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Computer games in schools

By Murray Bourne, 10 Sep 2006

An interesting study by FutureLab (the article has disappeared, unfortunately) of 2,300 British students aged 11 to 16 showed that

...three in five 11-16 year-olds would like to use computer games to learn in school.

It is significant that 2 in 5 don't want to use games in schools. One reason given for this was:

[Of] those who did not want to use games at school, 38% would rather play them at home - implying that they see education and computer games as separate activities.

Or could it be because the games they play at home are challenging, of high quality and perceived to be "worth it", while those played at school are little more than tarted up multiple choice quizzes?

Age is also an interesting factor:

Younger students were also most likely to want to use computer games in school: 66% of 11 year-olds compared to 49% of 15-16 year-olds.

We need to do similar studies here in Singapore, where it seems computer games are king - both in and out of school...

See the 4 Comments below.

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Posted in Learning (general) category - 10 Sep 2006 [Permalink]

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4 Comments on “Computer games in schools”

  1. Dale says:
    6 May 2011 at 11:15 pm [Comment permalink]

    i really need help with a course called computer science is a giving me a huge problem, can you please help?

  2. Murray says:
    7 May 2011 at 8:04 am [Comment permalink]

    Hello Dale. This is a math-based blog, not actually computer science. Is your question about math?

  3. Azeez sikiru says:
    8 Mar 2012 at 6:16 pm [Comment permalink]

    I don't know anything on mathematics i has been trying since my primary school still yet i don't know it if i get any help on any body i don't mine

  4. Murray says:
    10 Mar 2012 at 3:32 pm [Comment permalink]

    @Azeez: These 3 articles should help you get started:

    Ten Ways to Survive the Math Blues
    How to understand math formulas
    How to learn math formulas

    Also, here are all the topics in IntMath:
    IntMath Sitemap

    The topics are roughly in order of difficulty. Start at the beginning and see how you go!

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