Video Games in Education - Annotated Bibliography

I teach middle school boys.  They often come to school exhausted.  They've either stayed up all night playing a game or gotten up early to do it.  Students who don't talk to each other in class will play video games and chat at night.  They count down the days until a new game comes out.  The newest game system is at the top of all of their Christmas lists.  If they don't get it at Christmas, they hope that they will get it with mom's tax return.  They live and breathe for these games.  Nothing at school means nearly as much to them as those games.  

I wanted to look further into the idea of using video games in the classroom to see if there was some way I could harness that interest and obsession to help them learn in the school setting.  Right now, we use video games as a reward for good behavior and completed work.  Is there a way to use it for more than that?  Can they be used in an actual productive manner?  

Annotated Bibliography

Annetta, L. A.  Video games in education:  Why they should be used and how they are being 

         used.  (2008).  Theory Into Practice, 47, 229-239.  Retrieved from   

         http://www.jstor.org/stable/40071547

         This article explores why video games should be used in the classroom setting for all ages.  It 

         gives a solid rationale for it as well as telling about educators who have successful integrated 

         video games across all grade levels.  This article provides a logical assessment of the necessity 

         of video games in education.  

Annetta, L. Murray, M. R., Laird, S. G., Bohr, S. C., & Park, J. C.  Serious games;  Incorporating 

         video games in the classroom.  (2006).  Educause Review,  Retrieved from 

          http://er.educause.edu/articles/2006/1/serious-games-incorporating-video-games-in-the-

          classroom 

          This article reports on a class taken by graduate students that incorporated avatars and role-

          playing.  They took this class in an attempt to understand how to engage the Net Generation in 

          the classroom setting.  This article is helpful because it gives a real life example of using second 

          life games for educational purposes in an academic setting.  


Gee, J. P.  What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy.  (2003).  ACM Computers 

          in Entertainment, 1, 20.  Retrieved from http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=950595
        
         This article focuses on how video games are created and the educational value that video  

         games inherently possess.  The article argues that good video games must be able to be 

         learned while also being long and challenging.  This article helps prove that today's students can 

         focus on tasks that are difficult for a long period of time if they are motivated to do so.  

Kirriemuir, J.  Use of computer and video games in the classroom.  Retrieved from  

         http://www.digra.org/wp-content/uploads/digital-library/05150.28025.pdf

         This paper reports on how and why teachers are using computer and video games for learning 

         in their classrooms.  It also examines the reasons why teachers may not use computer and video 

         games  and the roadblocks they have encountered when trying to do so.  This paper is a good 

         source for both successes and obstacles in implementing video games in the classroom setting.  

Lee, J., Luchini, K., Michael, B., Norris, C., & Soloway, E.  (2004).  More than just fun and games: 

         Assessing the value of educational video games in the classroom.  CHI 2004, 1375-1378.   

         Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221514634_More_than_just_fun_

         and_games_Assessing_the_value_of_educational_video_games_in_the_classroom

Squire, K.  Changing the game:  What happens when video games enter the classroom.  (2005). 

           Innovate Journal of Online Education, 1.  Retrieved from 

           http://website.education.wisc.edu/kdsquire/tenure-files/manuscripts/26-innovate.pdf

          This paper details the use of Civilization III in a high school classroom.  It studies both students 

          who were successful using it as a learning experience and those that were not.  The author 

          investigates why some classroom structures do not lend themselves to video game usage  It's a 

          helpful article because it shows the positives and negatives of using video games in the 

         classroom based on a real experience.  

Squire, K.  Video games in education.  Retrieved from 

          http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.100.8500&rep=rep1&type=pdf

          This paper explores the history of video games in education.  It stresses the potential cognitive 

          benefits of game playing in the classroom setting.   It's a helpful paper because it explores the 

          history, present, and future of video games in educational settings.