"The Brain, the Biology Classroom and Kids with Video Games"

Summary:
MacKenzie admits that our brains are changing. She discusses how our brains continuily evolve and has been doing so for centuries. She discusses the change our brain went through when music, art and tool making were first introduced. She admits that kids today have completely different brains than kids used to have. She discusses the positive impact that video games contribute to this change. She backs up her ideas with research that shows that students who play video games can problem solve, recognize patterns, and think more strategically than children who do not play video games. She then discusses how incorporating videogames in the classroom, specifically the Biology classroom, can help students learn easier.

Reaction:
I agree with MacKenzie because I see it first hand everyday. I grew up in the eighties when video games did not exist and technology over all was primitive, specially growing up in Panama. I have two sons, a four and a six year old. They have only known the world as it is right now, the internet, video games, and so on. I could not do a third of what my children do at their age. I can't even do some of it at my age. I try to sit down and play video games with them and get frustrated because they are too complicated for me. Not just the technology part of it (good luck turning it on!), but the problem solving, decision making and the memorization skills that they require are far more complex than my brain could have handled at age six. Kids brains now have to be more complex because everything around them is more extensive than it used to be.

Tie in:
MacKenzie like Cascio and Carr all discuss the brain changing. MacKenzie and Cascio discuss evolution and both agree that the brain has been changing for decades and it is something necessary and beneficial