Video Games & Playgrounds

One of the most profound shifts in terms of childhood in a digital age, is the rise of online gaming. Once the preserve of teenage and tween geeks and nerds in darkened LAN rooms, now it is a common pastime for younger children, certainly many of our Junior School children regularly engage in these pursuits as a regular pastime. This is not a post about whether or not this kind of activity is one we should encourage, (I think we should) that is a subject I have written about elsewhere, and present a parent workshop about gaming every year. No, this is about providing some advice for the many parents who, for whatever reason, have kids who like to play online.

There is a growing collection of video games that fall into the category of multiplayer online game, from Clash of Clans to Club Penguin, to Minecraft, Roblox and Overwatch, and many more.

21st Century Playgrounds

As is often the case these days/this century, parents and teachers often find themselves faced with trying to relate to a child, whose normative childhood experience bears little resemblance to their own, but let me reassure you—while the medium has changed—the message and the meaning, and the opportunities and obstacles that surround group play have not.

The main place and space you are likely to encounter this is at home, as playing video games in class is generally not something kids will have time to do. There may be exceptions, eg possibly as a one off iTime project, but even then, the objective of creating something that they are accountable for in terms of achievement would need to be paramount. This is the stance we take with these kinds of gaming experiences, like Minecraft and Roblox. That said of course, there may be teachers who find this to be a useful strategy as a reward for hard work for example. If so they will take the necessary precautions, just as they would if sending kids to play on the playground.

Safe Play

When it comes to games for kids, Roblox is a great game, just like its progenitor Minecraft, however—as with all making, creating, playing, social experiences there is always the potential for inappropriate use, and experiences, whether the playground is virtual or actual. The solution, much as we would advocate for any 'multi-player' 'off screen' play—from playing tag or handball, to playing football, to swimming or having a sleepover, is to make sure there a​re​ clear parameters, and appropriate supervision, to ensure that we are minimising the likelihood of potentially harmful or unpleasant encounters.

Online maker spaces like Roblox and Minecraft are unique in terms of the sheer potential they offer in terms of unbridled creativity, and are also very familiar in terms of their potentials and pitfalls.

There are inherent risks with all sorts of forms of play, even childhood games that echo through the ages like 'Hide & Seek' are potentially dangerous, they're certainly not risk free. With all kinds of games the same safeguards we would have applied to playgrounds as children apply, ie be aware of the other people who are playing in this online arena or space, and the extent to which this space is effectively supervised, or moderated. If, as kids, we had been permitted to play unsupervised at nearby playground (I was, in London in the 70s, that seemed to be quite normal). We would have taken appropriate action if, for example, there were bullies in the playground, making life miserable for everyone. The same is true of these online spaces, which are very much similar to playgrounds, only on a screen, instead of in a park.

Safeguards

The developers behind games like Roblox and Minecraft are very aware of this, and design in safeguards for children, but this only works if the child has been honest about their age when creating the account, whether it's a Roblox account, or an Instagram account. Whenever a child creates an online account, like any other internet account, it's important that they set these up with the parent, or with the parents permission, otherwise they can 'accidentally' end up effectively creating an account for adults which could result in their being exposed to content that is inappropriate. Ideally a teacher or parent should be involved in the account setup and in ensuring that the child plays/uses the account responsibly—this is a skill that will serve them w​e​ll for the rest of their lives, in all sorts of online environments.

Roblox, for example, have a very clear commitment to safeguarding children; but it can be all too easy for children to create adult accounts, thereby effectively bypass any and all safeguards that would automatically be applied in the case of younger children. This usually happens if a child 'accidentally' enters the 'wrong' year of birth when registering their account, then the system assumes that are older than 13. In the event that this happens, my advice is for the parent to have a close look at the child's account settings, if Roblox or Minecraft knows that a user is under 13 there are a slew of safeguards that will be applied to the account to ensure the child's welfare, eg:

"For users age 12 and under, however, we take extra precaution to ensure their safety and privacy by automatically enforcing more restricted settings so they can only directly message other users that are accepted as friends on Roblox." 

"Players age 12 and younger have locked privacy settings to prevent contact from people they don't know. These players must first become friends with another user before certain activities are allowed, such as messaging, following into game, and playing in private servers."

Have Fun!

There are advocates in some quarters who encourage parents to join their child and play with them, to be honest, I think you'll find that most kids are less than enthusiastic about this idea.... Would you play tag, or have a sleepover with your kids and their friends? Probably not, so why would online play be any different?

Last but not least, the best thing you can do as a parent is be consistent; online and offline play are rich experiences that are enjoyable and highly beneficial provided some basic precautions are followed; for more on the potential benefits of gaming, see the following on video games as 'sandboxes'.

Protection, Paranoia & Parenting

Some articles I read years ago, and this one from Common Sense Media more recently have a habit of continually popping back into my head, every time the inevitable web scare rears its ugly head.

There is a paranoia associated with the web which can easily be exaggerated, for example parents who are profoundly uncomfortable at the thought of a photo of their child being viewable online, even if the image is buried in a website with an extremely obscure URL, a proverbial needle in a digital haystack. Yet this same parent will almost certainly allow their child to walk down Orchard Rd, Fifth Avenue, Oxford Street, knowing that they can be seen (perhaps even photographed unawares) by the general public? Not to mention the ever increasing presence of CCTV cameras watching our every move. Could this same parent be in the habit (as I am) of regularly posting images of their children on social media? ... The fact is that without an associated name and detailed localising data, such as an address, it is almost impossible to track down one child based on the image of their face alone (in the extremely unlikely event that someone wanted to).

So, like the concrete jungles of our cities and towns, the Wild Wonderful Web is an amazing place, but it is a metaphorical jungle, and, as it happens, the wild wild web has a great deal in common with a jungle—not too many leaves—but many wonderful opportunities and yes, many dangers; dangers that, with a few basic precautions, can be avoided.

The first Article makes a few controversial but critical points, which could be broadly summarised as:

Less monitoring more mentoring

The expectation of constantly monitoring children and teenagers on the Internet is an impossible ideal. Who has time to stand over the shoulder of your kids for the entire time they are online? Children’s freedom to roam in the physical world has been radically curtailed. While previous generations could ride bikes or walk to school or play outside unsupervised till dinner time, this generation is watched all the time. They have lost that thrill of being on their own until they are much older, and, for them, the Internet can provide that open space, to test and explore and try out the outside world—while being a lot less painful than ... say ... falling out of a tree, a risk that was commonplace in my childhood. In fact a shiver runs down my spine when I consider some of the risks I routinely took as child, with n'ere a parent, or even an adult in sight or sound. There is educational value in this kind of risk, this exploration even if it is online, perhaps even because it is: a lot of the work kids do is apprehending the social world, and for them, much of this work is done online.

Less restrictions more responsibility 

The important thing is to give kids the ability to handle choices, assess risks, and take strategic, or calculated risks. You want, in other words, to create the kid who can handle the Internet without you. And how can they become that kid if you are watching them all the time, if you are always hovering right there next to them? You don't just throw a 5-year-old out on the streets and tell them to figure it all out. The same is true online. But, accordingly, you can't expect to put them under surveillance and control every action they make until they're 18 and then magically assume they'll be fine at university, and the world 'beyond school' (I dislike the use of 'real world' to describe life outside school—school life is real life too!) when they haven't had any experience managing their own decisions.

Pain is a powerful teacher

Pain is a powerful teacher, sure, it's not kind, but it certainly is effective. Parents need to face up to the idea that they cannot protect their children from every potential negative experience, online, or offline, this is an impossible fantasy; there is no way to seal your children off from awful or painful or frightening things. This is nothing new, think back to your own childhood, bad things happened, you got over it, hopefully you learned something from it.

A caveat...

With great power comes great responsibility, not anonymity

A huge part of responsibility means ceasing the dubious practice by many, well meaning, but poorly informed parents, of allowing their kids to create social networking accounts in anonymity, based on the notion that this somehow protects their child. STOP! All this does is remove all responsibility, and in far too many cases actively encourages irresponsibility, as far too many children wreak havoc online from behind the veneer of a name like Puff the magic Dragon, with an Avatar of an aardvark or ... a pineapple ... or, you get the idea... Like no paedophile has ever thought of doing that? It is important to note here that online predators are far less likely to be paedophiles, and far more likely to be your child's own 'friends' and acquaintances. All you've done is encourage a situation where your anonymous child is forced to socialise with other anonymous people online, strangers, because they are similarly anonymous, oh, but they SAY they are your child's best friend ... . If you're going to let your kid 'play outside'; make sure they are playing as themselves, no disguises, no anonymity, their name, their face, and they should make sure to only socialise with people who do likewise.

The point, is not to create a safe world, but a safer world. 

Tim Elmore wrote an article more recently on this subject,  Three Huge Mistakes We Make Leading Kids…and How to Correct Them - a great article, and again, if you will permit me, it can be summed up similarly and thus:

Over-protection is damaging our children—

We Risk Too Little

“If you’re over 30, you probably walked to school, played on the monkey bars, and learned to high-dive at the public pool. If you’re younger, it’s unlikely you did any of these things. Yet, has the world become that much more dangerous? Statistically, no. But our society has created pervasive fears about letting kids be independent—and the consequences for our kids are serious.” (Gever Tully)

The truth is, kids need to fall a few times to learn it is normal; teens likely need to break up with a boyfriend or girlfriend to appreciate the emotional maturity that lasting relationships require. Pain is actually a necessary teacher. Over-protecting our young people has had an adverse effect on them, we are failing miserably at preparing them for a world that will not be risk-free.

We Rescue Too Quickly

This generation of young people has not developed some of the life skills kids did thirty years ago because adults swoop in and take care of problems for them. We remove the need for them to navigate hardships. This may sound harsh, but rescuing and over-indulging our children is one of the most insidious forms of child abuse. It’s “parenting for the short-term” and it sorely misses the point of leadership [parenting]—to equip our young people to do it without help. Just like muscles atrophy inside of a cast due to disuse, their social, emotional, spiritual and intellectual muscles can shrink because they’re not exercised.

We Rave too Easily

Praise effort and persistence, not ability. Carol Dweck (Mindset) tells us that our affirmation of kids must target factors in their control. When we say “you must have worked hard,” we are praising effort, which they have full control over. It tends to elicit more effort. When we praise ability 'you're smart/clever/awesome!', it may provide a little confidence at first but ultimately causes a child to work less. They say to themselves, “If it doesn’t come easy, I don’t want to do it.”

A helpful metaphor when considering this challenge is inoculation. Inoculation injects a vaccine, which actually exposes you to a dose of the very disease your body must learn to overcome. It’s a good thing. Only then do we develop an immunity to it. Similarly, our kids must be inoculated with doses of hardship, delay, challenges and inconvenience to build the strength to stand in them.

So let them fail, let them fall, and let them fight for what they really value. If we treat our kids as fragile, they will surely grow up to be fragile adults. We must prepare them for the world that awaits them. Our world needs resilient adults not fragile ones.

Gaming - Parent Questions

How much is too much?

During a normal school week, during term time, spending about 2 hours per day on screen for recreation (not including homework screen time) is normal; and I would expect this time to easily double during holidays/weekends. An important point to consider here is that we should not treat screen time as different to any other time, it is the activity that is essential to consider, not the medium they are using. For a more authoritative position on this, here is a link to the updated guidelines from the AAP:

http://www.aappublications.org/content/36/10/54.full

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/why-parents-shouldnt-feel-technology-shame/414163/

What age is appropriate for a child to play video games?

Whenever considering questions of this nature, I find it helpful to think of the activity of gaming as being more akin to a sporting activity, like football, or swimming—they are similar in many ways.

Bearing this in mind, then the answer is, as soon as they are able to—this is another example of 'media bias'; do we ask what age children should be allowed to read? watch TV? play outside? The answer is the same for all of these, as soon as they want to/are able to. The question is not when, but what; what games, books, video, kinds of play are appropriate? And as with all of these forms of media, most of them will require parental assistance at early ages.

Do you have any helpful guidelines that will practically help my child to control their consumption of the games ?

Again I have to caution parents on media bias with this kind of question; do they ask these questions about controlling their child's consumption of books? Watching video? Their time spent playing outside? With any happy, healthy lifestyle, balance is always paramount, and I would advocate balance between all of these valuable ways to spend time in recreation. I encourage balancing active recreational activities with passive recreational activities, ie reading books balanced with watching video, playing video games in the 'virtual world' balanced with playing outside or the 'real world'.

What games do you play?

I am personally not keen on multiplayer games, perhaps a sign of my age, as I rarely encounter any students who have a similar predilection. I engage in video games in a similar way to that of other forms of media like books and films and, as such I like my games to be very strongly story driven, with a powerful narrative elements, utilising a single player format with a preference towards action adventure games. A list of my favourite games would indicate a very strong bias towards this genre eg Zelda, Uncharted, Half-life, Tomb Raider, Skyrim, The Witcher, Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Batman Arkham, Shadow of Mordor, Uncharted... there are many more!

Don't games sap a child's imagination?

I have yet to encounter any authoritative research that makes this case, although I would say it is unfair to expect a genre like gaming to provide exactly the same kind of cognitive experience as that of other forms of media, which is why I strongly advocate for children to engage with many different types of media as a part of their recreational life. My question in response to this is, do you ask the same question of the other active recreational pursuits such as football, skiing, tennis, swimming et cetera? Do you believe participating in sports 'takes away' imagination? Do you believe this is a relevant question to pose in the context of these kinds of active pursuits? I do not believe they are. I do not believe that active pursuits like sport and gaming are pursuits within which you can expect ‘imagination’ to be engaged in the same way as it is when someone is, for example, writing a story or constructing a narrative in their heads as they are reading a book.

Why do games always involve shooting, fighting, conflict, etc?

I think the answer to this is simple, although you may not like it… conflict is a core element of any media narrative, and it takes many forms, some of which will be shooting, some fighting, almost all of which ultimately result in some form of victory or loss. Again I appeal to a comparison with other active forms of recreation; do you really think anyone would enjoy playing a sport where there was no rivalry? no winner or loser? Even if this is you losing against your previous performance? I doubt it very much, this appears to be very much a part of the human condition. I think you would struggle to find a great story in History that does not require conflict to be a major theme, again please let us not single out games the criticism in this area, but let us subject all forms of media to the same scrutiny. So a better question would be, why do books, films, always contain conflict? I think that is a question for a psychologist.

"Conflict is the essence of drama and all literary fiction requires drama to please the reader and to succeed as a story. At the story core, conflict is the momentum of happening and change and is crucial on all levels for delivering information and building characterization. Conflict is the source of change that engages a reader, and in a story, conflict and action does what description and telling of feelings and situations do not."

http://www.storyinliteraryfiction.com/essays-on-writing/conflict-in-literary-fiction/

​Is TF2 ​[Fortnite/Team Fortress 2/Overwatch et al] ​appropriate for 12 year old child?

I believe that ​it is,​​ as it falls​ into the category ​that​ I ​describe as ​"​cops and robbers" ​games, ​or​ ​"wild west" ​violence where there is​ a great deal of​ shooting, ​but there is ​little or no blood. In this game the entire ​arena is cartoonish and certainly not photo realistic.​ Regardless of your personal qualms, I think you need to accept that, especially for boys/men, shooting is inherently fun; whether that is paintball, archery, airgun pellets shooting cans off walls, or peashooters, there seems to be something built into the human psyche that finds this fun. I know I do!

This is of course also a parenting choice, and you would need to make a choice that is consistent with your advice to your child in other forms of media; so if you do decide that this level of violence is inappropriate your child, you should also ensure that you are consistent in this standard across the other forms of media that your child enjoys, specifically the books to read and the videos they view.​ Finally, whenever these questions arise it is a good idea to consult websites like those I've listed below to get parental reviews and other parental opinions. Also look at game footage in YouTube so that you can see yourself how the game plays in terms of the appropriateness of the content.

http://www.everybodyplays.co.uk/parents-guides/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews

Which console do you recommend for kids below 10?

I'm conscious that as my current console is a PS4 so my recent experience with games is oriented to that platform, added to which, my own kids are now much older, so my awareness of games is more attuned to older gamers. All of that said...

The most obvious choice is the Wii U, or the Nintendo Switch (which has parental controls) the most 'family' oriented console.

Unfortunately many families buy the console, and then fail to buy the best games for it. So whatever you do, don't fall games that 'look' good, only go for games that also have an excellent reputation. How? Using sites like:

http://www.everybodyplays.co.uk/game-finder/


For example, my search for games for an 8 year old brings up:

http://www.everybodyplays.co.uk/game-finder/WiiU/games-for-an-8-year-old/low

I'd stick with only 4-5 star reviews. Even then, once I'd found a game that looks appropriate, I'd cross reference it with other sites like Metacritic to make sure it really is as good as they say. For example everybodyplays recommends Yoshi's Woolly World, with 5/5, metacritic says 75/100 - that's still pretty impressive, so assuming you like the sound of the game, go for it.

For whole family fun, it's hard to beat Mario Kart, but Nintendo in particular have always been good at catering to 4 at once, more than that is difficult, as long as you have a big TV!

You'll notice that if you do the same searches for games on the PS4 there will be far fewer titles, but no matter your console choice there will be something that fits. Also bear in mind that there are games that are not designed for kids, but that kids would still love although they'd need help from mum or dad to play it, on the PS4 that includes games like Journey, Flow, Fez, Flower ...

To sum up - compare game reviews for parents with other game review sites, I'd recommend these 3:

http://www.everybodyplays.co.uk/game-finder/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews

http://www.metacritic.com/game

​

How do you teach your children not to play games during class/homework? What if they always get distracted because the game is so good?

This is not really a question about video gaming, it is more question about parenting, and it is not really a new problem. As long as there have been activities that are preferable to other activities there are always tensions between parents and their children in terms of managing these temptations.

The alternative could be an attractive girl/boy, best friends, new bicycle, even climbing a tree, most of these things would be preferable to doing homework, it just happens that video games have been added to the tempting list. As with all of these distractions you will need to work out reasonable compromises with your children that involve them committing to a certain in amount of time on the thing they don't want to do before you give them time to do the things they would rather do.​..

What if they start playing with strangers on a server?

What if they start playing with strangers in a playground? Again there is no need to select video games servers for special treatment, all a video game server is is a digital version of a playground, in this regard is subject to the same kinds of opportunities and challenges as​ a​ ​'​real-world​'​ playground.​ With the possible exception of the fact that in a digital playground they cannot actually be physically hurt, although the possibility of the emotional trauma due to emotional abuse is just as likely if not more so, if the server is not supervised or moderated.​

As long as you keep in mind this consistency in terms of an analogy you should do well, because the same expectations apply. Your child should make responsible choices about the spaces they choose to play in. If they find that there are people in that space who not playing nicely they should politely asked them to stop, if they do not do so, then they should report the behaviour to a moderator (the kids call these 'mods', the equivalent of playground supervision) then they should leave and play somewhere else. There are many online servers available for multiplayer gaming, many are designed specifically for adults, but they also exist for children. Of course the kind of behaviour tolerated in an adult server will be very different to that on a server set up for children, just as you would expect if your child attended an adult football game, compared to a local children's playground. It is generally the case that kids are aware of a range of servers (digital playgrounds) that they use, and in my experience they are generally quite adept at making responsible choices, after all no one really wants to play in an environment that is abusive or aggressive.

My son wants to play a game called 'Uncharted 4'. I looked it up on the sites you suggested, and have mixed feelings... 

I am open to other possibilities, but would also want him to try out more appropriate educational strategy games. You mentioned the Legend of Zelda, but it looks like that this is not available on PS4. So, long story short, may I trouble to ask you:
- whether you have a view of the game- whether Zelda is indeed not available on PS4- what games you would propose a 13 years old former Eragon reader looks into

The Uncharted series are absolutely outstanding, so if he is going to play it, he should really start at beginning, the first 3 games can be downloaded from the PlayStation Network Uncharted: 'The Nathan Drake Collection'. As for appropriateness, there's no swearing, violence is of the 'cops and robbers' variety, ie not gratuitous. Again, commonsense media's rating is not much use, but the parent reviews are, I would wholeheartedly agree with this assessment:

"This game contains 3 amazing adventures that have won tons of awards. My 10 year old nephew plays and loves this game. There is no sex and language is occasional and mild. Violence is cinematic. In the second game, the opening scene shows protagonist on a hanging train off an exploded track. He has blood on his chest and his face. Blood splattering isn't present. Most of the game is spent scaling cliffs and hand to hand combat. Guns are an option but it is nonviolent and non bloody. The game is like an adventure movie with tons of action. It is similar to Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider. 10-11+ depending on how protective you are."

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews/uncharted-the-nathan-drake-collection/user-reviews/adult

The actual review from commonsense is useful, as long as you rely on that, and not on their rating, I’d say it’s fine for kids aged 10+:

"Parents need to know that Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection is a compilation of three third-person-shooter games starring charismatic treasure hunter Nathan Drake. Play comprises a mix of exploration, puzzle solving, and frenetic melee combat and firefights. Nathan uses a variety of weapons to shoot and kill hundreds of ill-meaning human enemies over the course of all three games, rarely expressing remorse over his actions. He's also a very likeable guy who generally tries to do right by his friends and those he cares about. His romantic relationships, while an important part of the narrative, result in nothing more physical than kissing and a bit of innuendo. Light profanity occurs occasionally in dialogue, and a major character is fond of cigars."

So if you'd allow your son to watch an Indiana Jones film, or even James Bond, and allow him to read Eragon, then I don't see why you'd say no to this. If you're still unsure have a look at some gameplay footage on YouTube, watch it with your son, and have an honest conversation about it, tell him your concerns, and encourage him to reassure you ... if he can!

Yes, as you are correct, the Zelda series of games are exclusive to Nintendo, they are so good that it is common for people to purchase the Switch, just so they can play those games, I did! to be fair the same is true of the Uncharted series, a Playstation exclusive.

The Zelda games were/are such a such an industry defining tour de force, that they have had a massive influence on pretty much all the 3D action adventure role playing games that followed, none that can match the originals, but even close is amazing.

Games that emulate the genius of the Zelda games - exploration, puzzles, boss fights, story, epic scale, legendary status, 'good' central hero, 'puzzle box' level design, ... are:

• Beyond Good and Evil
• Okami
• Darksiders
• Portal 2

Unfortunately all only on the PS3! There are rumours that Sony are going to enable the PS4 to play PS3 games, we await with baited breath!

But all's not lost, there are still many great games that employ similar game mechanics to the Zelda games on the PS4, unfortunately a few of them are not appropriate for Grade 7 students to play, (like The Witcher, and Dark Souls)... But I would recommend the following, 3rd person action/adventure games:

• Breath of the Wild
• Any of the 3D Mario games
• All the Batman games, Arkham Knight et al.
• Dragon Age: Inquisition
• Ratchet & Clank
• Any Assassin's Creed game, but especially Black Flag IV (you can turn blood off in settings)
• Tomb Raider

A page dedicated to the issues and research the related to playing video games, and the presentation I use for parent workshops is available here. 

Gaming Education - Narrated

Gaming Education - Narrated

This narrated version of my presentation of Gaming: the Good, the Bad and the Glorious, is in 8 parts, so you can view the whole thing, bit by bit, or, most likely, skip to the specific parts that are of most interest to you.

You can find the episodes on YouTube here:

Gaming Narrated

The presentation in a nutshell:

10 Critical Considerations:

1. Avoid media bias - video games attract more criticism than they warrant, it’s understandable to be vigilant about content, but make sure that questions about what is deemed 'appropriate' or desirable are considered in relation to all forms of media, not just one.
2. While video games have many similarities to other forms of media in terms of subject and content, they are unique in their focus on interactivity, as opposed to the passive modes that are typical of other forms of media. like video and literature.
3. The dynamic/interactive nature of video games also makes them high engaging, this engagement can easily be misinterpreted as ‘addiction’ when it is actually more likely to be an indication of a ‘flow’ state.
4. In very rare instances, gamers can become compulsive, this is true of other recreational (and indeed professional) pursuits as well, compulsive sports fans, compulsive focus on social media streams etc. Compulsion is a more appropriate term than ‘addiction’, as it relates to the nature of the problem, it is behavioural, not chemical, and there are strategies for managing this in the very rare instances where it becomes a problem. Most often the cause of gaming compulsion is not the game itself, but the social network associated with it, the attraction is not the pixels and polygons, it is people, as any compulsive consumer of social network content can attest.
5. The highly interactive nature of video games means that they share many of the traits of sporting pursuits, in particular, frustration in the pursuit of challenging goals. Sometimes this can manifest as anger, but it is essential to remember that the cause of this is frustration, not the game itself.
6. It is important to remember that this generation is not familiar with the idea of not being able to ‘pause’ and 'resume' entertainment, but for all generations that preceded them, the understanding that sometimes you can’t pause something (eg TV in the 70s and 80s), sometimes you have to abandon it, you will have to forego that experience in order to experience something else. This is not something this digital generation are used to, so before you insist they prematurely terminate their joint online quest with friends across the globe, all playing in real time, in a multitude of time zones, you may need to explain this.
7. Many (arguably most) great games are ‘educational’, but instead of looking for content (though that is there), look for 'soft' skills and dispositions, such as problem solving, collaboration, analysis, perseverance and so on. The simulations provided by the greatest games provide a series of problem-solving experiences that are carefully designed, with clearly designed cues and feedback.  That's of particular value when initially learning a complex problem solving skill. Only, unlike real life, these experiences can represent systematically a wide range of problems that might take months or years to encounter in reality.  The simulated problems often take less time to solve than real ones, because they can accelerate the time lost to delays and waiting that are an inevitable part of reality.  And, they provide a safe environment for the learner to take risks and learn the consequences of particular actions – a powerful learning strategy.
8. Like all other forms of media, films, books, TV shows, conflict is a common theme, video games are no different in this regard. When considering the appropriateness of conflict as an element of entertainment, remember to maintain consistency in your tolerance of themes of conflict in other forms of media as well.
9. Games Ratings are there for a reason, don’t ignore them. That said there are reasons to have reasonable doubts about the ESRBs inconsistent and quite frankly often bewildering use of the M rating for many games that should have an Adult rating is a case in point. To be able to determine whether a game really is ‘mature’ or ‘adult’ you will need to either cross reference with the equivalent PEGI (European) rating which is more consistent (Adult games are clearly indicated as 18+) or consult informed opinions of gamer parents (like me) on sites like commonsense.org. parents are often under a lot of pressure to cave in and let their kids games with very adult themes—yes Call of Duty, I'm looking at you. A piece of advice l give parents in this position is to go to YouTube and look at some of the gameplay walkthrough video that is posted there. That will give you a really good idea of the kind of experiences your child would encounter in game. Why? Because the bottom line is you are the parent, and you know your child, so you are the best judge of what you think is, or is not acceptable for them, not a website review, as useful as those may be. Often it's the in game cut scenes that are more of a problem than the actual gameplay. If you do have to say NO (not yet) then maybe try watching some of the footage with your child so that you can explain what it is about what you're seeing that makes you uncomfortable.
10. Playing video games is no more a ‘waste of time’ that any other recreational pursuit, from fly-fishing to stamp collecting, cycling, reading and watching box-sets of DVDs. The key is balancing time spent in the pursuit of these worthwhile endeavours.

Gaming Education Part 1- Who Cares?

Part 1 of 8:
Who cares?
What is gaming anyway?

Where do I go to learn more about this?
How do I know when to say NO?
Why do people like gaming?
When is it good, when is it not good?

Gaming Education Part 2 - Video Games vs Books

Part 2 of 8:
Are most Books Boring? Most Video is Vacuous? Most Games are Gory?
Media & Medium Bias
Passive entertainment vs (Inter)Active entertainment.
Games as problem solving, collaborative, creative educational experiences.

Gaming Education Part 3 - Addiction, flow & Compulsion

Part 3 of 8:
Video games are NOT addictive, they can be compulsive.
gaming and 'flow'.
Managing compulsive gaming.
How much is too much?

Gaming Education Part 4 - Gaming RAGE! YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

Part 4 of 8:
Video Games & Violence
Games don't make people angry FRUSTRATION does.
Dealing with frustration caused by playing Video Games

Gaming Education Part 5 - Which console? Which Games? Which Kind of game?

Part 5 of 8:
Which console for kids? Which gaming platform?
Games for kids on the main console platforms - XBox, PS & Nintendo
Game Genres - There is more to gaming than shooting/killing. It's true.
'Educational' Games vs Educational 'Games' vs (Educational) Games.

Gaming Education Part 6 - No Violence? Or KNOW (what kinds of) Violence? 

Part 6 of 8:
How do I KNOW went to say NO?
Can you play games with NO violence? Yes. But, should you?
From Tom & Jerry to Grand Theft Auto.
Violence is everywhere: Literature, Video, and Games - criticise it, but consistently.

Gaming Education Part 7 - Games Ratings, Reasons & Reasonable Doubts... 

Part 7 of 8:
Ratings and Games across the main console platforms.
Considering ratings classifications and why these are o ften unreliable…
ESRB vs PEGI vs COMMON SENSE
When is a game an 'Adult' game and when is it an ADULT GAME?
Cartoon Killing vs Anarchic Carnage

Gaming Education Part 8 - Games - A Waste of Time? Whose time?

Part 8 of 8:
Screen time vs Gaming Time
Active Activity vs Passive Activity
A 'balanced' playing/gaming/reading/viewing regimen for recreation
A summary of the 8 chapters.

Chocolate, Broccoli & Minecraft ECAs

No doubt some parents are wondering, "Why is the School offering a Minecraft activity as an ECA?  Why is the Minecraft App on the iPads? There are many reasons why, but a short answer would be; for the same reasons we offer a Chess ECA. Of course the main motivation for this is the cold hard fact that I am a gamer, I love gaming - contrary to popular opinion I do not believe it is 'addictive' - although it is extremely adept at creating a 'flow' state that can easily be interpreted as addiction... So, as this article states so well, 'Stop Worrying, and Learn to Love the Cubes"!

I definitely believe that gaming has a great deal to offer. But this is not the post for this subject, this one is:

http://doverdlc.blogspot.sg/2012/03/video-games-violence.html

So where was I? Oh yes, that said, if I'm honest, Minecraft is not my kind of game, but it is a rare kind of game that both my son (Grade 5) and daughter (Grade 3) LOVE. It is a game they can play together, but very differently, and therein lie the benefits... I'm very wary of attempts to try and make any game 'educational' - this kind of gaming invariably has the attraction of what is known in the industry as 'chocolate covered broccoli'. 

Despite this, as a teacher, I could not resist the desire to attempt this anyway. For example I persuaded students to build a virtual maths museum, with exhibits that showcased ratio, basic 3d shapes, right angled triangles etc. but... But no matter how much metaphorical chocolate I covered it with, it was still broccoli - and I thought, do we do this with Lego? Channel their creations? "Hey kids why don't you build a Maths museum out of Lego?" No. We let them play, and let them take it where they want, just let them play, be creative, cooperate, collaborate, and that's good enough for me... 

All that said there are some great examples online of teachers who have been able to kids to create some delicious chocolate broccoli with it, even without realising it.  A colleague of mine in the UK let some of his students model homeostasis in Minecraft,  But the essential element here is that it was their idea, the teacher didn't even know what Minecraft was. He does now.

And that's what I love about it, it was student centred; their ideas, their motivation, he was the catalyst... That's what I'm looking for. That in a nutshell is my rationale for Minecraft, when people inevitably ask 'Why?' - almost all the reasons you could give me for the value of playing with Lego, can be said of Minecraft.

Or to quote a sentiment commonly being expressed about '21st Century Learnng', we are preparing students for a future in which the 'three Rs' are embedded within the 'three Cs', communication, collaboration, and creative problem solving *(Thornburg, 1998). Minecraft is one example of students doing precisely that.

Think Lego, but with unlimited bricks, space, and best of all, no need to demolish it all at the end of each session. 

Some examples from our students:


The Minecraft game is available on almost all game platforms, even iOS. In fact playing Minecraft on an iPad (or even iPod touch or iPhone) is the easiest (and cheapest) way to play it, and multiplayer could not be simpler, up to 4 players, in the same room, on the same wireless network, that's it.

Nitty Gritty for teachers/parents who want to know how MinecraftEDu works:

Minecraft EDU runs on a computer and is very similar to the full Minecraft game, but allows the teacher to have total control. The students in the classroom play within an arena contained on the teacher's computer - and the teacher governs the game, with total control over what the students can and cannot do. A big plus for us is that Minecraft EDU does not require you to use the wild wild web of the internet, it can use the private WiFi network in your classroom. 

This is the critical, especially with Primary School aged kids, it's the difference between sending your kids off to play in a public park (a public Minecraft server online), or to play within the bounds of your school playground (a private Minecraft server on the teacher's computer). 

Once the teachers quits the server running on their computer the kids have to stop playing, but all work is saved, until the teacher reopens the server, when the fun and learning can begin again. 

So, how does it work?

Launch MinecraftEdu, by clicking the icon once it is installed on your computer:

Then you will be presented with some options:

First you will need to create the 'playground' or arena (map) for the students to play in, by clicking 'Start MinecraftEdu Servertool' And Start the server... 

Now a window will open with an IP Address the students can enter to gain access to your playground. Something like this:

Now Students can launch MinecraftEdu, only they choose the top option 'Start MinecraftEdu' (not Minecraft!) Now they used to be prompted to login with their own Minecraft account - but this caused problems if they did not have one, The good news is that Minecraft EDU has been updated so a Minecraft account is no longer necessary to play on a 'LAN' that's a Local Area Network, ie not on the internet, just on the WiFi in your classroom. To do this they choose Multiplayer, and then Direct Connect, where they can enter the IP address for your server (mentioned above).


That's it! Your role is now primarily pastoral, medicating disputes, quarrels, 'griefing' (vandalism) etc. Let the technology fade to background and allow the focus to fall on the freedom to create, communicate and collaborate*.

Of course, once the kids are playing, it would be nice for you to visit as well - you can join the game as teacher - nice. Just click the MinecraftEdu launcher again, and choose the top option 'Start MinecraftEdu'. 

Most important? Despite your own proclivities - take an interest in what they are doing - just as you would if they were playing Lego.

Want to read more? Read this.

* David Thornburg, Director of the Thornburg Center and Senior Fellow of the Congressional Institute for the Future, suggests that the familiar "Three R's" of education be supplemented by a new set of "Three C's." Thornburg (1998) writes that the skills of communication, collaboration, and creative problem solving are all critical in this new information age. But even these Three C's are not enough, for, as Thornburg adds, other equally important skills include technological fluency and the ability to locate and process information.

Video Games & Violence...

Much has been written about this subject, maybe too much, but someone must be interested as the The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) in the UK, published a document reviewing official government recommendations to improve children’s digital and video game safety. POST is an office of both Houses of Parliament, charged with providing independent and balanced analysis of policy issues that have a basis in science and technology.

The original document, in its entirety can be located here.

I have taken the liberty of highlighting the points that I as gamer and a father find particularly interesting.

First I should come clean, am I biased? Yes - absolutely, as a gamer of many years, and one who not only permits his children to play games, but actively encourages it, and have done since they were very young. Here's my son playing Dora and the Purple Planet when he was 4.

The backpack actually waits for my answer? No way!

Truth be told given the choice between coming home from work and seeing my kids slouched on the couch passively gazing at a television screen or excitedly interacting and participating in a video game, I'll always choose the latter.

My concern is what I can only call media bias, for some reason it's considered OK to blame games for the ills of the earth, but not TV, or film? If someone is a little hot under the collar after playing a video game, it can only be because of the violence, right? Wrong. Speaking personally, yes, games can sometimes leave me a little hot under the collar, but then very often so does sport, for the same reason, frustration, good old simple - this is really challenging, and I can't believe I find it so hard, frustration.

No, it's not mine. Really.

If anything, I am more likely to get wound up by a level in a Mario game than a level in Call of Duty.

So - to the article, all are direct quotes selected by myself, with my contributions in brackets or italics:
"There is debate surrounding the impact of violent video games on behaviour. This document summarises the key aspects of the discussion, and other potential impacts of gaming such as addiction. It also examines the educational use of games, and reviews mechanisms to ensure children’s game safety.

As gaming increases, particularly among children and adolescents, so have concerns over the games’ content, influence and excessive use. While the main focus of research and policy has been on violent games, other impacts of games on addiction, brain development, social interaction and education are also considered

• Some, but not all, research suggests links between violent video games & aggression. However, causation cannot be proved.
• A small minority may play video games excessively, but there are no firm criteria for diagnosing video game addiction.
• Video games can be social, educational, and allow for personalised learning

Research suggests that social, cultural and genetic factors have a stronger influence on aggressive behaviour than video games. For instance, gender, personality and violence in the immediate family environment are important influences on aggressive behaviour.

Desensitisation is the result of reduced emotional reaction due to repeated exposure to violence. It is thought to increase aggressive responses in individuals and to fuel a demand for more extreme games as gamers search for new excitement levels. However, this is not specific to games and applies to all media.

Many young gamers (aged 15) are upset by violence in games that are rated 18. Just as exposure to violence in films, television and the internet can be upsetting so can violence in games, and this is why content in games is age restricted (my emphasis).

[Young children are] more susceptible to negative, especially scary, content in video games and media. [Again, all forms of media, not just video games].

Despite the media focus on violent video games, the impacts of gaming are diverse and can be positive.

On average, 5-16 year olds play 1.5 hours of video games a day, but many gamers acknowledge that it is possible to devote too much time to games and many parents also worry about this. [Of course, it is possible to devote too much time to all media… Especially television]

A recent review of the literature reports that (only) 8-12% of young people (mean age 21) engaged in “excessive gaming”, whereas “problematic gaming” was present in (only) 2-5%."

Addiction?

"There remains debate over whether gaming addiction is a valid concept, with some researchers claiming that dependency and withdrawal are not observed in video game addiction. The American Psychiatric Association has stated there was not enough evidence to include video game addiction in the latest edition of the widely used Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders."

In my experience the symptoms often attributed hastily to 'addiction' would be better attributed to 'flow'. Something game developers work very hard to facilitate, and something that only the very best games are capable of inducing.

"A sense of that one’s skills are adequate to cope with the challenges at hand in a goal directed, rule bound action system that provides clear clues as to how one is performing. Concentration is so intense that there is no attention left over to think about anything irrelevant or to worry about problems. Self-consciousness disappears, and the sense of time becomes distorted. An activity that produces such experiences is so gratifying that people are willing to do it for its own sake, with little concern for what they will get out of it, even when it is difficult or dangerous." (Csikszentmihalyi, 1991)

"Educational" Games

Some of the most popular games are 'educational' (e.g. brain training games). Generally, educational games are developed to increase pupils’ motivation, communicate information, improve specific skills and test competencies. They can allow for personalised learning by being able to target specific learning difficulties and can also be used with groups of children, allowing players an active role that demands a wide range of skills.

Importantly, there is a difference between learning skills such as problem solving, and learning behaviours from video games. Playing video games can improve reaction times and visual skills related to attention and problem solving regardless of their genre. However, it is more difficult to show that behaviours, both positive and negative, transfer from video games into the real world (my emphasis).

Ratings...

Video games that contain film footage or include violence, criminal or sexual activity are accounted by for by only approximately 6-7% of all games. (BBFC)

"There is an on-going need to educate parents about their responsibility to monitor game play."

Here in Singapore, most games originate in the USA, and as such their ratings will be governed by the ESRB. The problem is the ESRB ratings have been over politicized, to the extent that they are not that useful, this is because the 'adults only' rating is rarely used, instead they prefer to use the 'M' rating, which is misleading, as many games that get the M rating are definitely adult games. For this reason I advise parents to refer to the European ratings instead.

Ratings from the USA—not so helpful

Games from the EU will be governed by the PEGI classification system . Both classification systems have indicators that are obvious, but the advantage with PEGI is that they are more practical, as they are not afraid to use the adult rating (18).

European ratings, not afraid to use the 18 rating

The problem is, even when a game is rated adult, as they err on the side of caution, this can also be a little overzealous... eg both the Batman games, and GTA get rated 18, but there is no way you can compare those games, and when they do it makes a mockery of the whole ratings system.

Fortunately, there are sites out there like Everybody Plays, that include reviews for parents.  Common Sense Media have also got a great review section which is very helpful, although I do find they also err a little too far on the side of caution to be useful, just aping the rating on the box. The Parent posts are a better way to gauge whether or not a certain game would be appropriate for your child.

Put simply, if in any doubt, go by the rating on the cover—ignore this at your peril!

Last, but certainly not least, the best approach is communication. If there is a game your child is desperate to play, there will almost certainly be plenty of game play footage on YouTube that you can use to get a sense of the level of appropriateness of the gameplay. Below I've included an example from the 'adult' rated Batman games, which I allowed my son to play when he was just 12. Having watched the gameplay footage (search with the keyword 'combat') I felt the level of violence was no worse than a typical action film—far be it from me to be guilty of media bias!

These sites also provide guidance on the kind of content you can expect to find in all popular video games.

If you're interested in learning more on this subject, you can download my presentation in PDF format here.

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