupil showing a big improvement since using the technology.

He said: "I thought it was a good idea, because it’s helped everyone. It’s made me better at sums." Headteacher Jim Coyle added: "We saw an improvement in learning. Classes were more settled. It has helped with self-esteem and confidence generally." Games are also assisting in language development. Crazy Talk, which lets pupils create talking, animated versions of themselves, is used by educators in Stirling to increase articulation, while dance-mat games have been customised to encourage young children to spell with their feet.

Pupils at Meldrum Primary, Aberdeen, have used Guitar Hero to create a virtual band called Full Moon, designing promotional material in art class, planning a world tour in geography, and recording their own songs in music lessons.

And at Holyrood High School in Edinburgh, PE staff are using Pro- Evolution Soccer on the PlayStation 3 to teach the girls’ football team about tactics.

Derek Robertson, who launched his training weekend in December last year, is keen to see commercial consoles gaining further influence in the curriculum and dispels any misapprehension about exposure to video game violence. "Games have had a lot of bad press, but there’s a powerful learning content implicit in a lot of them, " he said.

Game designers are now becoming increasingly aware of the potential of educational games or tailoring commercial best-sellers for use in schools.

LTS is keen for Scotland to lead the way with digital technology in schools. The Glow intranet is launched this month, and should eventually connect teachers and pupils throughout the country.

Ewan McIntosh, LTS’s adviser on new technologies, said Scotland’s schools had adapted to podcasts, wikis and social networking quicker than many other countries, but there was still much more to do.

"There is now a generation leaving school born in the same year as the internet: 1991. We still have digital illiteracy with too many teachers, and semiilliteracy with too many pupils, " he said.

Robertson added: "Children are not coming to school from a cultural vacuum. New technology is embedded in their everyday experience, so it is important we look at their potential use and impact in schools. We’ve got to tune into their world."

Originally published by Newsquest Media Group.

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