At our school, video/computer games are banned. Of course, this does not include educational games when used under the direction of a teacher during class time. But during break times, students are forbidden to use games like Minecraft, Tetris or the first-person shooter games. The school's reasons for this are that their computers must have battery power for use when required during class as well as issues to do with bandwidth and students' Internet quotas. The Library is a bit of a battleground when it comes to computer game usage. We are constantly telling students off for playing them. It doesn't necessarily stop students from playing computer games but they get better at hiding what they're doing.
Recently, I ran a simple design consultation activity with students about how the library is used. I asked the students to write down what they would like to see in their library and how they would like to use the library. The sky was the limit. They could ask for anything - this was an exercise in imagination not reality. If students could imagine the library of their dreams, what would it look like? Of course, I got the expected far-fetched responses such as a swimming pool, allowing animals in the library, food, a chocolate fountain....But the vast majority of students asked for an area to play computer games or a video game library. I must mention, however, that the students who participated in this survey are not currently frequent users of the library nor were most of them particularly prolific readers. I can certainly understand why students would want to be able to play video games at school. For most of them, gaming is something they would frequently do at home and is likely a favourite recreational activity. It's also a break from school work and can be relaxing. However, every part of me rebels against allowing video/computer gaming in the library. If computer games were allowed, for some students, this would be the only activity they do all break time, every break time. To be honest, this is already a bit of a problem. There is a small group of students that will come into the library every break and immediately go to the corner and sit on their computers. They're certainly not doing work but it's very difficult to catch them in the act of playing computer games. These students won't even eat a decent lunch and they're not talking or interacting with each other. It's likely that they spend every moment of free time they have playing computer games. It's students like this that concern me. Gaming disorders and addictions are increasingly being recognised by health authorities. These disorders are defined as a loss of self-control over an individual's gaming habits, often to the detriment of social relationships, education and health. People who suffer from such a disorder will have a focus on gaming to the exclusion of all other activities. For students in particular, the lack of sleep as a result of gaming and the use of screens (e.g. mobile phones) can cause problems with sleep, compounding issues of concentration in the classroom. I realise, of course, that gaming is not all bad. There are certainly educational aspects to computer games, just as there are with tabletop games. But our students are children and are still developing a sense of self-discipline and self-control. They shouldn't be spending every spare moment of the school day playing computer games - there's enough time for that when they're at home under the supervision of their parents. Instead, I'd rather they engage with each other and participate in the many alternative activities that we have on offer in the library.
4 Comments
James Vidotto
4/11/2019 02:31:57 pm
Great article, and I love the exercise of a dream library as a way to get students perspective on what they would have liked to see there.
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Bridget Rawlins
4/11/2019 07:21:11 pm
Hi Kelly,
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Brendan
11/11/2019 08:22:54 pm
Hi Kelly,
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Brendan
11/11/2019 08:24:31 pm
And right after posting that, I just read back over where you mentioned having alternative activities available for students. Whoops!
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AuthorHi, I'm Kelly. I'm a teacher-librarian at a Queensland high school with an interest in the lives of the young people I work with and the issues affecting them. ArchivesCategories
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