Hvorimod nogle mener at spil kategorisk er farlige for den menneskelige psyke, så viser et utal af undersøgelser at de faktisk kan gavne indlæringen, og at interaktion kan styrke menneskers forståelse af et givent emne, eksempelvis sprog.
I en ny undersøgelse udarbejdet af et forskerhold på Sheffield Hallam University med James Paul Gee og Ian Glover i spidsen (via LearnTechLib) siger eksempelvis, at spil kan hjælpe til en bedre forståelse af fremmedsprog.
Mere specifikt mener Gee og Glover, at børn og voksne som er "at-risk", som betyder at de indlæringsbesværede på den ene eller anden måde, kan få stor gavn at interaktivt indlæringsdesign igennem spilmediet.
"There are many good principles of learning built into good computer and video games. These are
all principles that could and should be applied to school learning tomorrow, though this is unlikely
given the current trend for skill-and-drill, scripted instruction, and standardized multiple-choice
testing. The principles are particularly important for so-called 'at risk' learners, students who have
come to school underprepared, who have fallen behind, or who have little support for school-based literacy and language skills outside of school," siger Gee.
Gruppen har blandt andet studeret en gruppe elever der har lært fransk igennem Minecraft, hvor de har skulle konstruere en "learning zone" inde i spillet. Her har eleverne kunne udtrykke sig uden frygt for at dumme sig i plenum. Gee siger desuden at rollespil som World of Warcraft og The Elder Scrolls tilbyder samme identitetsmæssige skjold, der rent mentalt vil gøre at en indlæringsbesværet elev vil turde mere.
"Video games, especially massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMOs) such as World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV and Runescape tend to cut through all the reasons for someone to be self-conscious. Players have to communicate in real-time, with no opportunity to agonise over what to say, or how to speak perfectly. This real-time aspect of MMOs may sound terrifying for someone learning a language. But actually, a highly useful gamification study by Ian Glover, a lecturer in technology-enhanced learning at Sheffield Hallam University, found that learners in general have a high level of extrinsic motivation when they game. In other words, students really want to chase levelling up, bonuses and rewards, which they define as excelling within a gaming space. As a result, they may force themselves to become better at communicating so they can level up quicker - and this drive might go deeper still. Gamers are often encouraged to repeat levels several times, so that they can perform better."
Selve undersøgelsen og tankerne bag er ganske interessante, og du kan finde den hele lige her, samt læse en gennemgang og interview med skaberne bag via The Conversation.