A Neuroeducation Analysis of Videogames

Abstract

The reflections contained in this research work deal with the educational challenge launched by Neuroeducation theory and the other cultural and social phenomenon of videogames, which have become more than pure forms of entertainment and fun, more and more metaphors of the big game of the reality of life. Many studies say that video game play is beginning to threaten traditional home entertainment choices (especially television), posing a very real threat to other media revenue streams. The reasons for video games growth in sales and popularity can be credited to the growth in the popularity and the technical innovations in the mobile sector. Attempting to support videogames for education and learning purposes has prompted considerable attention over the last years. The great variety of digital games available has provided much for educators and researchers to explore, resulting in intense disputes that many games have benefits both in and out of the classroom for learners of primary school. Video games were developed with a double mission: to stimulate the extraordinary, but also the ordinary. Videogames present a new form of amusement which has put the classical model of playing into crisis, where the dimensions of space and time have to be clear and defined beforehand. Moreover, videogames personalize the use of media since they transform each one to become a solitary actor in the communicative context. Starting from the construction of a Form for the Neuroeducation Analysis of Videogames (FNAV), the present work aims at analyzing videogame products in order to learn how to think critically and to become aware of their intelligence profile and cognitive style. From an educational point of view, the data presented are meant to be functional tools to stimulate thinking activity and to activate appropriate neural processes in children. The research dealt with the analysis of 50 video games designed for children aged 3 to 10 years of age. The FNAVs have been built by 162 university students attending the Degree Course in Educational Sciences, 3rd year, at the University of Palermo, in the period October-Novembrer 2015.