Video games could have a serious role to play in the classroom, a survey of teachers and students suggests. The Teaching with Games report was commissioned by games giant Electronic Arts (EA) and carried out by FutureLab.
It surveyed almost 1,000 teachers and more than 2,300 primary and secondary school students in the UK. The survey found 59% of teachers would consider using off-the-shelf games in the classroom while 62% of students wanted to use games at school. The report, which was also backed by Microsoft, Take Two, as well as the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE), found evidence of concern from both teachers and students about the impact of games on players. Some 55% of students thought videogames would make for more interesting lessons. More than 70% of the surveyed teachers felt that playing games could lead to anti-social behaviour while 30% of students believed that playing games could lead to increased violence and aggression.
There are three key objectives with the report – to understands teachers' and students' use of computer games in the classroom. The report authors also followed 12 teachers at four schools in the UK and looked at ways they could use commercial software in the classroom. More than 70% of teachers never play games outside school while 82% of children said they played video games at least once a fortnight.
