"the Educational Games We Play At Home Boosts School Performance"

Put any child in front of a computer platform ga me for the first time and they will struggle. Yet in a week they could be on level four. The change in ability is almost entirely due to practice. They have established the rules, learnt from mistakes, observed short cuts and developed a game plan. They may even have sought peer support. But almost certainly have not had to ask a teacher or parent for help. So how is this achieved?

An essential element is the fun involved in playing the game. This induces practice from playing the games that improves learning retention. The game becomes a challenge, giving feedback and instant rewards such as moving to the next level. The investment of their time can be quite astounding. In contrast how often can we say a child enjoys text book based homework? If educational games can be developed in concert with the established skill of games developers there is a very real possibility children will see school homework as fun entertainment.

Imagine maths homework being an integral part of a Wii game. We could easily see children playing educational games on the bus or car trip to and from school. It could even become a trendy thing to be seen with. As children spend 85% of their waking hours outside school this would be a huge opportunity to enthral kids and capture their ability to practice quietly and independently. Imagine the progress back in class with children that have spend an hour playing an new educational game compared to 10 minutes completing a conventional "boring" maths text book exercise.

Software based educational games can be interrogated by teachers. An example is a MP3 based maths game called Bunja that allows the teacher or parent to check on progress. Revealing as stored data how many attempts a child took to get to the score; how many right and wrong answers. Teachers can rapidly assess progress electronically in place of marking 30 exercise books.

This potential holds a significant payback in examinations. Collecting data electronically is a far more accurate, fast and cost effective. The 2008 woes in the UK when exams results were lost or late created mayhem and anguish for schools and children. It also revealed the examination marking fee structure of around £50m a year. Money that could invested in the next generation of maths games.

Technology is moving rapidly and now allows educationalists to harness the amazing enthusiasm that children have in playing games to an educational benefit. But the standard is high and to make the next generation of educational games take off the design skills that exists in the gaming market are required. This may not be easy as they will need to operate in a less commercial market than the retail gaming sector. The investment for a educational supplier may be too high to produce a reasonable ROI. The solution may lie with a government subsidy and a joint force of teachers and games developer.

The opportunity is huge. Although Microsoft has stated its intentions to develop educational games the real potential will probably still lie with the innovative and dedicated educationalist and gamer rather than the corporate behemoth.

By: Keen2learn

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

www.keen2learn.co.uk/news/ www.keen2learn.co.uk/c/2/80/ICT_Games.php