America’s Army Helped A North Carolina Man Provide Vital First Aid

After witnessing an SUV flip over on a highway in North Carolina, Paxton Galvanek was able to provide life-saving first aid using knowledge he had learned from a video game. Writing to the title’s developers, he explained how he was able to pull the victims out of a vehicle and then stop profuse bleeding thanks to techniques learned in a medical section of America’s Army – a video game developed to be used specifically by the US Army.

“I have received no prior medical training and can honestly say that because of the training and presentations within America’s Army, I was able to help and possibly save the injured men,” Galvanek said.

A Young Boy Recognized The Danger Of A Live Grenade Thanks To Counter-Strike

The first-person shooter Counter-Strike might not seem like it could have a positive impact in the real world, but that is exactly what the video game did in 2013. While a group of friends were out playing in the Philippine city of Mandaue, they discovered several unassuming objects. The youngsters began to play with the round items, unaware that they were actually incredibly dangerous.

Fortunately, 12-year-old Jose Darwin Garciano realized that they were actually grenades as he recognized the shape from the game. He quickly warned his friends to put them down, which allowed police to come and safely diffuse them.

Quick Reflexes, Bolstered By Video Games, Helped A Canadian Driver Avoid A Fatal Accident

Out of all of the skills and abilities that video games have been known to improve, perhaps the most researched and documented are a person’s reflexes. Canadian Matthew Krizsan certainly believes that years of playing games helped him when he had to quickly take evasive action to avoid a crash while driving on a highway in Ontario. With a truck crashing through the central barrier into his direction, Krizsan was able avoid it and other vehicles. He later explained to news reporters that he believed the instant reactions were a result of years of playing video games.

Minecraft Is Being Used To Teach Kids About Math, Architecture, And Design

Minecraft has become a juggernaut of the gaming industry since its release in 2011. It has sold more than 100 million copies and is now being used in schools around the world to teach kids a variety of lessons. In fact, the instructive potential of the title led Microsoft to create a special educational version specifically for use in the classroom. Teachers have used the game in all sorts of interesting ways.

Some methods include learning about architecture and town planning by building cities, modeling water flow in dams, and even discovering how the Great Fire of London was able to spread across a huge area so quickly.

Young Boy Brought An Out-Of-Control Car To A Safe Stop Using Driving Skills Learned From Mario Kart

Gryffin Sanders, a 10-year-old boy from Colorado, managed to save the life of his elderly grandmother and his younger brother. The grandparent lost control of the vehicle after suffering a mild heart attack, but the car didn’t stop – it kept cruising down the busy road at 60 miles per hour without anyone steering it. Using driving skills he had learned from playing Mario Kart, Gryffin took over the wheel and managed to direct the car into a ditch of mud away from the oncoming traffic. His heroic actions meant that there were no injuries to anyone in the vehicle.

It’s Less Work, More Playing Video Games for Today’s Young Men

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, so Jack, now a young millennial, has turned the tables, filling his schedule with more play and less work.

How video games helped give us the self-driving car

Self-driving cars. They’re the future of transportation — and they’re getting smarter all the time. Thanks to advances in software and artificial intelligence, these machines are now able to distinguish between cars and cyclists, or between pedestrians and your pet.

What the End of Net Neutrality Means for You

We knew it was coming, but on Tuesday, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced his plan to gut net neutrality and hand over control of the internet to service providers like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon (which also happens to be Pai’s former employer).

Games teach new technical skill sets

Video games are a powerful way to get kids interested in technology from an early age, and teach them basic technical skills that will reap rewards down the road. For example, the wildly popular game Angry Birds is now teaching children basic coding principles. Video games also hone spatial thinking, reasoning, memory, perception, and problem-solving — all which come in handy for a wide-range of technical careers.

Video games are especially well-suited for individualized learning

Every student is different. For most teachers and their schools, having sufficient resources to provide every student with an individualized learning plan is a faraway dream. But video games can make it a reality. Games allow students to learn at their own pace without constant parental oversight. Players’ experience can be tailored based on their performance and preferences. If they solve problems correctly, the game can adjust to present more difficult challenges. If they struggle with a concept, the game can present the same concept in a different context or decrease the difficulty level until the student gets it.

“By balancing gameplay enjoyment with an appropriate level of challenge, games have the ability to keep players in their own unique optimally challenging and engaging zone for learning,” wrote Jan Plass, an NYU Professor of digital media and learning sciences.