Preschool Children’s Learning
The Effects of Educational Computer Games on Preschool Children’s Learning:
Gender Differences in Playing Competitive and Noncompetitive Mathematics Games
With the increasingly popular use of computer technology in today’s society,
computer literacy is a desirable skill in the workplace. The use of computers,
consequently, has become an inevitable trend in this information age. As Calvert (1999)
stated, “the public appears to take computers more seriously as an education medium
when compared to other information technologies” (p. 21). Use of computers in
education, thus, has become a topic of much discussion.
To encourage children to be familiar with computers, the early use of computers
has emerged in preschool education. Not surprisingly, younger children’s first use of
computers is to play games (Levin & Barry, 1997), and the initial purpose of using
educational computer games in instruction is to facilitate learning outcomes. However, a
primary concern is whether playing educational computer games really benefits
children’s learning. The dilemma is that the instructional content of educational
computer games has to make learning fun. If the games provide too much entertainment,
children might not adequately learn the concepts. Thus, educational computer game
designers use an integrative approach known as “edutainment” that attempts to educate
and entertain the game players simultaneously (Filipcazk, 1997).
Another concern is whether playing educational computer games necessarily
assists children’s learning equally among boys and girls (Weinman & Haag, 1999).
Children’s learning from an electronic game may depend on their game preferences
(Forsyth & Lancy, 1989). The content of electronic games satisfies boys’ interests, but
girls’ media-content preference generally is ignored (Calvert, 1999). As Calvert (1999)
explained, “Even if children take separate computer classes, the software still carries
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Convention