According to a study by the British National Literacy Trust, playing video games provides young people with a way to read, improves their self-confidence and reading skills, promotes their creativity and writing, supports positive communication with family and friends, increases empathy and supports mental well-being. Teachers are also increasingly using interactive gaming applications and platforms such as Kahoot and Quizizz, Kahoot says that more than 6 million teachers in 200 countries use their application to date as fun formative assessment tools to ensure that students are up to date with their learning, especially during the pandemic. A university course was designed around a video game in which students race a virtual car around a track to do their homework and do laboratory exercises. There are several games you can play together virtually, which are a great way to stay connected and create moments of shared experiences.
A player who fails at a well-done game immediately tries again, and when the player finally succeeds, the idea of growing through practice is reinforced. Whether you're investing in a boxed game (one you put on your console) or a game for mobile devices that's free, it's a good idea to consider the costs involved. The Monterrey Institute of Technology published an article that highlights the underlying ethical, philosophical and social basis of these games, and their ability to make players think and improve their critical thinking. Now, in an extremely limited market with a captive audience, educational game designers with no experience in product development or game credits simply create a game with game mechanics and then adjust the difficulty or challenge, without thinking that the content isn't really that good.
For students with special needs in particular, games can be beneficial because they alter traditional learning approaches and provide them with opportunities to succeed where they have often struggled, says Banerjee, who has more than 29 years of experience in the field of learning disabilities. However, it is clear that more time is spent learning when using educational games than when they are not used. The analysis, conducted by Powers, Brooks, Aldreich, Palladino and Alfieri, attributed much of the improvement to video games, which required players to interpret, mentally transform, manipulate and relate changing dynamic images. In addition, video games capture the imagination of players, helping them to concentrate on certain tasks and to develop their perseverance to achieve a goal.
Instead, the challenge may not only be finding a high-quality game, but finding ways to help children establish meaningful connections between their play and the world around them. According to the California organization Institute for the Future (IFTF), multiplayer games encourage teamwork in problem solving. If your child has friends who play, talk to their parents to get their point of view on games and get an idea of what their concerns may be. If your child would like to pursue e-sports (competitive games) or help create the video games of the future, start early and help them learn more about the different jobs and opportunities in the gaming industry.
