During the evolution of the human being, the methods of learning that he has been using have been changing, as well as the tools that he uses to carry out this purpose.

These methodologies and tools have been evolving at the same pace as human beings have , going from having very archaic and questionable characteristics to being involved in technology and modernism, with their consequent complexity.

Learning and its evolution with the emergence of new technologies

We could say that until relatively recently, the only method of teaching children of childlike age and in older age groups was the directive methodology taught in conventional schools that everyone knows. At the same time, for several years now, a much less directive and freer type of education based on the needs and preferences of each child is beginning to be standardised and established, in which experience is the main factor.

This type of education has both defenders and detractors. The latter claim that this type of education is neither serious nor productive because so much importance is not attached to purely academic and book-based learning, despite all the scientific research that supports this new methodology.

The fact that humanity has always feared that which is new is no mystery. This phenomenon of aversion to the new or resistance to change, in this case to learning with new technologies, produces strong debates for a long time until the new paradigm ends up being accepted, leaving behind a trail of polarized research and a feeling of the obvious in the face of the new paradigm. It is simply a cultural change that, sooner or later, will take place .

New Tools for Teaching and Learning: Video Games

A strong debate is currently being generated in relation to a new paradigm that is being created and established little by little: the normalisation of the use of new technologies from very early ages. This paradigm covers the whole phenomenon that is occurring in relation to the high “technologization” that society is experiencing in the most developed countries.

As in the case we have commented before on the new methodologies of learning at school ages, now a similar situation is occurring but this time, in relation to the tools used to carry out the teaching or learning. In this case we are talking about the use of video games as tools to carry out learning or to enhance it and which is currently undergoing an increasingly broad debate within the discipline of psychology.

Technologies that have come to stay

Before making any judgment against the use of video games as a tool through which to learn, we should seriously consider the context in which we find ourselves in the most developed countries and analyze the evolutionary process that humanity has followed, since electronic devices (as did the analogical ones in their day) are part of the day-to-day life of the new generations dubbed “digital natives.

These same generations grow up from almost the first moment surrounded by smartphones , tablets , consoles and a host of electronic devices that lay the foundation for their growth in the information age. Thus, it could be almost absurd to try to look the other way and deny a natural evolutionary process , discrediting forms and ways of learning that may be much closer to the young people of today’s society and defending other methodologies and tools that did their job well for years, but that with the passing of time may be becoming obsolete as the subjects to whom they are dedicated do not feel identified with them.

Video games are excellent creativity enhancers

For us, as a company specialized in the psychological analysis of video games and their use both therapeutic and educational, one of the areas of learning to which we give more value is that of creativity, since it is an area that allows the development and enhancement of autonomous learning.

Video games like the famous Minecraft become powerful tools to encourage creativity as they allow the player to enter a world where they can create highly complex architectural works while experiencing an adventure in which they must survive from hordes of enemies and gather food.

Linking construction and adventure becomes a way for the player to learn basic rules of construction and architecture, as well as allowing him to give free rein to all his creativity, which will be enhanced and polished as he spends more hours playing the game. We could even say that Minecraft is a 3D creation tool under a gamified approach and dedicated to people without knowledge of programming or 3D modelling; so it is an interesting and useful way to bring these possibilities to the youngest and learn by knowing and experimenting in a more playful way.

“Serious Games”: video games made for teaching

Other examples of video games with great educational power are the “Serious Games”, which are developed explicitly to provide an educational experience in which to learn all kinds of things according to their subject matter and which become tools created with the clear intention of promoting autonomous learning in a playful way and adapted to the youth of today.

These and many more are some of the video games that are currently used in some classes around the world to teach academic content and also to motivate students to learn them in an innovative and fun way. Society advances and with it technology, and change, which is inevitable, forces adaptation and brings with it new ways of learning, among many other things .