Role of Video Games in Childhood Studying: Enhancing Learning through Interactive Entertainment.

Video gaming has advanced a long way when you consider its early days as mere entertainment, and now it can be considered a really useful tool in numerous aspects of life, which includes childhood studying. Research has proven that video games can be utilized to provide nice results in the instructional development of children. This article targets to explore the benefits video games can provide to childhood studying and how they can be used efficiently as learning tools.

Engaging and Interactive Learning Experience

Video games are an excellent option for learning as they provide an interactive and engaging experience, unlike traditional methods. Not only does player involvement and decision-making enhance cognitive and motor skills, but also help improve problem-solving abilities, critical thinking skills, and creativity. Moreover, some educational video games are designed with specific objectives that align with curriculum standards and educational goals. They often include puzzles, quizzes, challenges, and other activities that test the student’s knowledge while providing instant feedback about their performance.

Customized Learning Experience

Video games have the great benefit of offering a customized learning experience fitting individual needs as children have different learning styles and abilities. Many intelligent video games have features that adjust their difficulty or content depending on the child’s progress – allowing them to learn at their own pace without feeling overwhelmed or bored. It also allows them to choose what they want to play when they want to play it, and how long they want to play – thus providing autonomy which increases motivation in learning while fostering self-expression through avatars or characters created by the player

Social and Collaborative Learning

Video gaming also permits social interaction between peers or other players from around the world – promoting teamwork through communication skills, collaboration for achieving common goals in problem-solving or critical thinking-based games as well as cultural understanding through exploration of diverse cultures, languages, and customs.

Motivation and Engagement

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of video game usage for learning is its ability to motivate engagement with students – making sure study time is actually fun time! Video games include rewards systems such as achievements or progress tracking which can create a sense of accomplishment motivating students to continue learning – creating a growth mentality in tackling challenges as opportunities for improvement rather than failures – all while sparking curiosity in exploring subject matters more deeply.

Parental Involvement & Monitoring

Despite all these benefits; parental involvement is essential in monitoring proper usage of video games while studying; making sure appropriate age/interest/learning-based educational video games are selected; preventing excessive screen times at expense of physical exercise/social interaction/homework; reviewing content for potentially harmful elements like violence/explicit language/inappropriate themes; reinforcing educational concepts outside game environment through discussion with children about what they are learning etc.

Video games should not be viewed as a substitute for traditional teaching methods, but instead as a supplementary tool. While video games can boost learning in various ways, they should be incorporated with other educational techniques such as classroom instruction, textbooks, and teacher guidance. Video games can serve as an additional resource to reinforce and extend education outside of the classroom.

Educators can utilize video games in the classroom setting as an educational aid or interactive learning aid. Many educational video games have features including progress tracking and performance analysis, which can assist teachers to analyse students’ performance and individualize their instruction accordingly. Incorporating video games into the curriculum can make learning more entertaining and involving for pupils, providing a further opportunity for them to develop their cognitive, motor, and social abilities.

Conclusion

Video games have advanced from purely recreational to useful tools that can supplement childhood learning. When employed properly and moderately, educational video games offer a dynamic and interactive educational experience that is tailored to personal needs; it also encourages cognitive, motor, social, and emotional skills while motivating curiosity and creativity while fostering collaboration and cultural understanding. However parental involvement, oversight, and integration with conventional training strategies are essential to guarantee that video games are used as effective teaching tools. With careful selection, direction, and incorporation, video games can play a positive part in childhood study; leading the way toward an era of interactive and enjoyable learning experiences for youngsters.

Article by AbdulRasheed Raji 

Business Studies Teacher

Canadian Bridge Academy Abuja