Overcoming Objections to MUVEs in Education - Teaching through Multi-User Virtual Environments - page 4

Objection: Video and Computer
games are Inherently Frivolous

education, the objection that games are inherently
non-educational cannot be true.

Objection: Video and Computer
games have Caused a Surge
in Violence in the US

Stemming from a belief that entertainment and
education are two entirely separate endeavors,
this objection categorically rejects the premise
that games or MUVEs have any place in formal
education (Brugeja, 2004). In some ways this may
be the hardest objection to overcome because it is
an absolute statement on the nature of games. On
the other hand, the black and white nature of the
belief renders it vulnerable to attack on strictly
factual grounds. If it can be demonstrated that any
use of the medium is not frivolous, the entire belief
may become open for reconsideration.
A British study using commercial games in
classrooms found that one major issue teachers
participating in the study encountered was the
belief that they were not doing serious teaching
(BECTA, 2001). Administrators, colleagues, par-
ents and even students may doubt the academic
value of using games in the classroom. Cassell
and Jenkins (2000) believe that early engagement
with computers through games can help students
develop strong computer literacy and prepare them
for futures in technical careers.
Computer games have been used successfully
in schools to help students understand history
experientially by immersing them in a historical
context (Squire and Jenkins, 2003). Clarke et al.
(2006) have used their River City MUVE to teach
National Science Standard based content in biol-
ogy and ecology through scientific inquiry. The
World of Warcraft in School project is using that
commercial MUVE game as the basis for teach-
ing math skills and concepts (Gillespie, 2009).
The motivation for students is to improve their
playing ability by mastering the mathematics
needed to make informed, complex decisions
within the game. All three examples are cases
of games or MUVEs used in school to improve
student performance in core curricular areas. As
the published research demonstrates that at least
some games and MUVEs can enhance formal

Many people believe that the violent content of
some video and computer games promotes violent
behavior in players (Kutner & Olson, 2008). This
belief appears to be caused by media reports and by
exposure to scenes from games with violent play
element. It is interesting to note that even players
who believe they are not personally impacted,
express concern that others, especially younger
players, could be adversely affected by the games.
Many of the reports linking games to violence
come from two major sources: The National In-
stitute on Media and the Family (NIMF) and the
self-identified violence consultant David Gross-
man. NIMF is a media watchdog group founded
and run by David Walsh, his students and family.
Grossman is a former US Army colonel with a
background in psychology. Walsh (1998) and
Grossman and DeGaetano (1999) blame video
games for increasing levels of violence in the
United States. It is a difficult claim to sustain
when the FBI statistics for the period from 1994
to 2005 show a 50% decrease in the amount of
violent crime in the US (Bureau of Justice Sta-
tistics, 2006). The preliminary reports for 2008
indicate that the reduction in violence is nearly
60% from the 1994 high. Walsh and Grossman
probably did not have access to the most recent
data when they made their claims, so they could
not have seen how large a decline was coming.
But the “high point” in 1994 was less than a 5%
increase over the average rate for the previous two
decades. In contrast, there was a 10% decrease
in violent crime between 1994 and 1996. It goes
against common sense to seek to identify a cause
for an increase in violence when the available
evidence does not show a significant increase in
violence. That people continue to make claims that