Entertainment Video Games for Academic Learning: A Systematic Review

Entertainment video games are very popular among young audiences. Nevertheless, despite their potential to improve cognitive functioning, they are still studied rarely as a tool for digital game-based learning. To better understand video gaming practices’ value in the classroom, this article provides a systematic review of literature on the effect of entertainment video games on academic learning. Our literature search yielded 49 relevant intervention studies published between 2005 and 2019 that integrated entertainment video games into academic curricula from preschool to college. Our review revealed that entertainment video games can be an effective educational tool and are beneficial in almost all academic disciplines, particularly in foreign language and science. However, research on entertainment video gaming’s effects on academic learning is still not extensive enough and remains mostly qualitative. Future studies need to provide a quantitative approach to complete and confirm already-existing literature, particularly in the environmental and social sciences, physical education, and programming. Given entertainment video games’ popularity and benefits on cognition and learning, it seems essential to investigate their practical value further in the education sector and to determine the mechanisms that mediate their effects on academic learning.

Gamers never play alone: An interface-centred analysis of online video gaming

Online gaming involves a complex and multidimensional set of practices. This article proposes understanding online video gaming based on an interface-centred approach that goes beyond the classic study of the “graphic user interface”. In this theoretical and analytical framework, the interface is considered the place where human, institutional and technological actors relate to each other and different processes are carried out. The article draws the data from empirical research with teens carried out in eight countries. It analyses the teenagers’ online playing experience as an interface, understood as a ‘network of actors’ that goes beyond the single video gaming device (console, PC, etc.). This work also presents a map of actors, relationships and processes of the online video gaming interface, paying particular attention to the tensions and critical issues that arise, from a perspective that, in further studies, could be expanded to other practices.

Game-Based Pedagogy

Interpretations of the cultural meanings made by each of the boys in the study, based on their individual unique experiences engaging with video games, can provide readers with insights into how to approach adolescent aged boys' literacy development through game-based pedagogy. In this chapter the author describes how these four boys developed their multimodal ways of learning by engaging with visual perspectives of video games. The methodological approach documented what boys are saying, as much as possible, which is currently understudied in the literature surrounding boys and their video gaming practices. This chapter addresses some boys' out-of-school video gaming practices for meaning-making and gaining cultural knowledge. Studying the ways in which boys make meanings through multimodal ways of learning can offer insights into strategies for cyber culture that can potentially reinvent traditional literacy pedagogical boundaries and establish new ways and practices for building knowledge.

Let the games begin: the relationship between video gaming and entrepreneurial mindsets

PurposeThis article addresses the need for further conceptual development of the factors that influence the development of the entrepreneurial mindset. It focuses on finding a link between the classic mental models of entrepreneurship and those that are employed during video game play to explore if similarities exist.Design/methodology/approachUsing theories of entrepreneurship and opportunity recognition, the study examines a sample of 217 video gamers.FindingsThe results of this study suggest that an individual who exhibits a high level of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has an enhanced opportunity recognition capability when the intensity of playing video games is also high. Various genres of games were controlled for; however, it was found that shooting games have the highest effect on the emergence of opportunity recognition.Originality/valueThus, the study reveals that some game activities can be linked to entrepreneurial cognitions. This has implications for the entrepreneurial intent literature as it reveals certain actions can be linked with entrepreneurial information processing. These findings are useful for game designers and managers as well.

Sleep in Habitual Adult Video Gamers: A Systematic Review

Video gaming is a popular, globally recognized phenomenon, played recreationally or competitively as esports. Gaming is a typically sedentary nighttime activity; therefore, the potential to impact sleep and health is high. Furthermore, there are limited studies on adult gamers, who represent the majority demographic in esports. This review examines evidence describing sleep in habitual adult gamers to understand the associated risk for cardiometabolic disease or the benefits to gaming performance. Three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science) were searched for peer-reviewed articles published between January 2000 – April 2020. Twelve studies reporting on sleep in habitual adult gamers were included. A narrative synthesis was employed to report results, owing to high levels of heterogeneity across the included studies. Gamers with higher gaming addiction scores were more likely to have shorter, poorer quality sleep and greater daytime sleepiness and insomnia scores than gamers with lower gaming addiction scores and non-gamers. In addition, high-volume gamers were more likely to have worsened sleep quantity and quality, with delayed sleep timing and increased prevalence of insomnia. Despite limitations in the design of the included studies, excessive gaming is broadly associated with worsened sleep parameters. Noteworthy is the lack of studies investigating cardiometabolic health in gamers. Future work should explore the relative contribution and associated risk that various games, genres, and timing of gaming activities have on sleep, physical and mental health, particularly in vulnerable gaming cohorts engaged with contemporary forms of gaming and esports.

Translanguaging, Diglossia and Bidialectalism in the Video Gamer Argot

Video games have undergone an extensive technological advancement which has triggered a rapid shift in the role and potency the different media have gained in meeting infotainment needs. The widespread use of the internet has increased the frequency of video gaming among the youth thus promoting the emergence of linguistic material which could be instrumental in second language acquisition. The present paper aims to reveal the linguistic gains from virtual multicultural environments for video gamers in relation to their communication needs, a situation which rightfully characterizes them as bilinguals. Despite the continuing linguistic experimentation activities initiated by researchers, the video gamers’ language utilization has not been paid much attention to as potential research domain in bi/multilingualism. The research has capitalized on the germane information of a cross sectional survey conducted on secondary school video gamer students in Hungary by investigating their language use habits derived from video game usage. The ample research scope results contribute to filling the linguistic gap of word formation methods, translanguaging, diglossia and bidialectalism by comparing the international and Hungarian instances of the video gamer argot. We also journey through the description, modelling, explanation of several processes which could happen within and outside the digital world as an illustration of language use in contact.

Reserve Your Judgment on “Draconian” Chinese Video Gaming Restrictions on Children

China imposed strict restrictions on young people’s participation in videogaming from September 2021. Colder Carras et al.’s commentary (2021) referred to this policy as ‘draconian,’ i.e., ‘excessively harsh and severe.’ However, any opinion on whether this policy is ‘draconian’ is a value judgment, and any judgment on its ‘effectiveness’ ought to be reserved until proven or disproven by empirical evidence. Indeed, the Chinese policy is neither potentially ineffective nor draconian, and is already providing at least one identifiable benefit: enhancing consumer protection by effectively reducing underage players’ monetary spending on videogames, including on randomised, gambling-like mechanics known as ‘loot boxes.’

Problematic internet use prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic

The health and socio-economic challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic have led to greater reliance on the internet to meet basic needs and responsibilities. Greater engagement in online activities may have negative mental and physical health consequences for some vulnerable individuals, particularly under mandatory self-isolation or ‘lockdown’ conditions. The present study investigated whether changes in levels of involvement in online activities during the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., watching TV series, online sexual activities, video games, social networks, gambling, online shopping, and instant messaging) were associated with problematic internet use, as well as whether certain psychological risk factors (positive/negative affect and impulsivity) were significant predictors of these changes. A total of 1,275 participants (66.1% female, aged between 18-55 years) completed an online survey while in lockdown in Spain (April 15th-23rd, 2020). The survey assessed current engagement in seven different online activities and their engagement prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as psychological risk factors (affect and impulsivity). Most participants (between 60.8%-98.6% depending on the activity) reported no changes in participation in online activities, but there was a significant increase in weekly internet use (between 25 and 336 min). However, increased internet use was not accompanied by a corresponding increase in problematic use, except for problematic TV series watching and video gaming. Psychological risk factors considered in the study (affect, impulsivity traits) were largely minor or non-significant predictors. Thus, increased internet use during the lockdown in Spain was not related to a proportional growth in problematic usage, suggesting that these behavioral changes may constitute adaptive coping strategies in the context of the pandemic.

The Impact of Gamification and Individual Differences on Second Language Learning Among First-Year Female University Students in Saudi Arabia

Background The Technology-Enhanced Training Effectiveness Model (TETEM) has been used to assess the effectiveness of various technology-driven solutions in improving students’ outcomes in multiple academic fields. However, limited research is available on the use of TETEM in the context of second language learning. Using a modified TETEM, this study seeks first, to assess the direct effects of students’ attitudes and experiences with video gaming on their achievement; and second, to evaluate the effects of students’ attitudes and experiences that are mediated by their motivation. Methods This study was conducted among preparatory year students at Al-Jouf University, Saudi Arabia. Students were randomly assigned to the technology-enhanced group (Duolingo® + workbook) or the control group (classroom workbook group). We started by comparing student performance between the two groups to evaluate the effect of the intervention. Subsequently, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to establish homogenous latent variables for experience, attitude, and motivation. Finally, we used structural equation models to evaluate the presence of direct and mediated effects. Results Students in the Duolingo® + workbook group scored higher on reading, grammar, vocabulary, and writing compared to the workbook group. Positive attitude toward video gaming had both a direct and mediating positive correlation with student achievement. Additionally, motivation toward ESL learning was independently and positively correlated with student achievement. As expected, the technology-enhanced group performed better in reading, grammar, and vocabulary while the control group showed more participation and timely completion of assignments. Conclusion Technology enhancement improves students’ performance for ESL, however, adequate integration of technology in the course curriculum is needed to minimize interference with class participation. Positive attitudes toward video games and motivation toward ESL learning are positive predictors of student achievement while experience with video games has no significant effect.