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The games I chose to play were Tetris and Sudoku.
While it was quiet, my Tetris score was 120 and I won the sudoku game. While there were distractions, my score for Tetris was 200 and I won the sudoku game.

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I played Tetris and checks. While it was quiet, I scored 110 in Tetris and won the game of checkers. When there were distractions, I scored 100 on Tetris and still won the game of checkers.

My scores were quite similar and I won both times, showing I  was not affected by the added distractions. I was able to tune out the distractions and keep focused on the task at hand.

There is research to suggest that games improve cognitive processes (Tobias, Fletcher, Bediou, Wind, Chen, p. 771). Some of these processes are attention to details, task switching and being able to block out distractions.

Using games in a classroom will keep students engaged and aid them in developing their task switching skills. The added competition also serves as a potential benefit as students will want to compete with their classmates and try their best to succeed.

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I played Tetris in a quiet environment and scored 3,885 the first time (did I play a different version?  Somehow my scores were way higher than some of you! Haha).  The second time, I played while listening to the news, and I scored a 2,580.  I do think that I messed up early in the game, however, which contributed to the lower score, because I did not feel that listening to the news affected my focus too much.

I do believe that games can improve cognitive processes (Tobias, Fletcher, Bediou, Wind, Chen, p. 771)and I have seen this in my students.  For example, I recently had my students using the Quizlet matching game to match terms to definitions and examples.  Playing this game quickly improved their quiz grades, and they enjoyed the competitive aspect (they see their classmates' leader board of top times).  Another benefit of games, in my opinion, connects to our earlier chapter about principles that help students manage essential processing.  When students have to focus on quickly identify the essential material in order to be successful in the game, they learn quickly.

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The outcomes of the games seemed to be better when there was an added factor of attention. I was able to gain a higher score on Tetris and worked faster on Sudoku with noise and other distractions. I was more focused on the game than I was other things in the room because the games drew my interest more than the noise and background distractions did. Some of the cognitive benefits include the findings "Game research has found that intensive training with action games, requiring frequent, rapid, and overt responses along with equally rapid reactions to them from the game, improves cognitive processes dealing with attention, task switching, and resistance to distractors." (Tobias, Fletcher, Bediou, Wind, Chen, 2014, Section: Games and Multimedia, para. 3) With research showing that games help to improve cognitive processes with attention and resistance to distractors, that is half the battle teachers face with learners. Keeping their attention and engagement is important when trying to push out content and teach the information. If we can infuse games into the curriculum and cover content, there will be an overwhelming positive impact in how students learn. Overall, I think using games and gamifying the classroom is a unique and successful way in gaining student engagement into the content.

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I played Tetris, and Masterpieces game of Gamesforthebrain.  In a quiet environment my score for Tetris was 1257 and I did not win the game of Masterpieces. When there were distractions, I scored a higher score (1850 ) on Tetris and I won in the Masterpieces game. Also, I finished the games in less time. I think that because I have become familiar with the way to play these games and I was more focused on playing the game in the second time.

I believe that games can have a positive impact on learning process by improving cognitive processes and working memory capabilities for students. For example, we can apply games into the curriculum to help students learn complex concepts, new vocabulary, mathematical calculation skills, and focus students' attention into the content. Research results indicate that"...integrating games into the curriculum is likely to increase the probability of transfer from games to curricular goals" ( Tobias, Fletcher, Bediou, Wind, Chen, 2014,p. 762).

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I played Mahjong Solitaire and Sudoku for our learning activity. I was able to win both games in the quiet environment and while watching Hulu. However, the difference came in the time it took to complete the games. In both cases, I finished the games in less time when there was a noise or "distraction" factor (Hulu) added to the environment. After I selected mahjong and sudoku, I realized that it was not just a random choice. I used to play those two games constantly in middle school.
A study that was discussed in the book  referred to the differences in the games along with the individual characteristics of the learners (as cited in Tobias, Fletcher, Bediou, Wind, & Chen, 2014, p.770). All students will react to to games differently based on their pasts with computer games in general, the specific game being used, and with the content within the game (Tobias et al., 2014) My high scores were likely because I was very familiar with the games; however, it would have been very different if I tried out a brand new game.
During this task, I found myself disregarding my tv show in order to win my game. I believe that for me it was due to a motivational factor and simply that I chose the game over the show. In Mishra's et al. study, "The findings suggested the gamers ignored distractors in order to preform the task more efficiently" (Tobias et al., 2014, p.770). These are important considers when implementing games into instruction. AVGPs verse NVGPs will likely have different outcomes regarding cognitive overload, processing distractors, task-switching, etc.
I would definitely use games with my learners, but would always be mindful to their background (especially with ELs). I loved the suggestion Hawlitschek and Neigemann gives about "just playing for fun" rather than explicitly telling the students the learning intent, causing extraneous cognitive load (Tobias et al., 2014, p.772). This just reminds us that simply playing the game should be the learning task.

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I played Tetris and Checkers. In both instances my scores increased in the distracted environment. This could be as a result of a few factors. One, I was driven to increase my score. Secondly, I was familiar with the way to play the game and lastly, I was more focused on playing the game well than on the distractions in the room. (Tetris scores Quiet 1400, Distracted 2700) (Checkers Quiet 5:29, Distracted 2:12)  I found the Tetris game to be distracting overall because of the small size of the game in contrast to the large amounts of advertisements around the game.  Checkers was a nice size, nice colors and less distracting screen environment.
In regards to students gaming benefits in education I do see a place. I do agree that gaming can help focus attention and help increasing multi-tasking skills. Game research has found that intensive training with action games, requiring frequent, rapid, and overt responses along with equally rapid reactions to them from the game, improves cognitive processes dealing with attention, task switching, and resistance to distracters. (Tobias, Fletcher, Bediou, Wind, Chen, 2014, Games and Multimedia, para. 3) However, I also agree with the book that students who spend more time gaming produce lower quality school work. Research does suggest that game players spend less time on schoolwork.. (Tobias, Fletcher, Bediou, Wind, Chen, 2014, School Performance, para. 5)
Therefore, I see their needs to be a balance between the type of gaming and the amount of time one spends on that activity. Gaming can help cognitive development and increase alertness and focus , however, like anything else too much isn't good. I using gaming during the school day. I have may start a lesson or end with a subject related class game. I also believe in "brain breaks" throughout the day. GoNoodle is a great stress-reducer and energy booster to reenergize students during the day.

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The first game I played was Tetris. When I played the first time, I couldn't figure out how to move the pieces around so I scored a 110 my first try. Once I figured out how to play, my score was 6220. I then played again while watching tv and my score was 5800. The text notes, "De Lisi and Cammarano ( 1996 ) found that undergraduates who played a multimedia game requiring mental rotation of geometric figures for 1 week outperformed those who played solitaire on a test of mental rotation" (Tobias, Fletcher, Bediou, Wind, Chen, 2014, Section "Cognitive Processes", para. 4). I found this interesting because I think that from playing this game, some of my cognitive skills such as quick decision making are sharpened.
I then played Sudoku. I love that game haha. I played while watching tv and found myself wanting to turn the tv down so I could concentrate more on the activity. The text notes, "One of the strongest effects of action computer game play is improved control of attention" (Tobias, Fletcher, Bediou, Wind, Chen, 2014, Section "Control of attention", para. 1). I found myself practicing to control harder.

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Table 31.1. Results of Mayer’s research program

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Table 31.1. Results of Mayer’s research program

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The number of large and very large effect sizes reported by Mayer is impressive. They indicate the value of multimedia used in any instructional approach, including games.

0.80 is considered very large; less than 0.25 “not substantively important.”

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I chose to play tetris while focusing on the game in a quite setting and then while trying to simultaneously watch an episode of Good Mythical Morning who were "Putting Weird Things Through A Water Filter."

During the first game of tetris I scored 160 and 220 in the second while watching the show. I have to be honest though, and say that I most definitely got the hang of the game the second time around. The controls were familiar and I was aware of the shapes of the blocks dropping. I would say this was the reason for my improved score. I found it extremely difficult to concentrate on the video and seemed to be applying the check in method. As a new block appeared, I'd check the show for a moment or two, then return to full focus on the game.

I found the differences highlighted in the chapter for AVGPs and NVGPs to be relevant. I did not have the control of attention nor the task switching abilities that my children do. This correlates with what Tobias, et al. in Mayer (2014) say with regard to the studies showing that AVGPs are more skilled at task switching.