Games in the past were viewed in the light of fun and leisure, but now it is slowly

being recognized as a tool for learning wherein its use the students are being engaged
and immersed on the subject being learned (Ruggiero, 2013). This explains the steady
application of video games in aiding different teaching approaches and experimenting
with its use.
According to Garris et. al (2002, p 441) there are several reasons for the
popularity of video games as an educational tool: first, is that the use of it made a major
leap or shift from traditional learning to a more learner-centered approach which puts
the learner in an active role in the learning process. This shifts the learning also from
the listening mode of instruction to the learning by doing. Second, is the effectivity of
the use if it for enhancing the learning and understanding of the students for complex
subject matter. Last but not least, is the immerse amount of involvement and
engagement that it provides to the students.
Video games are the next great discovery, and what needs to be used for
educational purposes as a way to captivate the students and to drive them to spend
time on their own fueling of their knowledge. However, video games mainly developed
by the commercial companies as of now are purely not for educational design, that is
why in order to fully make use of video games in educating there is a need to developed
the kinds of games that would aid in the learning process and must strive to be research
related and inquiry based. The new breed of games to be developed for learning
purposes must require the use of logic, memory, problem-solving, critical thinking skills,
visualization, and discovery. Generally, these video games should be effective in
enhancing motivation and increasing student interest in a subject matter (Annetta, 2008,
p 230).
In a study conducted by Ruggerio (2013) focusing on the perceptions of teachers
regarding the use of video games in the aid of learning and applying them in the
classroom setting, the results have shown that the teachers use video games to
reinforce content, for problem solving, to provide authentic learning situations, for

differentiating instruction, to stimulate and engage the class and last but not least for
authentic assessment and for reward.
In the study of Millstone (2014) which is about the teachers who use video
games in the classroom, results have shown that the teachers use video games to
increase motivation and engagement of the students especially the low performing
students, use it to level lesson and effectively teach a wide range of learners in the
classroom, use it to personalize instruction and for better assessing of knowledge, and
lastly to foster collaboration.
Aside from use of video games to enhance motivation and engagement of the
students, video games are also used in the classroom to help the development of the
special needs group where video games are used to teach language skills, basic math
skills, basic reading skills, social skills, development of spatial abilities, problem solving
exercises and numerical ability (Griffins, 2002, p 48).
Moreover, new age platforms of video games aside from those from PC that can
be utilized for educational purposes are the Wii, Xbox and Playstation. Some examples
of these games are like Smarty Pants where the game quizzes the players on a variety
of topics that ranges from history, science and sports challenging players to come up
with the right answers and to show off their skills is a great way to support concepts
taught in subjects in the classroom. Another example is the Escape Adventure Island
wherein the young learners engage in a 3D environment that helps them to practice
math, reading, and critical thinking (Open Education Database, 2012).
In his study Garris et. al. ( 2002, p 446) has listed six dimensions on categories
which describes the core elements or characteristics that video games have or possess
which makes it good as an instructional tool or to be used for instructional purposes.
These are (1) Fantasy, (2) Rules/Goals, (3) Sensory Stimuli, (4) Challenge, (5) Mystery
and (6) Control.

First characteristic that make video games good as an instructional tool is

fantasy. Video games present to its players an activity which is separate from the real
life or it presents the players to be involved on an imaginary world of Fantasy. Research
indicates that the instructional content contained in fantasy capture the greater interest
of the student and increased learning. This characteristic of video games allows the
players to interact in a situation which is not of a normal experience however is
simulated from real consequences. In brief, research had suggest that materials that are
presented in a simulated or imagined context are more learned more easily rather than
it is presented in generic form because it moves the learners interest.
Second characteristic of video games is having rules or goals. One of the most
findings in literatures and researches was that having clear, specific and difficult goals
lead to enhanced performance this is because it allows the player to perceive the
discrepancies which are seen as crucial in trigging greater motivation and attention. For
video games having built with clear goals provide immediate feedback which enables
the player to change its gameplay in order to improve its performance and most
especially reach the goal and furthermore when the player is constantly given feedback
and know what is expected from them they likely lead to improve more their
performance (McClarty et. al., n.d., p 8). In brief, game context that provide meaningful
and well-differentiated goal leads to enhanced motivation and performance.
Third characteristic is the sensory stimuli. Video games provide a dynamic sound
effects, graphics and etc. Arguably animated graphics enhance the motivational appeal
of instructional activities wherein the sound effects, the dynamic visualizations and the
other sensory stimuli can be attention grabbing that students often choose to return to
activities that include such.
Fourth characteristic of video games is the challenge. Video games should
employ progressive difficulty levels, multiple goals, and certain amount of inferential
ambiguity to ensure an uncertain outcome which would lead towards increase in
motivation for individuals desire an optimal level of challenge.

Fifth characteristic of video games is mystery. Mystery evokes curiosity in an

individual. Curiosity then is one of the factors that jumpstart the motivation and drives
the learner to learn more. Curiosity drives the interest of the learner. Research findings
show that curiosity sparks interest to help people to think more clearly, understand more
deeply and recall information accurately. Furthermore, interest has the power to help the
struggling learners (Paul, 2013).
Lastly, the sixth characteristic of video games is control. Control here refers to
the exercise of authority, to regulate or to direct a command on the activity. Providing
the learners with the control over the parts of the learning activity lead to the increase of
motivation and greater learning of the students.
Aside from the previous characteristics mentioned characteristics that video
games have, according to Gee (n.d.) video games have many good built in features that
which can be enumerated and can be used for educational purpose and are
accompanied with learning principles, however, in this paper we will emphasize only
some.
First three features are co-design, customization and identity. In the first feature
which is co-design it is viewed that video games provide good learning by making the
learners an active agent in their learning rather than passive recipients take for instance
in the traditional teaching method. In video games, players make things happen, there is
no mere consumption of what the authors has placed or presented. Co-design here
means ownership wherein the learners are engaged in participation in co-creating in the
world that they are in, the experience they are having and in their learning. Video games
are interactive. The player does something and the game returns it with a feedback that
encourages the player to act again which makes co-design a part of the key factors of
video games increases motivation.
Second feature is customization. Wherein the principle of learning emphasized
by this feature is that every learner is unique which mean that there are different styles

of learning that work better for different people. People cannot be agents of their own
learning if they cannot make decisions about how their learning will work. In which video
games achieves to by letting its players be able to customize the game play to fit their
learning and playing styles. In applying this principle in the classroom it would greatly
allow the students to discover learning styles and be able then to try new ones without
fear. Furthermore, students would learn a lot more not only on how and why they learn,
but also about learning and thinking. Moreover this feature will be a great help for
educators for they can customize video games to match their students level of
intelligence and of understanding. Also, the customizing feature enables the educators
to change the goals content to satisfy the needs and interest of the students (Albar, A.,
2014, p 9).
Third feature is identity. This is where the principle is deep. Video game provides
the players a sense of commitment in taking and making on a new and own identity,
This commitment which they will value and on to which they became meaningfully
invested. Video games offering identity to a player triggers a deep investment on the
part the player. This deep investment is needed because no learning happens when the
learners are not interested to learn.
Fourth feature which is the cycles of expertise. Expertise is gradually formed in
the repeated cycles to practice the skills, then having those skills to fail which then lead
the learners to think again and learn something new which makes the whole point of the
different levels in video games wherein in each level players learn a set of skills and set
it to an level of mastery only to be eventually be challenged again by whole new levels
and the same process goes on and on. Developing skills and then challenging it allows
one to open up and learn something new. This feature will greatly help the learners
especially in mastering concepts wherein as according to McClarty, K. et. al. (n.d., p 11)
in video games the players cannot advance through the games unless they have
mastered the concept that is why players are able to repeat the same level until they
have mastered the concept compared in a traditional classroom setting wherein when a

student that does not master a concept could be left with a gap in their knowledge
foundation and which will post a certain challenges in the later attempts to build more
complex concepts.
Lastly, the fifth feature is the system thinking. This feature emphasizes the
learning principle that people learn best the skills, strategies and ideas when they see
on how they fall into place or fit into the overall system. Good games help the players
see and understand how each elements of the said game fall into place in the overall
system for example is through the rules of the games wherein theyll know what works
and doesnt. Any experienced is enhanced when we understand and see the big picture
and then we generally perceive a more meaningful and larger whole.
In todays world, there have been constant concerns over the need to reform the
educational system to prepare the new generation of technologically driven students of
the 21st century. This is because the school aged children are now growing up immersed
in a more media rich world. Continuing to feed learning, knowledge, and skills to new
age learners will not effectively give them well. Students of today growing up with
laptops, tablets, and cellphones and moreover they expect to use the same as well in
their activity interactions (McClarty et. al., n.d., p 3).
Video makes a good educational tool to teach 21 st century because as what was
quoted by McClarty et. al. (n.d., p 16, from Gee and Shaffer (2010, p 3)) states that:
Games require the kind of thinking that we need in the 21st
Century because they use actual learning as the basis for
assessment. They test not only current knowledge and skills, but
also preparation for future learning. They measure 21st Century
skills like collaboration, innovation, production, and design by
tracking many different kinds of information about a student, over
time.

Use of video games as an educational tool provides benefits. One of it is the

promotion or encouragement of personalized learning experience. First, personalized
learning is described as a way where schools tailor the education so that every student
achieves his highest potential and standard, schools do this in through five processes:
1) knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the students 2) develop teaching and
learning strategies based on student level 3) engaging curriculum choices 4) supportive
school organization 5) community, local institution and social service support. In video
games it provides opportunity for personalized learning by meeting at least the first
three steps of the five processes (McClarty et. al., 2012, p. 16). Throughout the game,
through the players actions the strength and weaknesses of the student can be inferred
which will be a great help to educators to update their teaching and learning strategies
and also the schools in their curriculum to cater his/her student.
Moreover, the application of video games in the classroom can encourage or
require the application of deeper levels of knowledge and set of skills. Furthermore, it
provides more an environment that demonstrates strategic and critical thinking
compared in the traditional way in which it typically taps only the students recall or basic
demonstration of skills (McClarty et. al., 2012, p. 20).
Video games also generate a higher level of students positive emotional
engagement thus making the learning experience more motivating and appealing which
leads to the increase in participation and improvement of achievement. Furthermore, it
can motivate passive students to participate more actively than they are in a traditional
learning environment (Annetta, L., 2008, p 233).
Craton (2011) pointed a 2005 paper that suggests that videogames are not
anymore used as a simple form of entertainment for leisure, and that these video game
are now starting to change education. It explains that the experiences formed in the
virtual world of video games can enhanced the learning of the students. This world

allows the students to be able to interact as a community. Virtual worlds are useful
because they develop and provide situated understanding which means that the
students are able to experience and experiment the things they learn rather than being
spoon fed to them.
Garris et. al (2002) pointed two studies pertaining to the effectiveness of the use
of video games as educational tool to increase student learning. These are the studies
of Whitehall and McDonald (1993) and Ricci et al. (1996) which found out that
instruction integrated with game features led to improved learning. The rationale
provided for the positive results of these studies varied due to the different factors
examined. Whitehall and McDonald argued that incorporating a simulation game
prompted the increase of the risk taking among the students, which resulted to a greater
persistence on the task and improved performance. Ricci et al. also proposed that
instruction that integrated with game features leads to enhanced student motivation,
attention and retention.
Furthermore, Ruggiero (2013) named some studies about video games used as
educational tools that provide the promising results of the increase in student learning.
In 2001, Alessi and Trollip found out that video games improve motivation and efficiency
and at the same time can be effectively used as tutorials and drill for transfer of
learning. In 2004, Squire found that video games can capture the greater attention of
the students and make the teaching using it more fun and enjoyable for the students. In
2008, Ke conducted a case study on computer games which aims at math learning and
result shows that over the course of five weeks students developed more positive
attitudes towards learning math. Lastly, Tuzun et. al (2009) examined how video games
could be used to teach 5th and 6th grade students world continents and countries. The
results of the study showed that the game can lead to increase student learning and
motivation.