Playing is an integral part of who we are as human beings. Playing is entertaining. We get to express ourselves, we learn, socialize and stay competitive. Playing is also essential for development as it contributes to cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development especially among children. Through playing, we get an opportunity to engage fully. However, despite the numerous benefits derived from playing, playtime has remarkedly been reduced among children. There is always a distinct separation between playing and learning time. In most cases, playtime has been reduced to a few minutes between study time, mealtime, and sleep time.
The pandemic presented a new challenge for parents and playing among children. For months, children were confined to their houses. For the first time, more parents were okay with extended screen-time, as it was the only way to keep their children safe and learning while having fun. A significant portion of the screen time has been spent on video games and YouTube videos. Much of this time is often to the parents’ irritation and frustration, mostly gaming time. To most parents, the games are not seen as educational, which is true in many cases. Yet, this is changing in the 21st century. The appeal of gaming and the power it holds for education is gaining traction. Gamification of various elements of learning is becoming increasingly common. The result has been the creation of educational games. They bring fun and entertainment to education, a concept that is known as edutainment.
If this is new to you as a parent, you might want to read more to know why you should embrace educational games. On the other hand, if your kids come home and tell you that they have played video games at school or with their friends, do not be surprised. Additionally, if your kids tell you that their homework is to play a particular game on the laptop, tablet, or smartphone, do not be surprised. There is a lot of research today, which supports the effectiveness of educational games. Here are four key reasons why you should embrace educational games.
It is an opportunity for children to practice new skills.
The first step into mastery and deep understanding among children is using skills, especially new ones. The challenge is motivating children to practice new skills. This is one of the vital benefits of educational games. They appeal to children by eliminating the dullness of learning in favor of a competitive space that rewards efforts, with points, stars, or gems, for every correct answer.
Educational Games offer children a safe space to experience failure and learn from their mistakes.
By playing educational games, children know how to fail and persevere as they try to bounce back. If we do not expose children to failure and mistakes, they will miss out on the chance to develop the required skills and abilities to overcome them. The best thing about educational games is that they give kids an opportunity to experience failure in a constructive way. Frustrations in games are neither hurtful nor intimidating. Compared to real-life failures, missing out on reaching the next level or having your players run out of lives is a very diluted experience of not succeeding. These games encourage children to apply creative thinking and try different approaches when making new attempts.
Educational games motivate children to take control of their learning.
Any form of video game is engaging. Well-designed educational games, like the ones found on Tizi. Games, immerse children in the context of a gaming universe, instead of a formal classroom. Here, they have a fun environment where they can understand curriculum content through various interactions and applications. Constant gaming helps children take ownership of their learning journey by giving them the freedom to choose different ways or options when they tackle the game’s objectives. These objectives can appeal to children since they are naturally curious and competitive and give them a sense of achievement when they reach new milestones.
Educational Games offer immediate and constructive feedback.
Constructive feedback when children are learning is key to helping them progress through new topics and achieve meaningful practice. Educational games offer constant immediate feedback through aspects like points, gaining lives, or moving to the next level. With such feedback, kids get to know where they are excelling and what they need to work on their next trial. Eventually, they get engaged in the game, and without knowing, they engage with the learning material.
A boy playing educational games on a mobile phone.
These are just some of the reasons why you should embrace educational games. As you can see, parents should be more accommodating when it comes to letting kids play educational games. As parents, it is crucial to know the truth and value of gaming. Do not get drawn in by the stigma, which is associated with the gaming industry. Games today are very complex, and your child can benefit from them. That is where Tizi. Games come in. It is an edutainment platform offering educational games for children in classes 1-6. There are games to help your children in maths, language, and art, all based on the new Competency-Based Curriculum. Sign up today and get a 14-days free trial to immerse your kids in the fun world of educational games.
