Motivational aspects of digital games in learning process

Abstract

With the advent of digital games and its rapid evolution, it is almost impossible for a lot of people especially the young children to go a day without coming into contact with them. One of the impacts of these digital games is that it is changing the way these young children think and learn. It is therefore important to carefully examine the influence of digital games on children’s education. The purpose of this research is to identify and examine the factors that motivate children to play digital games and to determine the effect of such games to the children’s learning abilities. Responses from 172 students of ages between 11 and 16 are analysed in this research. A questionnaire is used to capture the children’s motivation towards digital gaming. Also, an intellectual test was carried out to determine the effect of digital games on the children’s learning abilities. The findings have revealed that competitive spirit is the major factor that influences children to play digital games because of the challenge and the competition that comes along with it. Furthermore, a critical view from the results of the intellectual test has shown that the children that play digital games score higher results and were able to finish within a short period of time as against the children that do not play. The outcome of this research could be used to explore the possibilities of using digital games as tools for learning, especially to the young ages.