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Video games interfere with homework but not family

By New Scientist and Reuters

3 July 2007

Boys who play video games on school days spend 30% less time reading, while girls spend 34% less time doing homework if they play video games, according to a US study.

But the authors add that video games do not appear to interfere significantly with time spent with family and friends.

“Gamers did spend less time reading and doing homework. But they didn’t spend less time interacting with their parents or their friends, nor did they spend less time in sports or active leisure activities,” says Hope Cummings of the University of Michigan, one of two researchers who carried out the study.

The announcement comes as many doctors voice growing concern about the long-term effects of video games.

Prior studies have linked prolonged video game play with attention difficulties and poor academic performance. And some doctors have suggested that the games interfere with social development and might be addictive (see Mind-altering media ).

Gender differences

Cummings and Elizabeth Vandewater at the University of Texas at Austin, US, wanted to see how these games might affect academic pursuits and social relationships.

They gathered data from a sample of children aged 10 to 19 who tracked their activities on a random weekday and a random weekend day. Of the 1,491 who participated, 534 or about 36% played video games. About 80% of those were boys.

They found boys spent an average of 58 minutes playing on weekdays, and one hour and 37 minutes playing on a weekend day. Of those sampled, girls spent on average 44 minutes playing on a weekday, and an hour and four minutes on a weekend day.

Cummings and colleagues found video game use resulted in less time spent reading and doing homework, and these trade-offs fell along gender lines. “The reading was just for the boys. For the homework, it was just the girls,” she says.

Efficient or just slackers?

However, gaming did not seem to significantly affect time spent doing homework among boys, or reading among girls. Also, gamers did not spend less time with friends and parents. “These findings do not support the notion that adolescents who play video games are socially isolated,” the researchers say.

They add that the findings indicate that video game play can be a distraction from school-related activities, but that may not hurt grades (see Video game addiction ‘not mental illness’ ).

“Although gamers spend less time reading and doing homework, there have been some studies that show that high academic achievers spend less time doing homework,” Cummings says.

“Gamers may actually be more effective in completing homework assignments, and as a result, they spend less time doing homework. We need to look deeper into what is going on,” she says.

Journal reference: Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine

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Are video games better than homework?

A new study from Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany reveals that playing video games may enhance learning.

While coming home from school and heading straight for the Xbox sounds like a dream, we all know that in reality, most of our years in education were spent at a desk revising or doing homework. However, recent studies have suggested that playing video games may actually benefit cognition, and that people who play video games regularly have more active learning (and memory)-related brain regions.

This study focused on a somewhat unexplored area in gaming research, referred to as ‘probabilistic category learning’. This involves acquiring and classifying knowledge, and using it to predict future events. A very common paradigm of this type of learning is the weather prediction task, which has been used in over half a dozen neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies to date. This task allows researchers to gain insight into forms of learning, cognitive flexibility, and the use of feedback signals in the brain.

The video gamers performed much better at predicting the weather than the non-gamers…

The team, led by first study author Sabrina Schenk, recruited 17 video gamers (those who spent at least 15 hours per week playing action-based video games), and 17 non-gamers. Both groups were asked to perform a simple task, look at three cue cards with different weather patterns, and then predict the weather. Each cue card was only a partially accurate predictor of the weather, and thus the correct prediction had to be determined by the probability from the combination of all three cue cards.

The task worked such that a combination of cue cards may have contained: a card whose pattern predicts a 20% chance of sunshine and 80% chance of rain; a second card with an 80% chance of sunshine and 20% chance of rain; and a final card which predicts a 60% chance of sun and 40% chance of rain. By combining the probabilities of all three cue cards, the correct answer to the question, “Will there be sun or rain?”, would be sun.

The scans of gamers showed greater activity in the hippocampus…

All participants of both groups were asked to predict the weather, and were immediately told whether their prediction was right or wrong. The subjects performed this task again and again, with different combinations of cue cards, and thanks to the feedback they received, they learned which card combinations were associated with which weather condition.

After the completion of the weather prediction task, each participant completed a questionnaire that tested the amount of knowledge retained about various cue card combinations. The results of this study not only highlighted that the video gamers performed much better at predicting the weather than the non-gamers, but also that gamers retained far more knowledge about the cue card combinations and the associated weather outcomes.

Who knows, maybe playing video games instead of doing homework is helping us become better learners…

The brain activity of each participant was also recorded using MRI scans, which revealed that both gamers and non-gamers showed the same level of activity in brain areas linked to attention, executive function, and memory-associated regions. However, a notable difference between the groups was that the scans of gamers showed greater activity in the hippocampus – which is a vital area of the brain involved in sematic memory, visual imagery, and cognitive control.

“Our study shows that gamers are better in analysing a situation quickly, to generate new knowledge, and to categorise facts – especially in situations with high uncertainties,” Schenk explains.

This research could not only help us feel less guilty about procrastinating work by playing video games, but also aid future research into memory loss, linked to decreased activity in the hippocampus. So, who knows, maybe playing video games instead of doing homework is helping us become better learners?

Comments (1)

I find this article very interesting. As a gamer, I may have a promising future as a meteorologist.

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Videogames or homework? Why not both, as ACMI has 75 game lessons for you to try

Lecturer in Education, Monash University

Senior Lecturer, Digital Technologies, Monash University

Disclosure statement

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Monash University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU.

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Despite the growth of technology in our daily lives , the integration of digital technologies into education has been slower than anticipated . There seem to be a number of factors at work here, including problems with access to technology and the time and support needed to use technology successfully in the classroom.

Teachers may also lack confidence in choosing and using technology or believe technology will not improve learning .

Australia’s national museum for screen culture, ACMI, has released an online digital learning lesson bank to address these challenges. This is part of ACMI’s school program and resources database. Game Lessons offers digital games as lessons – 25 lesson plans comprising 75 digital lessons. These are created by expert teachers and include areas such as the arts, humanities, sciences, literacy and capabilities such as ethics.

The new resource is an interesting step forward that builds on the existing pedagogy of digital game-based learning. This refers to the use of games to teach content .

Read more: Gaming in the classroom: what we can learn from Pokémon Go technology

A brief history of digital education

Digital games such as Maths Rescue and Carmen Sandiego have been used in education for as long as computers have been available in classrooms.

The developers of globally-popular games such as Minecraft , Fortnight and Portal 2 have already capitalised on their potential in education. They’ve all developed educational versions of their games with supporting lesson plans and online communities.

Playing fun games that interest and motivate students is a key aspect of digital-based learning . Games, however, include other educationally useful features:

students can work at their own pace, or collaborate in a team

students practise skills until they are achieved and then move to a higher level. This provides experiences of mastery, continual assessments and immediate feedback

games automatically adjust to the level of difficulty needed to encourage student persistence. Students then gain rewards for hard work including virtual lives, coins or badges

transferable skills such as communication skills, strategising and problem solving are essential for collaborative gameplay. It also fosters creativity, flexibility and resilience skills

activities become more student-centred and students can be positioned as experts co-constructing knowledge with their teacher. This is a powerful motivator.

The research into the effectiveness of game-based learning seems highly contextual . A 2017 study examined the way teachers designed 27 game-based learning courses from middle school to higher education, including the specific game elements they used and why. It found

The structure of game-based learning at different levels will vary to meet the developmental and academic needs of students, but more work is needed in determining which strategies are most effective for learning.

Another study found many teachers feel unsure about using games in specific classes.

So, what is the ACMI resource?

ACMI’s Game Lessons are connected to the Victorian Curriculum and can be searched by learning area and year level, from foundation to year 12. To support these resources, ACMI also has professional development opportunities and peer to peer interactions in a Slack community.

Teachers are encouraged to pick and choose and adapt the most useful or inspirational aspects of the plans for their classrooms. They can leave out those aspects not meeting their needs.

Read more: How creative use of technology may have helped save schooling during the pandemic

In the lesson plans, students are no longer positioned simply as learners but as having active roles including watchers, players, makers or explorers. In some lessons they simply watch YouTubers playing games; in others they make their own online or offline games.

In one lesson, called Gone Home the players are immersed in a story where the protagonist is a mystery but players discover more about her through narration and the exploration of objects. This is a historical video game to develop skills in evaluating evidence.

Another video game is called Contraption Maker . Here students learn physics by becoming explorers in sandbox or simulation games and invent, tinker and test their ideas. A sandbox is a style of game in which minimal character limitations are placed on the gamer, allowing them to roam and change a virtual world at will.

Games such as the ones in the new ACMI resource can be seen as another tool in a teacher’s toolbox. The technology may be used as a stimulus for a main teaching activity, such as a writing task , in the same way a book, video, excursion or objects are currently used.

Maintaining momentum

The continual renewal of learning technology is relentless. It forces teachers to think twice before embracing this type of resource in case the technologies become redundant within a year or two.

For ongoing success, ACMI will need to ensure the Games Lessons library continues to meet the International Standards for Technology in Education. The library would need to meet current needs and anticipate future needs too.

Game Lessons is an ACMI education initiative funded by the Department of Education Victoria’s Strategic Partnerships Program, and supported by a committed network of teachers.

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U-M study: Video game play among teens affects school work, not socializing

• Jared Wadley

ANN ARBOR—Kids who spend a lot of time playing video games are finding time to socialize with friends too—though that’s not the case when it comes to doing homework.

A new study by the University of Michigan shows game players and non-game players spent the same amount of time with parents and friends. The study sampled nearly 1,500 teens nationwide.

For boy and girl gamers, the more time they spent playing video games with their friends on the weekends, the more time they spent in other activities with them as well, said Hope Cummings, a graduate student in the U-M Department of Communication Studies.

Cummings and Elizabeth Vandewater, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote the study, which appears in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

But while video games did not negatively affect teens’ social interaction, the same could not be said for school-related activities. Compared to non-gamers, kids who played video games spent 30 percent less time reading and 34 percent less time doing homework.

The sample of 1,491 children ages 10 to 19 years kept diaries about how they used their time for 24 hours on one weekday and one weekend day, with each day randomly chosen. The diaries tracked adolescents’ time spent playing video games, with parents and friends, reading and doing homework, and in sports and active leisure.

In the study, 534 kids (or 36 percent) played video games. Eighty percent (425) were boys and 20 percent (109) were girls. Female gamers spent an average of 44 minutes playing on the weekdays and one hour and four minutes playing on the weekends. Male gamers spent an average of 58 minutes playing on the weekdays and one hour and 37 minutes playing on the weekends.

Among gamers, time spent playing video games without parents or friends was related to less time spent with parents and friends in other activities. For girl gamers only, the more time they spent playing video games with their parents, the more time they spent with their parents in other activities.

“Video game popularity continues its rapid growth,” Cummings said. “This creates concerns among parents, teachers and politicians who think video games will interfere with adolescences’ social interaction and academic success.”

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Video Games, School Success, and Your Child

Does gaming mean lower grades new research explores the question..

Posted September 21, 2018 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

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Young people spend a lot of time playing video games these days.

Whether they're building new worlds on Minecraft , doing battle on Call of Duty , committing mayhem on Grand Theft Auto , or roaming any of the other virtual worlds available to them, video games have transformed the way most teenagers spend their free time in recent years. According to the latest Neilsen 360 report, over two-thirds of the U.S. population aged 13 and high now consider themselves gamers and the saturation point has likely not even been reached yet. As for the total amount of time spent playing these games, recent surveys suggest that children aged 12 to 15 spent up to 12.2 hours a week in 2017 alone and this statistic is higher in older teens. Even in younger children between the ages of 3 and 4, the time spent playing video games can average 5.6 hours a week or more.

Given the popularity of game playing, it's hardly surprising that parents and teachers have been worrying about possible harmful effects as well as the long-term impact that video games might have on child development . While much of this concern has been focused on the often violent content of video games and whether it might lead to greater aggression , other researchers have warned about possible health issues including loss of sleep and reduced social functioning.

But research looking at the impact of video gaming on school achievement has been more controversial. While some studies suggest that intensive video gaming can have a negative effect on school achievement, other studies have shown the exact opposite. Part of the problem with this kind of research is that most of the studies carried out have been cross-sectional making it extremely difficult to make assumptions about cause and effect. In other words, do video games affect school performance or are academic underachievers simply more likely to play video games?

Because of the often conflicting findings of the various studies examining how gaming affected school performance, different hypotheses have been proposed:

• the time displacement hypothesis suggests that the time spent playing video games means less time that could be spent on academic activities such as studying and homework. For example, young people who play video games regularly typically spend a third less time on homework than their counterparts who aren't gamers. Still, research comparing academic performance in students who own video game consoles and those who don't have found very little difference in their school performance.
• the sleep displacement hypothesis suggests that heavy gamers get less sleep overall than non-gamers. Along with getting fewer hours of sleep overall, the quality of their sleep is often poorer as well. Not only do heavy gamers go to bed later than non-gamers but the physical and emotional arousal produced by intense gaming sessions can reduce the amount of REM sleep they get and make them generally less alert and more prone to cognitive errors.
• similar to the other displacement hypotheses, the attention deficit hypothesis suggests that prolonged gaming can lead to attention deficits and increased impulsivity. By taking time away from activities that might help young people develop sustained attention skills (such as studying or homework), gaming can have the opposite effect. There is actually some research to support the link between overall screen time (video gaming, TV watching, and computer use) and greater attention problems though the correlation tends to be moderate.

But not all researchers share this pessimism about gaming. Supporters of the cognitive enhancement hypothesis point out that video games are often highly complex and can act as training programs for different cognitive skills. This would mean that regular gaming can lead to significant improvements in attention capacity, visual orientation, and overall memory .

And, yes, there are some research studies that seem to bear this out. Though these samples used in these studies tend to be fairly small, they have found that regular gamers scored higher than non-gamers on tests of executive functioning , fluid intelligence , and working memory. For young children in particular, the improvements appear even greater than for adult gamers.

So, is video gaming helpful or harmful as far as academic success is concerned? A new article published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture attempts to resolve the controversy with one of the largest studies conducted to date. A team of German researchers led by Timo Gnambs of Johannes Kepler University Linz conducted their research as part of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). Designed to follow a large sample of German students across their entire school careers, the NEPS has been the focus of numerous research studies looking at education across the lifespan.

For their own study, Gnambs and his co-authors analyzed questionnaire responses from 3,554 students (56 percent female) across three measurement waves beginning in Grade Nine (Wave 1) and continuing through to Grade 11 (Wave 2) and Grade 13 (Wave 3). In the first wave, students were asked about the amount of time they spent playing: (a) online roleplaying games such as World of Warcraft (b) games of skill or strategy, and (c) other computer or video games played on a normal school day. During the first two waves, students were also asked about their grades in mathematics and German. Students in Grade 9 and 12 then completed achievement tests measuring their actual skill in these subjects. Grade Nine students also completed tests of reasoning ability to be used as a baseline estimate of overall intelligence.

All told, 70 percent of the students sampled reported playing video games at least occasionally while 20 percent or more reported spending two hours a day gaming, even on school nights. As expected, boys spent far more time gaming than girls overall and there were also significant gender differences in competence scores. While boys tended to outscore girls on tests of mathematical competence, girls were significantly better than boys for reading competence as well as getting better grades in German.

In looking at the overall effect of gaming on academics, Gnambs and his colleagues found clear evidence that prolonged gaming on school nights was associated with poorer grades overall. Though the relationship was modest, the results remained consistent even when taking gender differences into account. When looking at actual competencies however, i.e., mathematical and language ability as measured by achievement tests, there didn't appear to be any link with gaming behavior.

What these results seem to indicate is that much of the hysteria over the academic impact of video gaming on school success is likely misplaced. While gaming does appear to have a negative impact on grades, the effect size, while significant, is still very small. As the authors pointed out in discussing their findings, students playing two hours a day increase the odds of receiving a lower grade in mathematics or language studies two years later by a factor of .8 at best. Even in the most extreme cases in which gamers play up to eight hours a day, the extent to which their grades dropped over time varied only slightly (a factor of .5).

Though these results provide some support for the various displacement hypotheses (and none for the cognitive enhancement hypothesis), more research is still needed to look at other factors such as loss of sleep, reduced social contact, or any of the other possible explanations that have been proposed by researchers. Also, it might be useful to look at different types of games to see if they affect young people in different ways. For example, there are numerous games that have been specifically designed to improve cognitive skills. Could they be more beneficial than action-oriented games in terms of school success?

In closing, this study does suggest that concerns about the potential dangers of gaming are likely exaggerated, at least as far as academic achievement goes. Still, much like the long-fought debate over whether video games make children violent, the question of whether video games help or hurt children academically is hardly likely to be settled anytime soon.

Gnambs, T., Stasielowicz, L., Wolter, I., & Appel, M. (2018). Do computer games jeopardize educational outcomes? A prospective study on gaming times and academic achievement. Psychology of Popular Media Culture. Advance online publication.

Romeo Vitelli, Ph.D. is a psychologist in private practice in Toronto, Canada.

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Groundbreaking new study says time spent playing video games can be good for your well being

With the UK in a second national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Christmas on the horizon, many will stay indoors to play and socially connect through video games. New research from Oxford University has delivered a surprising finding; time spent playing games is positively associated with well-being.

The new study is the first of its kind. Rather than asking players how much they play, it uses industry data on actual play time for popular video games Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The study suggests that experiences of competence and social connection with others through play may contribute to people’s well-being. Indeed, those who derived enjoyment from playing were more likely to report experiencing positive well-being.

These experiences during play may be even more important than the actual amount of time a player invests in games and could play a major role in the well-being of players.

Professor Andrew Przybylski , Director of Research at the Oxford Internet Institute , University of Oxford, and lead-author of the study, says, 'Previous research has relied mainly on self-report surveys to study the relationship between play and well-being. Without objective data from games companies, those proposing advice to parents or policymakers have done so without the benefit of a robust evidence base.

'Our findings show video games aren’t necessarily bad for your health; there are other psychological factors which have a significant effect on a persons’ well-being. In fact, play can be an activity that relates positively to people’s mental health – and regulating video games could withhold those benefits from players.

'Working with Electronic Arts and Nintendo of America we’ve been able to combine academic and industry expertise. Through access to data on peoples’ playing time, for the first time we’ve been able to investigate the relation between actual game play behaviour and subjective well-being, enabling us to deliver a template for crafting high-quality evidence to support health policymakers.'

Our findings show video games aren’t necessarily bad for your health; there are other psychological factors which have a significant effect on a persons’ well-being

The study explored the association between objective game time and well-being, examining the link between directly measured behaviour and subjective mental health. It also explored the roles of player experiences, specifically how feelings of autonomy, relatedness, competence, enjoyment and feeling pressured to play related to well-being.

In their study, the Oxford researchers looked at patterns of player behaviour for two popular video games. More than 3,270 players were asked to complete a survey designed by the researchers to measure well-being, self-reported play, and motivational experiences during play. The survey findings were combined with objective behavioural data for the survey participants, collected by the video game companies.

 Key findings include:

• Actual amount of time spent playing was a small but significant positive factor in people’s well-being

• A player’s subjective experiences during play might be a bigger factor for well-being than mere play time.

• Players experiencing genuine enjoyment from the games experience more positive well-being

• Findings align with past research suggesting people whose psychological needs weren’t being met in the ‘real world’ might report negative well-being from play.

See an extended interview with Professor Przybylski here.  

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Video games are finding their way into the classroom, despite a lack of research showing whether they offer any advantages over existing teaching methods and media. Here, sixth-graders in Juneau, Alaska, build mazes as part of a Minecraft game during a technology class in 2015.

What electronic games can teach us

Digital play can enhance certain types of learning, but how to harness that potential for the classroom remains a prize question

By Kendall Powell 10.03.2019

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When my kids, ages 11 and 8, bang through the back door after school, often the first thing out of their mouths is: “Mom! Can we play Prodigy ?”

After a quick mental calculation of how much screen time they’ve already had for the week and how much peace and quiet I need to finish my work, I acquiesce. After all, Prodigy is a role-playing video game that encourages kids to practice math facts. It’s educational.

Though video games are increasingly making their way into classrooms, scientists who study them say the data are lacking on whether they can actually improve learning — and most agree that teachers still outperform games in all but a few circumstances.

But there is growing evidence that some types of video games may improve brain performance on a narrow set of tasks. This is potentially good news for students, as well as for the millions of people who love to play, or at least can’t seem to stop playing (see infographic).

“There is a lot of evidence that people — and not just young people — spend a lot of time playing games on their screens,” says Richard Mayer, an education psychology researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “If we could turn that into something more productive, that would be a worthwhile thing to do.”

In an article in the 2019 Annual Review of Psychology , Mayer set out to evaluate rigorous experiments that tested what people can learn from games . Though he’s not entirely convinced of games’ educational potential, some studies did suggest that games can be effective in teaching a second language, math and science. The hope, he says, is to figure out how to harness any brain-boosting potential for better classroom results.

Your brain on games

Some of the first evidence that gaming may train the brain came from first-person shooter games. That these oft-maligned games might actually have benefits was first stumbled upon by an undergraduate studying psychology at the University of Rochester in New York. C. Shawn Green gave his friends a test of visual attention, and their scores were off the charts. He and his research supervisor, Daphné Bavelier, thought there must have been a bug in his coding of the test. But when Bavelier took the test, she scored in the normal range.

The difference was that Green’s friends had all been devoting more than 10 hours per week to Team Fortress Classic , a first-person shooter version of capture the flag. Green and Bavelier then rigorously retested the idea with people who were new to gaming. They had two groups train on different types of games: One group practiced a first-person shooter action game for one hour per day for 10 days, and the other spent the same amount of time on Tetris , a spatial puzzle game.

The new action gamers were significantly better at focusing on targets of interest in a cluttered, visually noisy field compared with the Tetris players. The team also found that the action gamers, on average, could consistently track five moving objects in a visual field, compared with the three that non-gamers could track.

Video games’ huge popularity offers an opportunity to harness them for education. But how to best do that, and in what contexts, is not yet clear, researchers say.

Bavelier, now a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, says that action gamers are better able to switch their visual attention between distributed attention (scanning a large area for a particular object) and focused attention (extracting specific facts from a video). “This is called attentional control, the ability to flexibly switch attention as time demands,” she says.

Though it’s not yet clear if improving this kind of attention can help kids in the classroom, Bavelier says, she does see the potential for games to help motivate students — adding a bit of “chocolate” to the learning mix.

Green, now a cognitive psychologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, admits that the benefits of playing hours upon hours of Call of Duty may be limited in real life. “There are some people who have jobs with a need for enhanced visual attention,” he says, “such as surgeons, law enforcement or the military.” But, he notes, all games come with an opportunity cost. “If video game time displaces homework time, that can affect reading and math skills negatively.”

In other studies, researchers found that gamers who trained on Tetris were better at mentally rotating two-dimensional shapes than those who played a control game. Students who played two hours of All You Can E.T. , an educational game designed to enhance the executive function of switching between tasks, improved their focus-shifting skills compared with students who played a word search game. Not surprisingly, the cognitive skills that games can improve are the ones that players end up practicing over and over during the course of play.

In the nonviolent shooter-style game All You Can E.T. , players must switch tasks on the fly, feeding aliens either cupcakes or drinks. The game was designed to hone players’ ability to shift attention, an executive function skill.

CREDIT: COURTESY OF JAN L. PLASS

But importantly, these skill improvements are very specific to the task at hand: First-person shooter games don’t improve mental rotation of objects, and Tetris doesn’t improve visual attention. And ironically, in assessing studies for his review, Mayer found no convincing evidence that so-called brain-training games for healthy adults such as the Lumosity suite of games succeed at improving memory, attention or spatial cognition.

The next step is to figure out how these findings may translate to the classroom, where video games are already making in-roads. Many students could benefit from an improvement in the ability to flexibly shift their attention when needed. And though first-person shooter games are not really appropriate for grade-school students, Bavelier says researchers are getting better at identifying the core features of video games that drive improved brain agility.

“It could be a game based on a doctor who has to choose the right medicine to save the world. It doesn’t have to be linked to death, violence and zombies,” she says.

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“Making a video game that is compelling and effective is difficult,” Green says. Not to mention that games designed purely for entertainment can cost as much as making a blockbuster movie. What might be more useful for classrooms, he says, is to design kid-appropriate games aimed at improving specific brain skills that will help students succeed throughout the school day.

Gaming for gains

At New York University’s Games for Learning Institute, codirector Jan Plass’ team is designing shooter-type, educational video games that boost cognitive skills in executive function without the violence.

In All You Can E.T. , players shoot food or drink into aliens’ mouths based on a set of rules that keeps changing, forcing their brains to shift between tasks. And Gwakkamolé is a “Whac-A-Mole”-style game designed to help players improve their inhibitory control by whacking only avocados that aren’t wearing helmets.

Players whacking avocados in the game Gwakkamolé improve their score by refraining from hitting helmet-wearing avocados, a chance to practice their inhibitory control. The game was developed with education in mind by researcher Jan Plass and his team.

“Both of these games make students practice really important executive function skills that some kids didn’t fully develop in early childhood,” Plass says. “Switching tasks and inhibitory control are really important for learning.”

Inhibitory control keeps kids in their seats, helps them focus on a lesson and prevents outbursts that distract the entire class. Practicing this task while playing a fun computer game has an appeal that other approaches do not. “It’s clear that games re-engage kids” who have turned off or tuned out, he says.

But Bavelier questions whether cognitive skills gained from gaming will transfer to other, real-world or classroom situations. “Sure people who play Gwakkamolé get better at inhibition, in that game ,” she says. “But it’s a much taller order to show that that skill transfers to better inhibition in general.”

The best classroom video games have certain characteristics, say Mayer and Plass. They focus on one specific cognitive skill and compel players to practice that skill with embedded feedback and responsiveness. The game must be adaptive, meaning the level of challenge increases as the player improves. This is key for classrooms where teachers need one game that will work well for both struggling and advanced students.

Game designers want to hook students on educational games in the same way 270 million of us are driven to play Candy Crush . “Games’ most salient feature is their motivational power,” Mayer says. “We want to harness that.”

To do that, Mayer says, brain scientists, education researchers and game designers must engage more deeply with each other to create compelling games that can sharpen cognitive skills while they entertain. Bavelier points to the power of kids’ brains to do things like memorize hundreds of Pokémon characters and their special powers. Imagine if they applied that obsession to learning all the stars in the night sky, Bavelier says.

Although this research is still evolving, I’m reassured about my own kids’ ever-increasing requests for screen time — especially when they beg to play games designed to help them master math.

“Our dream is exactly this,” Plass says. “That kids will be dying to get to their homework.”

Editor’s note: This article was modified on February 12, 2024, to correct a statistic about players of Candy Crush . The figure of 270 million players worldwide refers to the total player base at the time the story was written, and not to people who played the game daily as the article originally stated.

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Video games rob reading, homework time- U.S. study

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Too much time with TV, video games cuts school performance: study

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Students who watch television, movies and video games on school nights do worse inthe classroomthan peers who don't, a U.S. study has found.

The study of school performance and "screen time" spent viewing television shows, movies — including R-rated content — and video games found that school performance declined as the amount of time spent in front of a screen on weeknights increased.

"Our data support the recommendation that parents limit weekday television and video game time to less than one hour and restrict access to adult media by limiting exposure to cable movie channels and R-rated movies and videos," wrote the study's author, Dr. Iman Sharif of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

Time spent on the weekend watchingtelevision or movies or playing video games did not seem to have an effect on school performance, Sharif reported.

The study, published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, found that among the 4,508 students in Grades 5-8who participated, 36 per cent reported excellent school performance, 38 per cent reported good performance, 20 per cent said they were average performers, and 7 per cent said they performed below average.

The number of students who had poor performance rose as weekday television screen time surpassed three hours and time spent playing video games rose past one hour on weekdays, found the study.

The ratio of students with excellent performance fell from 50 per cent for those who watched no television on weekdays, to 24 per cent for those who had four to seven hours of screen time on weekdays.

'No surprise'

No one should be surprised at the results of the study, says Ben Sawyer.

Sawyer is a co-founder of the Serious Games Initiative, which tries to find ways in which video games can be used in learning and health.

"The bottom line of the study, basically, is that kids aren't doing their homework," Sawyer told CBC. "It's not earth-shattering."

"When I was in high school, my teacher told me the worst thing you can ever do is take a job. He said he would have banned after-school jobs if he could, because there was no way you can do a three-hour job and do two hours of homework after that," he said.

The point, he said, is that anything that takes time away from homework will be reflected ina student'ssuccess at school.

"There's nothing wrong with the study saying to parents, 'Beware if your kids aren't doing their homework,' " said Sawyer, who is based in Portland, Maine. "But what I would like to see from these studies is a more nuanced look at the world.

"These studies look at the endpoint of the question. They should be looking at the starting point and trying to figure out what strategies work to get parents involved with their kids and get them excited about learning.

"Homework can be fun for a kid. It's not fun in college."

Video games motivate learning: U.K. study

Another study released on Monday may support Sawyer's point of view.

The U.K. study found that among primary and secondary school teachers and students surveyed, the majority said video games in the classroom helped motivate learning.

The Teaching with Games report, commissioned by video games giant Electronic Arts (EA) and conducted by non-profit research organization Futurelab, surveyed 924 teachers and 2,334 students between the ages of 11 and 16.

It found that 59 per cent of teachers would consider using off-the-shelf games in the classroom, and 62 per cent of students thought using games at school would help learning.

No magic bullet

"The introduction of games … is unlikely to provide a 'magic bullet' to issues of disengagement and disaffection with learning," the researchers wrote.

"Using games in a meaningful way within lessons depended far more on the effective use of existing teaching skills than it did on the development of any new, game-related skills," the study found.

A key obstacle to integrating games in classes was the gap in experience with games between teachers and students.

The study found that 72 per cent of teachers never play games outside of school, while 82 per cent of children said they played video games at least once in a two-week period.

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Study: Video games can hurt schoolwork

Parents who fear that buying a video game system will hurt their kids' schoolwork might be right.

Young boys who receive their first video game system don't progress as quickly in school as boys who don't own such devices, a new study found.

The average reading and writing scores of the young gamers don't go down, but they don't improve either, said Robert Weis of Denison University in Ohio, co-author of the study.

"For children without games, scores go up over time," Weis said. "For boys with games, scores remain relatively stable. You don't see the typical development in reading and writing."

The study found that the young gamers averaged about 40 minutes per day on the PlayStation II system, likely cutting into study time and social activities. Children without the system in their homes still averaged nine minutes per day of video gaming, usually at the homes of friends, the study found.

An official for the Entertainment Software Association, a Washington, D.C., trade group for video game makers, said the study results were not a surprise, but no cause for alarm.

"Can anyone be surprised that kids tend to play more with new video games, or toys or bicycles, than with the older ones?" said Richard Taylor, senior vice president for communications for the group.

But that novelty can wear off and "the authors themselves note that they are not sure the effect would exist after four months," Taylor said.

Weis acknowledged the need for a study on the effects of long-term ownership of video games.

"Maybe after a year they become less interested or don't play them as often," Weis said, although the boys in his study did not show any drop off in the four months.

While the conclusion that owning a video game increases the time kids spend on such game might seem obvious, Weis, a clinical psychologist, said it was important to scientifically prove that conventional wisdom was correct. The study was published last week in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Weis and colleague Brittany C. Cerankosky used newspaper ads in central Ohio to recruit families with boys between the ages of 6 and 9 for the study. The families did not own video-game systems, and the parents were told their sons were participating in an "ongoing study of boys' academic and behavioral development." Girls were excluded from the study because researchers feared they would not play video games enough to produce meaningful results.

Parents of the 64 selected boys were promised a PlayStation II gaming system in exchange for their participation, plus three E rated games. But half the families were given the video gaming system immediately and half were promised it after four months.

The children completed intelligence tests, plus reading and writing assessments, at the beginning and after four months. Also, parents and teachers filled out questionnaires relating to the boys' behavior at home and at school.

The study found that the boys who received the video-game system immediately spent more time playing video games (39.3 minutes versus 9.3 minutes) and less time (18.2 minutes versus 31.6 minutes) in after-school academic activities.

Taylor, from the software association, noted there was only a 13-minute difference between the two groups in the time spend in after-school academic activities.

But the new gamers had lower reading and writing scores after four months, and their teachers reported more learning problems, the study found. The biggest gap was in writing.

Weis believes the message from the study is that parents should limit the amount of time their children play video games.

The future of homework is … video games

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For many students, the mention of homework evokes a sense of dread. Ask any parent and chances are they, too, have a strong opinion about the value of homework.

Educators and researchers are divided on the issue. In the last decade, an emphasis on standardized tests has become much more prevalent, creating incentives to assign students with even more homework. At the same time, a recent study from Stanford University shows that spending too much time on homework can contribute to anxiety, physical health problems, and even alienation from society. The snowball effect of stress among teachers, students and parents over homework seems to be increasing with no end in sight. Unfortunately, homework as we know it is generally not effective . No data consistently shows that homework leads to learning or better grades, much less to development of cognitive skills not measured by traditional assessments. It is time to reimagine not only the amount of homework necessary but also its format.

Meanwhile, students are playing video games more than ever — on average, more than 13 hours per week. This time represents a huge educational opportunity. After all, play is one of the most powerful and natural ways for children to learn. Some game designers even argue that games can help to create a better world. As educators and parents, we can and should integrate gameplay into our students’ learning routines. Yes, you heard that right — let’s assign our kids some game time as part of their homework!

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After more than a year operating Co.lab , an accelerator for startups at the intersection of games and learning, I have seen video games work effectively as learning systems for engaging children across ages and subject areas. We have worked with companies developing games for the consumer and school markets to teach concepts as varied as math, reading, computer science, and financial literacy as well as “21st century” skills like problem-solving, collaboration, and grit.

Games, particularly those designed with educational goals in mind, are great media to engage kids in the quest of learning. Why? Because they are systems with goals, rules for how to reach them, and feedback loops along the way to surface progression — these characteristics can support learning in a wide range of contexts. When developers and designers align game mechanics with educational goals, games can offer engaging and personalized experiences where the player becomes the agent of his or her own learning. In GlassLab’s SimCityEDU , players learn about factors affecting the environment and problem solving by building their own cities and instantly observing the impact of their decision-making.

We do not all learn the same way, and games can be especially effective for students who are struggling in traditional learning environments. Almost 80 percent of K-8 teachers surveyed by The Joan Ganz Cooney Center agree that games can help improve lower performing students’ mastery of subject areas such as math, language arts and science. Indeed, games can empower a wide range of learners by offering personalized content as well as the freedom to experiment without fear of making mistakes. LocoMotive Labs’ Todo Math presents students with multiple representations of elementary math concepts like addition and subtraction to support different styles of learning without penalizing students for making mistakes. Similarly, MindBlown Labs’ Thrive ‘N’ Shine gives high school students the freedom to practice making their own financial decisions in a risk-free environment and then reflect on their experiences with peers through classroom discussions.

The value of games for learning is becoming more widely accepted among educators, with schools nationwide integrating digital games into their curricula. According to the Cooney Center’s study , 74 percent of K-8 teachers are using some form of digital games for instruction — primarily to teach supplemental content and introduce new material. Games are also used to bring concepts together so students can apply knowledge in different contexts. According to Jesse Feldman, a middle school science teacher in El Cerrito, Calif., games like Pixowl’s The Sandbox “can really reinforce concepts that are being learned in other ways … allowing students to build skills and understanding of how individual concepts fit together in systems and how different topics relate to each other.” Games can also help students bridge the physical and digital worlds: Pixel Press enables children to create their own games with pen and paper, photograph their drawings and convert them into digital experiences to play with their friends.

Games are definitely more fun than homework as we know it today, but they also hold the potential to be more effective, too. Most homework is inherently “hackable” since, too often, it is the same for every student. It’s easy to receive help from a friend or parent, to search online for answers, or even to use an app that solves math problems for you. This homework paradigm is biased toward kids with adult support and other resources at home, potentially widening the achievement gap for underserved students. This is not the case for games, which take a vast amount of work to hack, and can be personalized to address the needs of children with different interests and levels of content expertise. There are still disparities in access to mobile devices, but smartphone and tablet ownership continues to increase for families across income levels.

I hear of so many parents struggling over the right amount of screen time for their kids. But the real question we should be asking is this: Which games are worth playing? With tens of thousands of choices out there, let’s focus our energy on seeking out the highest quality learning games so that the time our kids do spend on mobile devices supports their cognitive and social growth.

What are you waiting for? Chances are that someone has a game out there that could help your child with their homework.

Esteban Sosnik is the executive director of Co.lab , a San Francisco-based accelerator for learning games, co-founded in partnership with Zynga.org and NewSchools Venture Fund.

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Monday, October 24, 2022

Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

Additional research necessary to parse potential benefits and harms of video games on the developing brain.

On Monday, April 10, 2023, a Notice of Retraction and Replacement published for the article featured below . The key findings remain the same. The press release has been updated, in line with the retracted and replacement article, to clarify that attention problems, depression symptoms, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) scores were significantly higher among children who played three hours per day or more compared to children who had never played video games.

A study of nearly 2,000 children found that those who reported playing video games for three hours per day or more performed better on cognitive skills tests involving impulse control and working memory compared to children who had never played video games. Published today in JAMA Network Open , this study analyzed data from the ongoing  Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study , which is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and other entities of the National Institutes of Health.

“This study adds to our growing understanding of the associations between playing video games and brain development,” said NIDA Director Nora Volkow, M.D. “Numerous studies have linked video gaming to behavior and mental health problems. This study suggests that there may also be cognitive benefits associated with this popular pastime, which are worthy of further investigation.”

Although a number of studies have investigated the relationship between video gaming and cognitive behavior, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the associations are not well understood. Only a handful of neuroimaging studies have addressed this topic, and the sample sizes for those studies have been small, with fewer than 80 participants.

To address this research gap, scientists at the University of Vermont, Burlington, analyzed data obtained when children entered the ABCD Study at ages 9 and 10 years old. The research team examined survey, cognitive, and brain imaging data from nearly 2,000 participants from within the bigger study cohort. They separated these children into two groups, those who reported playing no video games at all and those who reported playing video games for three hours per day or more. This threshold was selected as it exceeds the American Academy of Pediatrics screen time guidelines , which recommend that videogaming time be limited to one to two hours per day for older children. For each group, the investigators evaluated the children’s performance on two tasks that reflected their ability to control impulsive behavior and to memorize information, as well as the children’s brain activity while performing the tasks.

The researchers found that the children who reported playing video games for three or more hours per day were faster and more accurate on both cognitive tasks than those who never played. They also observed that the differences in cognitive function observed between the two groups was accompanied by differences in brain activity. Functional MRI brain imaging analyses found that children who played video games for three or more hours per day showed higher brain activity in regions of the brain associated with attention and memory than did those who never played. At the same time, those children who played at least three hours of videogames per day showed more brain activity in frontal brain regions that are associated with more cognitively demanding tasks and less brain activity in brain regions related to vision.  

The researchers think these patterns may stem from practicing tasks related to impulse control and memory while playing videogames, which can be cognitively demanding, and that these changes may lead to improved performance on related tasks. Furthermore, the comparatively low activity in visual areas among children who reported playing video games may reflect that this area of the brain may become more efficient at visual processing as a result of repeated practice through video games.

While prior studies have reported associations between video gaming and increases in violence and aggressive behavior, this study did not find that to be the case. Though children who reported playing video games for three or more hours per day scored higher on measures of attention problems, depression symptoms, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared to children who played no video games, the researchers found that these mental health and behavioral scores did not reach clinical significance in either group, meaning, they did not meet the thresholds for risk of problem behaviors or clinical symptoms. The authors note that these will be important measures to continue to track and understand as the children mature.

Further, the researchers stress that this cross-sectional study does not allow for cause-and-effect analyses, and that it could be that children who are good at these types of cognitive tasks may choose to play video games. The authors also emphasize that their findings do not mean that children should spend unlimited time on their computers, mobile phones, or TVs, and that the outcomes likely depend largely on the specific activities children engage in. For instance, they hypothesize that the specific genre of video games, such as action-adventure, puzzle solving, sports, or shooting games, may have different effects for neurocognitive development, and this level of specificity on the type of video game played was not assessed by the study.

“While we cannot say whether playing video games regularly caused superior neurocognitive performance, it is an encouraging finding, and one that we must continue to investigate in these children as they transition into adolescence and young adulthood,” said Bader Chaarani, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont and the lead author on the study. “Many parents today are concerned about the effects of video games on their children’s health and development, and as these games continue to proliferate among young people, it is crucial that we better understand both the positive and negative impact that such games may have.”

Through the ABCD Study, researchers will be able to conduct similar analyses for the same children over time into early adulthood, to see if changes in video gaming behavior are linked to changes in cognitive skills, brain activity, behavior, and mental health. The longitudinal study design and comprehensive data set will also enable them to better account for various other factors in the children’s families and environment that may influence their cognitive and behavioral development, such as exercise, sleep quality, and other influences.

The ABCD Study, the largest of its kind in the United States, is tracking nearly 12,000 youth as they grow into young adults. Investigators regularly measure participants’ brain structure and activity using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and collect psychological, environmental, and cognitive information, as well as biological samples. The goal of the study is to understand the factors that influence brain, cognitive, and social-emotional development, to inform the development of interventions to enhance a young person’s life trajectory.

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study and ABCD Study are registered service marks and trademarks, respectively, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

About the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): NIDA is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world’s research on the health aspects of drug use and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy, improve practice, and advance addiction science. For more information about NIDA and its programs, visit www.nida.nih.gov .

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov .

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health ®

  B Chaarani, et al.  Association of video gaming with cognitive performance among children .  JAMA Open Network.  DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.35721 (2022).

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Are your kids choosing video games over homework? Smart home tech can help

Working from home for close to a year now has brought this question to my mind: Are kids playing video games now more than ever because of the pandemic? I’m brining up this idea because of my neighbor’s son, who is constantly playing video games whenever I’m working in my home office. In fact, I can hear him chatting with his friends on a daily basis — as well as yelling whenever he dies in a battle.

Point security cameras at the TV

Door/motions sensors in rooms, smart plugs that can tell if a console is turned on, hardware firewalls that block gaming services, reward good behavior.

Schools around my area plan to offer a hybrid strategy , where students have in-school sessions paired with virtual learning. At the moment, however, it seems like he’s home more than at school. Even though I don’t have children, it made me wonder how working parents, especially who that don’t have the option to work from home, can ensure that their children are doing their homework and not playing video games.

Since I’ve spent a great deal of time covering the smart home, I know a few ways that smart home tech can help tackle and remedy the issue. At the same time, I asked some friends for solutions they employ to make sure their kids are getting their schoolwork done and not playing video games when they’re not there.

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When it comes to keeping homes safe, security cameras are useful deterrents that can prevent crime and keep those inside the home protected. However, there’s a level of precaution that needs to be kept in mind if you plan on using one to keep tabs on your kids at home . Some parents, quite frankly, don’t feel comfortable at all with a camera recording a wide area where children are present.

Privacy is always a constant concern , so it’s a better idea to have a security camera pointed in the direction of the television, or the area where video game consoles are kept. This not only helps to maintain a level of privacy because its view is isolated to a certain spot, but still enables you to determine if someone is playing video games when they’re supposed to be doing homework. You’ll want to decrease the sensitivity of its motion detection to ensure the slightest movement isn’t detected and recorded.

Do you prefer something that’s not as obtrusive? Another idea worth looking into is using door and motion sensors in rooms where consoles are stored. For open rooms such as the living room and family room, motion sensors can be anchored above entertainment centers and cabinets where those video game consoles are stored — so whenever someone comes close, you can get a notification about it.

But what if the console is inside your kids’ room? Well, that’s when a door sensor would be more ideal. If the video game console is stored on a shelf or in a cabinet, you can place a door sensor on it, so it can detect whenever it’s opened. This solution maintains your kids’ privacy, while still giving parents a clue if consoles are being accessed during school hours.

Smart plugs are handy for many reasons, but in situations where parents are keeping an eye on their kids’ gaming usage, some can show you when they’ve been turned on. For example, the Eve Energy Strip can not only be remotely turned on and off, but it also tracks power consumption with each of its outlets, allowing parents to tell what time of the day a video game console is drawing power.

There are also scheduling options that enable users to set a time and date when a particular outlet can be active, so this is a wonderful tool that can be automated.

While the other solutions are more obvious, this next one is actually something that doesn’t receive as much attention. Parents have more control than ever before in regard to the internet, which is why using your router’s firewall controls is a good way to curb video game play during school/homework hours.

Modern routers such as the Eero 6 and Google Nest Wi-Fi have the ability to block gaming services, rendering those consoles useless when it comes to online play. Yes, they’re still able to play locally by themselves, but it’s a solution worth adding to your arsenal. And if you rent a modem gateway or router from your internet service provider, chances are that it offers some firewall options as well to block gaming services.

I’m not saying that kids should be prevented from playing video games during school days. I actually feel the opposite. Just like anything in life, video gaming should be done in moderation, which is why I feel that dishing out some playing time should be treated as a reward. If they’re doing well and properly focusing on homework, then what’s the hurt in rewarding them with some video game time? It’s a wonderful way to build trust, too.

Then again, there are kids who want to stay one step ahead of their parents — I was one of them! That’s why parents need to ensure that parental controls are at the very least activated on their gaming consoles (and their smartphones, too ). I can’t stress this enough, it’s crucial. It’s the first barrier that will prevent them from playing. Combine that with any of the solutions I’ve detailed above, or perhaps use a combination of them, to stay one step ahead of your kids.

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The spooky season is almost here, and if you’re worried about throwing the perfect Halloween party, consider using your smart home to do the heavy lifting. Common smart home gadgets such as motion sensors, light bulbs, and smart plugs make it easy to pull off a horrifying Halloween party for your guests. From assisting with your playlist and movie selections to creating a chilling ambiance, here’s a look at all the ways your smart home can help you throw a killer Halloween party. Use motion sensors to trigger spooky sounds Have a smart home security system? Then you can probably rig up your motion sensors to play a spooky noise. It doesn't necessarily have to be a motion sensor, either -- your smart camera can trigger other devices in your smart home when it detects motion.

Just place a speaker on your porch, perhaps tucked away behind a pumpkin or a bit of straw. When a group of unsuspecting kids shows up to ask for candy, they set off the motion sensor on the camera, which triggers the speaker to play the sound of a zombie's moan or the cackle of a witch. Bonus points if you set up an animatronic hand to rise up out of the straw.

Dedicated gamers have two specific, and often competing, goals whenever October comes around. On one hand, the fall season is a sign that the year is winding down. Anyone who wants to finish off their backlog of games released in 2023 before the 2024 flood begins needs to start finding ways to cut down their backlog. Though there are even more pressing matters in October: it's spooky season! With a month-long Halloween celebration in full swing, October is also the perfect time to marathon some creepy games. Usually, that might mean going back to play some classics like Silent Hill 2, leaving little room to catch up on new games.

But what if you could kill two vampires with one stake? Well, you can this year because 2023 has been a wild year for horror video games. From two high-profile remakes to a slew of indie greats, your backlog this year might already be full of great, creepy games. To help organize your October, we've put together a list of seven eerie 2023 releases that double as great Halloween games. You can fly your freak flag and cut down your list of game to play in one go -- that's efficiency! Resident Evil 4

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Peroxide Codes (June 2024)

Updated: June 9, 2024 We searched for the latest codes!

Peroxide  is a fast-paced and often ruthless Roblox game, but every victory takes you one step closer to becoming the best fighter in this  Bleach -inspired title—be it as a Soul Reaper, Hollow, or Quincy. Using  Peroxide  codes will help you level up faster so you can unleash your most powerful abilities.

Peroxide Codes (Working)

Peroxide codes (expired), how to redeem codes in peroxide, all peroxide codes list.

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Related : Anime Champions Simulator codes

Redeeming Peroxide codes can be a bit of a hassle, but don’t worry—here are the instructions you need to follow:

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• Press  Enter  to get your free rewards!

If you want to find more codes for popular Roblox games, check out our articles on Anime Spirits codes and Anime Dungeon Fighters codes and get your hands on all the free stuff while it’s still available!

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Jack Crighton ejected: Reactions as Clemson baseball 1B leaves super regional vs. Florida

A brief spat at the end of the top of the second inning in Game 2 of the Clemson Super Regional between No. 6 Clemson and Florida saw Tigers' Jack Crighton ejected following a lengthy review.

On the play, Gators' pitcher Jac Caglianone fielded a ball off the bat off designated hitter Nolan Nawrocki and applied a hard tag on Nawrocki near first base and in front of the Clemson dugout. Nawrocki took exception to the tag from Caglianone and pushed him. Caglianone shoved Nawrocki in turn, causing both benches to empty onto the field, though it didn't escalate from there.

REQUIRED READING: Clemson baseball vs Florida live score updates in NCAA super regional Game 2

However, Crighton — who had doubled as the previous batter — ran toward where players had gathered after rounding third base. He appeared to be ejected for making contact with one of the umpires , though he was later ruled to have left his position on the field to gather near where players had gathered.

Per the NCAA, "Both dugouts received unsportsmanlike warnings; Crighton was ejected for 'unsportsmanlike code violation.' Clemson ― which dropped Game 1 on Saturday ― took a 3-2 lead on a two-run home run from Blake Wright off Caglianone. Florida tied it 3-3 in the bottom of the third. If the Tigers win, they force a Game 3 on Monday. If the Gators win, they advance to the CWS for the second straight year.

The replay review of the dust-up was lengthy and left the broadcast wondering if Caglianone would be ejected, which would also come with a single-game suspension for Florida's next game.

Some rising tension between Florida and Clemson after this tag. 👀 pic.twitter.com/1xMvdKp80j — Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) June 9, 2024

Caglianone had initially hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning to give the Gators a 2-0 lead, his 33rd home run of the season.

Here's a look at some of the reactions on social media to the ejection of Crighton:

Jack Crighton ejected vs. Florida: Social media reactions

Wow, Clemson head coach Erik Bakich tells the umpire “You tell him” to Jack Crighton, who was just ejected from the game. pic.twitter.com/BmSrOPWwGZ — Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) June 9, 2024

Erik Bakich has every right to be pissed. So does Jack Crighton. He did absolutely nothing. Florida with no ejections, including Jac Caglianone who was part of the initial skirmish. Woooooooow. — Taylor Tannebaum (@TaylorTannebaum) June 9, 2024

Wait -- how in God's name was Crighton ejected there? — Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) June 9, 2024

If Crighton is being ejected for either contact or what he said to the umpire, why was that ejection not done on the field, immediately? How is the replay crew in a position to make that ejection but not the umps on the field? — Teddy Cahill (@tedcahill) June 9, 2024

Absolutely zero reason to eject Crighton there. Watch the replay. He did nothing. Embarrassing. — William Qualkinbush (@QualkTalk) June 9, 2024

Jack Crighton ejected for “leaving his position.” There were 3 outs. Every UF player left their position. That’s one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen. Only person to get physical post play was Cags. — Right Field Renegades (Klubnik’s Army) (@RfRenegades) June 9, 2024

I could care less about Clemson and Florida: That Jack Crighton ejection is some of the softest postseason umpiring I have ever seen. That is a failure of the system. #RoadToOmaha — Mike Skovan (@MikeSkovan) June 9, 2024

#Clemson fans are absolutely reigning boos down on DKS. The energy in the is ballpark has certainly picked up after Crighton’s ejection. pic.twitter.com/AFxBtLyadr — Grayson Mann (@gray_mann21) June 9, 2024

After a lengthy delay, Clemson first baseman Jack Crighton is ejected from the game following an incident down the first base line in the 2nd inning. As the video shows, Crighton none to pleased with the decision. ⁦ @WSPA7 ⁩ pic.twitter.com/DiALb11zE3 — Todd Summers (@ToddSummers7) June 9, 2024

As a Florida fan, Jack Crighton should be able to play ball, no doubt about it. — hayley (@hayleypriice) June 9, 2024

I don’t know Jack Crighton ( @ClemsonBaseball ) but he just got singled out & tossed from the game for nothing. Kids are competing in a huge game. It got dicey for 5 seconds. Everyone moved on but for some reason this kid got hosed. No feel, pathetic & soft. Be better @NCAABaseball — Kevin Hodge (@K12Hodge) June 9, 2024

exclusive photo of ump’s uniform after getting bumped by Jack Crighton pic.twitter.com/EmQ4Bir5fk — Marc Whiteman (@MarcWYFFNews4) June 9, 2024

Vancouver Canucks

• 1st in Pacific Division

2023-24 Schedule

Regular season, stanley cup playoffs central: bracket, schedule, game previews for the nhl's postseason, how to watch espn 30 for 30 on vancouver stanley cup riot, espn's 30 for 30 trailer: i'm just here for the riot, kaplan's playoff buzz: what's up with wyatt johnston, matt rempe and sergei bobrovsky.

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Tocchet wins Jack Adams Award as coach of year

2024 nhl draft order: picks 1-28 following draft lottery, playoff results, oilers 'make it stressful,' defeat canucks in g7.

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2023-24 Pacific Division Standings

2023-24 Team Leaders

Brock boeser rw #6, quinn hughes d #43, j.t. miller c #9, 2023-24 team stats, team history.

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HOW TO WATCH: Oregon Baseball vs. Texas A&M Super Regional Game 2

Kaleb henry | 13 hours ago.

• Oregon Ducks
• Texas A&M Aggies

Oregon baseball is now in win-or-go-home mode.

The Ducks dropped game one of the College Station Super Regional to Texas A&M 10-6 Saturday. That means UO will need to win Sunday and Monday to take the best-of-three series and advance to the College World Series in Omaha.

Despite a quick start and a 6-3 lead, the Ducks couldn't hold things together through the middle innings as errors, wild pitches, and walks helped an already strong Aggies offense take over the game.

"It's disappointing," Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski said after the loss . "We got off to a good start but yet didn't play a complete game today whatsoever."

Now backed up against the wall with any loss in College Station ending the season, Wasikowski noted his team has better baseball to play.

"I think we have a better game in us," Wasikowski said.

Texas A&M is the No. 3 national seed and holds a 48-13 record. Oregon won the Santa Barbara Regional last weekend as the No. 3 seed in the region. The Ducks are now 40-19.

Game 2 is slated for a 4:30 p.m. PDT first pitch. The game will be televised on ESPN2. Monday's "if necessary" game does not yet have a start time .

KALEB HENRY

NBA Finals Game 2 highlights: Celtics take 2-0 series lead over Mavericks

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics have luxuries most teams don’t.

They can withstand a second consecutive off night shooting from Jayson Tatum , their first-team All-NBA forward, and one of the NBA’s best 3-point shooting teams can weather a terrible game from that range (25.6%).

Boston’s talented roster managed both issues for a 105-98 victory against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

It helps to have Jrue Holiday , who had 26 points and 11 rebounds and three assists. It helps to have Kristaps Porzingis contribute 12 points and three blocks off the bench. Derrick White delivered 18 points, five assists, three steals and two blocks, and Jaylen Brown had 21 points, seven assists and three steals.

And Tatum, who made just 6-of-22 shots, ended up with 18 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.

There’s just too much coming at Dallas from multiple directions offensively and defensively. It might not be an embarrassment of riches for the Celtics, but it’s close.

Dallas trimmed a 103-89 deficit with 3:34 left in the fourth quarter to 103-98 with 1:15 to go. But White blocked a P.J. Washington shot at the rim. Instead of 103-100, Brown scored on the other end for a 105-98 lead.

The Celtics are halfway to their first title since 2008 and their 18th overall, which would break a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for most championships in NBA history.

Teams that win the first two games of the NBA Finals go on to win the series 86.1% of the time (31-5). Game 3 is Wednesday in Dallas (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC), and the Celtics are 6-0 on the road in the playoffs this season.

Mavericks star Luka Doncic had 32 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds for his first Finals triple-double, but he clearly is slowed by health issues. He had 23 points in the first half and didn’t score his first points of the fourth quarter until 1:15 remained and committed eight turnovers.

He was listed as questionable for Game 2 with a sprained right knee, left ankle soreness and a bruised chest, the latter an injury he sustained in Game 1 either taking a charge or diving for a loose ball, according to Dallas coach Jason Kidd.

Doncic took a majority of shots from outside the paint, relaying on his step-back, fadeaway shot to create separation from his defender. P.J. Washington had 17 points and Kryie Irving had a quiet 16 points and six assists for the Mavs who were just 6-for-26 (23.1%) on 3-pointers.

The Mavs were more competitive for longer stretches in Game 2 than they were in Game 1 . The result was the same. — Jeff Zillgitt

Celtics vs. Mavericks NBA Finals Game 2 highlights

The Celtics moved another win closer to another NBA championship, which would give the franchise a record-setting 19 titles.

Payton Pritchard hits buzzer-beater 3 to five Celtics nine-point lead entering fourth quarter

The Celtics can't shoot the three. Luka Doncic is on the verge of a triple-double.

But Boston is ahead.

The Celtics sparked a 10-0 run the third quarter to take command of Game 2, leading 83-74 after three quarters. Jrue Holiday led Boston with 23 points at the stoppage, while Jayson Tatum had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds to along with six rebounds and a steal.

Payton Pritchard came off the bench and hit a long buzzer-beater to end the quarter.

Doncic, meanwhile, has tried to keep Dallas on life support. His 29 points led all scorers as play entered the fourth. Kyrie Irving had 12 points.

The Celtics, the best 3-point shooting team in the NBA, were just 6-for-30 from beyond the arc. Tatum and Jaylen Brown (15 points) were a combined 1-for-9. — Richard Morin

PAYTON PRITCHARD FROM DOWNTOWN TO BEAT THE 3Q BUZZER 😱🚨 #NBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV 🏆 Game 2 on ABC 🏆 pic.twitter.com/hF8eIT3sW9 — NBA (@NBA) June 10, 2024

Boston makes it a double-digit lead

The Celtics can smell blood. They now have their largest lead of the game as a 10-0 run has made it a 75-63 game with less than four minutes left in the third quarter.

The Mavericks haven’t scored in more than three minutes and Boston is causing fits on defense, leading to the Celtic offense pushing the ball. Luka Doncic went to catch a breather, but with the game close to getting out of Dallas’ hand, Jason Kidd may be forced to bring his star back in. — Jordan Mendoza

Jayson Tatum finding rhythm with Celtics in lead

It was a tough first half for Jayson Tatum, but his team stepped up to lead at halftime. Now in the third quarter, the Celtics star is starting to get going.

Tatum has six of Boston’s 13 third quarter points at the halfway mark of the period and the Celtics lead the Mavericks 69-63. The 3-point line remains a struggle for Boston at 1-for-8 from behind the arc, but it's finding baskets near the rim, a consistent theme so far in this game. — Jordan Mendoza

Celtics lead, 54-51, at halftime

It’s becoming a dogfight inside TD Garden, and the Celtics hold a slim lead at halftime with a 54-51 edge over the Mavericks.

Dallas was the one that got out to a fast start, but outside of Luka Doncic, the team cooled down while Boston used the free throw line to not only stay in the game, but take the lead into the break. The Celtics missed their first eight 3-pointers and are 3-for-15 from beyond the arc, but  are a perfect 13-for-13 from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Dallas is only 5-for-11.

It wasn’t a spectacular first half for Jayson Tatum with only five points on 2-for-10 shooting, but Jrue Holiday has gone off for 17 points.

Luka Doncic doesn’t play at a fast pace, and with all the injuries he’s dealing with, he is playing at a slow pace. Still, he’s putting up points at his usual clip, leading the Dallas offense with 23 points. He also made four of Dallas’ nine made shots in the second quarter. But the first minutes of the second quarter might give an indication of what could happen if the rest of the Mavericks don’t step up. No other Dallas player made a basket in the first five minutes of the second quarter, and it coincided with Boston jumping ahead. — Jordan Mendoza

Bill Belichick, Chris Tucker among celebrities in attendance for NBA Finals Game 2

Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, three-time Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman, actor/comedian Chris Tucker and a host of notable former Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks players are among the celebrities in attendance for Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Among the Celtics legends in attendance are Dana Barros, M.L. Carr, Tacko Fall, Mal Graham, Glenn McDonald, Paul Pierce and Sam Vincent. Former Mavericks players Sam Perkins is present, as is former Mavericks and Celtics player Jason Terry.

Rappers/songwriters BIA and Travis Scott, as well as music producer Metro Boomin are at TD Garden.

Patriots linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley, wide receiver K.J. Osborn, defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr. and former Patriots player Matthew Slater, a 10-time Pro Bowl selection, also are in attendance.

• PHOTOS: Celebrities show up for 2024 NBA playoffs

Celtics take second quarter lead

It’s been a little hectic in the second period, but Boston has now jumped ahead of Dallas and leads 36-35 with seven minutes left in the first half.

Luka Doncic continues to do it all for Dallas with 20 points, but he hasn’t gotten much held this quarter as he’s the only one to score in the first five minutes of the frame. Dallas hasn’t scored in more than three minutes. Meanwhile, Boston is starting to find a rhythm offensively, and Derrick White hit only the second 3-pointer so far for his team to take the lead. — Jordan Mendoza

Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving come out strong as Mavericks hold lead after first quarter

Dallas Mavericks guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving started Game 2 of the NBA Finals with an aggressive approach. They opened a combined 5-for-8 from the field and had 10 of Dallas’ first 13 points as the Mavs built a 28-25 lead after the first quarter.

It was a much different first quarter than Game 1 when the Mavs fell behind 37-20 after the first 12 minutes.

Doncic, who was listed as questionable for the second game with a left ankle soreness, right knee sprain and now a bruised chest, had 13 points in the first quarter.

That all important 3-point for the Celtics? One of the best and high-volume 3-point shooting teams, the Celtics missed their first eight 3s and didn’t make one until Al Horford got the ninth attempt to go in with 3.6 seconds left in the quarter.

Boston shot just 36.8% from the field, however, it kept the game close, making its 10 free throw attempts. Dallas was 4-for-9 from the free throw line.

Oddly, the Mavs challenged a foul call on P.J. Washington with 7:11 left in the first quarter. It was an obvious foul, and the Mavericks no longer have a replay challenge available for the remainder of Game 2.

Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis continued to make an impact off the bench. Returning to the playoffs in Game 1 of the Finals after missing more than a month with a right calf injury, Porzingis had eight points in the opening quarter. — Jeff Zillgitt

Kyrie Irving's layup package is UNREAL 🤯 DAL closes the 1Q ahead 28-25 in Game 2 on ABC 🏆 pic.twitter.com/apvk7eNQG7 — NBA (@NBA) June 10, 2024

Mavericks jump out to early lead

Luka Doncic might be nursing injuries, but he isn’t shying away from making an impact in the game.

Doncic has six points and Dallas is off to a good start, up 13-6 nearly four minutes into Game 2. The Mavericks were hitting shots out of the gate with three straight makes, and Kyrie Irving hit a tough step back jumper that forced Joe Mazzulla to take an early timeout. The former Celtics guard has heard it from the Boston crowd this series, and he had some words for the crowd after hitting the shot. — Jordan Mendoza

NBA Finals Game 2 uniforms

The Boston Celtics won’t be wearing their traditional home white uniforms, instead opting to don their black “statement edition” uniforms. The Mavericks will be wearing their white “association edition” uniforms.

NBA Finals Game 2 referees

The referees for Sunday’s matchup are Tony Brothers, John Goble and Bill Kennedy.

When is NBA Finals Game 2? 

Game 2 of the NBA Finals is Sunday, June 9 with tip-off scheduled for 8 p.m. ET from TD Garden in Boston. 

How to watch NBA Finals Game 2

ABC will broadcast every game of the 2024 NBA Finals . 

How to stream NBA Finals Game 2

Each game of the 2024 NBA Finals can be streamed on ESPN+ or on Fubo .

NBA Finals Game 2 starting lineups: Luka Doncic in for Mavericks

Though listed as questionable with multiple health issues (left ankle soreness, right knee sprain and now a bruised chest), Mavericks star Luka Doncic is in the starting lineup for Game 2 against Boston.

For Boston, center Al Horford remains in the starting lineup, and Kristaps Porzingis, who missed more than a month of the playoffs with a right calf injury but returned in Game 1 for 20 points, will continue to come off the bench.

Mavericks starting lineup:

• Luka Doncic
• Kyrie Irving
• Derrick Jones Jr.
• Daniel Gafford
• P.J. Washington

Celtics starting lineup:

• Jaylen Brown
• Jayson Tatum
• Derrick White
• Jrue Holiday

Is Mavericks star Luka Doncic playing tonight?

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is listed as questionable for Game 2 Sunday evening with multiple health issues: left ankle soreness, right knee sprain and now a thoracic contusion (bruised chest).

“We'll see how he feels when he warms up and make that decision.,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said.

Though questionable, it will be a stunner if Doncic doesn’t play.

Doncic has dealt with the knee and ankle for much of the playoffs, and Kidd said Doncic sustained the bruised chest diving for a loose ball or taking a charge in Boston’s Game 1 victory Thursday.

“If he's out, we're prepared to go without him, next man up,” Kidd said. “If he's going, the game plan doesn't change.” — Jeff Zillgitt

NBA Finals Game 2 odds for Mavericks-Celtics

Odds via BetMGM :

• Mavericks: +220
• Celtics: -275
• Celtics: -7.5
• Over 214.5: -115
• Under 214.5: -105

NBA Finals Game 2 Mavericks-Celtics predictions

Here's how our NBA reporters and editors see Game 2 playing out:

Scooby Axson

• Celtics 110, Mavericks 105

Heather Tucker

• Celtics 103, Mavericks 99
• Celtics 112, Mavericks 103

Jeff Zillgitt

• Celtics 111, Mavericks 107

NBA Finals odds 

According to BetMGM , the Celtics are -450 to win the NBA championship against the Mavericks. Dallas is +340. 

NBA Finals predictions for Celtics vs. Mavericks

Here are USA TODAY Sports’ NBA experts’ picks and predictions for the 2024 NBA Finals : 

• Scooby Axson: Celtics in 6 
• Cydney Henderson: Mavericks in 6 
• Lindsay Schnell: Mavericks in 7 
• Jeff Zillgitt: Celtics in 6 

NBA Finals MVP odds 

According to BetMGM:  

• Jayson Tatum, Celtics: +115 
• Jaylen Brown, Celtics: +260 
• Luka Dončić, Mavericks: +350 
• Kristaps Porzingis, Celtics: +650 
• Kyrie Irving, Mavericks: +4000 
• Derrick White, Celtics: +6600 

Why Kristaps Porzingis’ instant impact is exactly what Celtics needed  

Coming off the bench for just the second time in his career and playing in his first game since sustaining a calf injury April 29 , Kristaps Porzingis scored 20 points, including 18 in the first half, and added six rebounds and three blocks as the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 in Game 1 on Thursday. 

The Celtics didn’t "miss" Porzingis in that they still reached the NBA Finals with Porzingis sidelined due to his right calf injury. But the Celtics, who acquired Porzingis from the Washington Wizards in a 2023 offseason trade, missed his production, and that was evident in Porzingis’ return against the Mavericks. 

Read Jeff Zillgitt’s complete story . 

Kyrie Irving flat in return to Boston for NBA Finals  

Kyrie Irving knew Boston would be an unfriendly environment. It’s been that way for a few years now. 

The TD Garden crowd serenaded the former Celtics guard with boos from the moment he touched the ball in warmups until he checked out for the final time with 5:17 left in the game. Celtics fans weren’t happy to see him and, based on Irving’s performance in the Mavericks' loss in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, he wasn’t too happy out there, either. 

Read Richard Morin’s complete story . 

What is a thoracic contusion – one of Luka Doncic's injuries?

This is a chest bruise caused by a fall or blow to the chest. While that doesn't seem very serious, it could develop into something worse with continued trauma. If it is something to be taken seriously, it could affect Luka Doncic's ability to do things like rebound or drive into scoring lanes. Any contact could cause a flare up and force the Dallas Mavericks star to miss time. — Jon Hoefling

NBA Finals schedule  

Boston leads series 2-0

• Game 1: Celtics 107, Mavericks 89
• Game 2: Celtics 105, Mavericks 98  
• Wednesday, June 12: Game 3 at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC 
• Friday, June 14: Game 4 at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC 
• *Monday, June 17: Game 5 at Boston, 8:30 p.m. on ABC 
• *Thursday, June 20: Game 6 at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. on ABC 
• *Sunday, June 23: Game 7 at Boston, 8 p.m. on ABC 

Who owns the Dallas Mavericks?

The Adelson and Dumont families reached a binding agreement to purchase a majority ownership of the Dallas Mavericks from owner Mark Cuban back in November. 

Miriam Adelson, the widow of Las Vegas Sands Corp. founder Sheldon Adelson, and her family said in an SEC filing it is selling $2 billion of LVS stock and “they currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, along with additional cash on hand, to fund the purchase of a majority interest in a professional sports franchise pursuant to a binding purchase agreement, subject to customary league approvals.” 

Cuban has been one of the NBA’s most prominent owners in the past two decades and one of the most fined , racking up nearly $4 million in fines — and that doesn’t include $10 million Cuban donated to women’s groups following an investigation into a toxic work environment , including sexual harassment and workplace misconduct, within the Mavericks’ organization. — Jeff Zillgitt  

How many championships have the Celtics won?  

Boston’s 17 NBA championships are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for most in league history. The Celtics’ last NBA Finals win came in 2008 when Doc Rivers’ team, led by Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, knocked off the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers in six games. The Celtics lost in the NBA Finals in 2010 (to same Lakers in seven games) and 2022 (to Golden State Warriors in six games). 

How many championships have the Mavericks won? 

Dallas has one NBA title to its name, coming in 2011 when Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd ( the Mavericks’ current coach ) beat the Miami Heat in six games. It was Miami’s first season as the Heatles, a nickname given due to their worldwide appeal with stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh teaming up. The Mavericks went to the NBA Finals only one other time, losing in 2006 to a Heat team that had Wade, but also Shaquille O’Neal, Jason Terry and Antoine Walker. 

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Super regional action continues

🏆 Arkansas wins DI women's T&F (O) title

🏆 Tampa wins DII baseball national title

🏆 Florida wins DI men's T&F (O) title

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