Gaming - Video Games as Learning Tools

Tips

*Make sure the screen is at a safe distance from your child's eyes

*Always check the ESRB ratings

*Remember that video games are a passtime. Nothing beats quality time

Skills

Reading

Obviously if your child is reading a lot, this will improve his or her reading speed and vocabulary as well as force comprehension as a lot of games require reading in order to understand what is going on. This not only helps English but also History as fictional stories are often made to reflect real history and issues. So what is the key to picking a game that is great for reading?

Games with NO spoken dialogue. If the characters speak, it won't matter if there are subtitles. Pick games that only put dialogue through text. I would recommend older RPG's such as Final Fantasy VII or Chrono Cross. Also you should check the back ESRB to find out about swear words. Do they use them and if so are they actually written out or are they in $%!# format?

Logic

What is logic good for? Logic is good for math. The ability to think will be great for math, science, and philosophy (much later on). So what kind of games are good for logic building? Well puzzle games are often good, and so are adventure games[point and click games]. So don't worry about getting beloved one that copy of Monkey Island 4 or getting your teen Myst. Also, Simulation games [pretend to be something in real life] like Zoo Tycoon or God games [pretend to be a God] like Populous 3 make great logic and strategy builders..

Map reading

Pretty obvious that games that have maps will help with geography and map reading. These are available in various games. Mostly they belong in RPG's and certain Platform Games.

Memory

There are games out there that focus on memory work such as Brain Age (quick memory) and Jeopardy (long-term memory).

Motor

No, I'm not referring to the fact of using a controller, though that technically is motor skill as well. I'm referring to games that will require certain things to be pressed at a certain time. Whether you're talking about rhythm based games like Guitar Hero or Fighting games with certain cominations required like Street Fighter games, there is plenty of Motor skill work to be done.

ESRB

Extracts

One

There are two key themes common to the development of games for education, namely:

* The desire to harness the motivational power of games in order to 'making learning fun'.
* A belief that 'learning through doing' in games such as simulations offers a powerful learning tool.
Read it all here

Two

This report presents an overview of gaming consoles and a comparison of consoles and the PC. Benefits of games to learning and the learning environment are touched on, as is the use of games consoles in research and teaching. Issues pertaining to potential future applications of games and consoles to learning and teaching, especially through the enhanced functionality of consoles, are addressed. The report concludes with an overview of other gaming platforms, and a summary of key points and trends to monitor.
Read the rest of the Article and the report itself

Three

Approaches to teaching gaming-related topics differ; some courses are tailored towards game design and programming, while others offer a more generic computer science qualification containing several games-related modules [Watt].

There are also a number of pre-university colleges offering multimedia courses containing elements of game design, programming, and music. Outside the UK, there is a growing collection of academic and educational establishments offering gaming-related courses and qualifications
Read the rest of the Article here

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