Video Games, and Visual Literacy

Visual literacy broken down is basically just the sending and receiving of messages using imagery. In a paper written by Dr. Anne Bamford titled "The Visual Literacy White Paper", many benefits of Visual Literacy are discussed.

While there is much interesting content to be read in this paper, primarily I would like to draw attention to the section on why it is important to teach visual literacy (starting at the end of page 4, and continuing on page 5).

Visual literacy can be accredited for helping to develop problem solving, increasing resistance to televised advertisements, and generally making people better at interpretation of all imagery.

All of this is a result of the increased perception slowly developed over years of nurturing the mind throughout childhood, and adolescence.

The use of video games by kids is often looked upon with a negative connotation, but used correctly they can be a very effective way to start the learning process for visual literacy.

In a report written by Saswamit Basu titled "The impact of video games on users", conclusions are drawn about the potential for complex problem solving offered by video games.

He draws reference to the fact that old methods of education have a hard time of keeping kids attention long enough to be truly effective; while video games keep users engaged, and can keep pace with how fast young minds evolve.

There are some negative connotations associated with allowing developing minds access to video games which should be noted.

Again, according to Saswamit Basu, kids who grow up playing video games (many of which have violent, life like, themes) are much more aggressive then they would otherwise be. Many studies have been done on the link between adolescent crime and behavioral disorders stemming from too much time in front of violent video games.

Also, as the neural pathways of developing minds are not yet set, introducing them to fast paced gaming early often results in a drop in attention span with regard to slower moving events (like scholastic endeavors).

Used appropriately, video games can be a way to exponentially improve problem solving, and comprehension of visual imagery. But the old adage applies, everything in moderation. To ensure constructive results using video games as educational tools for younger children, content, and the amount of time spent using must be monitored.

Regards,

Ian Brinton