Electronic Games As well as Children -- Another Viewpoint.

 The "Wikipedia problem" which means children embracing internet for readymade answers is the newest age phenomenon baffling teachers and mentors globally. You will find almost equal amounts of teachers who consider technology to become a solution around a problem. While a standard belief is that technology is hindering the students' capacity to believe and analyze, there is also a powerful opinion in support of game titles and digital gadgets' ability to activate students and enhance learning by utilizing more than one sensory stimulators. Regardless of the growing concern concerning the students' deteriorating attention spans, institutions are incorporating them in the process of classroom learning.

Students are inherently inquisitive creatures. They have a curiosity to find out new things and learn by way of discovering and experimenting even before they're subjected to ways of formal education such as reading or writing. Science is a discipline of experiments and discoveries. The National Science Education Standards emphasize that "science education needs to give students three kinds of scientific skills and understandings. Students should try to learn the principles and concepts of science, acquire the reasoning and procedural skills of scientists, and understand the nature of science as a certain type of human endeavor. Students therefore have to have the ability to devise and carry out investigations that test their ideas, and they should understand why such investigations are uniquely powerful. Studies reveal that students are much more prone to understand and wthhold the concepts they have learned in this way " ;.Hence, it becomes imperative to activate children in science education at an early on stage.

Digital games tend to be more capable to gain students' interests and attention than other conventional method of imparting education in a classroom. However, some educationists also regard them as culprits of exponential decline in the interest span in children. The next sections in this information discuss the involvement of children in games in the tech age, forms of games available available in the market and the impact of digital gaming as learning supports classrooms.Game TopN

Gaming and the New Age Kids

Digital technology has expanded the horizons of video gaming in the current world. Kids are subjected to far more technical and challenging technological environment than their counterparts were from over half of a century back. Involvement of kids in digital gaming is a result of many significant changes in the lifestyle and culture of the current society. Easy accessibility of technology, dispensable income due to dual income families and lack of infrastructure for outdoor activities in many cities are some major contributors to make screen games a significant part of the children's' lives. A study by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) unearthed that only 20 percent of the census blocks are within half a mile of a block boundary. Also, the aftereffect of peer pressure can't be undermined in today of social networking.

The digital gaming market is among the fastest growing segments of the global entertainment industry. US is witnessing unprecedented penetration of digital games amongst youngsters. In the US, 97% of the teens play some type of game on a regular basis. In India, the gaming market has grown manifold in the last few years. Hence, it is imperative that educationists are continuously contemplating the usage of digital gaming as a learning tool in classrooms. Institutions will also be employing innovative ways to leverage the digital advantage for enhancing the learning experience at schools.

What're Digital Games?

There's no concrete definition of games as it may vary with an individual's preference and profession. Games could be defined as a "system by which players take part in artificial conflict, defined by rules, which create a quantifiable outcome" ;.Technology and digitization add new dimensions to games where simulations, interactivity, augmented reality, alternative reality, collective intelligence and sensory stimulators such as sound and visual effects. Digital games will also be characterized by their portability and limitless accessibility.

Role-playing games, simulation games and puzzles are some of the most popular digital games. In role-playing games, the player enacts the role of a certain character in a virtual world moving in one level to one other based on the outcome of the sooner level. RPGs could be single player like the dungeons and dragons from earlier days of gaming or multi-player games such as Diablo III, Xenoblade, Final Fantasy XIII-2 or Mass Effect 3. MMORPG or the Massive Multiple Online Role-Playing Games are an expansion of the RPGs where large amount of players interacts in an online virtual world. Simulation games create realistic situations in virtual worlds. The results depends on the player's decision-making and responsiveness and is going to be closely similar from what may happen in a real life in the same situation. Widely used in training and analysis, simulation games will also be popular for their unpredictable and personalized outcomes. Flight Simulator X, Live for Speed (LFS) and Importance of Speed have now been extremely popular simulation games for an extended time. Puzzles genre of digital games involves problem solving and analysis with varying degrees of difficulty with regards to the nature of the game. Crosswords and treasure hunt games are basic forms of puzzle games in both physical and digital form.

All forms of digital games involve a cultural involvement of players. Some need collaborative efforts to play while others might be discussed or analyzed socially. Regardless of some games being accused of outright violent visual effects, a well-designed game can accelerate the thinking process by motivating, engaging, involving creativity and developing a meta-game i.e., social interactions inspired and enhanced inside or beyond your game. Incorporating digital gaming in the essential education framework can cause augmented competitiveness and multi-dimensional growth in children.

Digital Games in Science Education - Why and Why Not?

The 21st century requires the mentors and the students to integrate technology in to the curriculum. Although ultimate goal is always to benefit the students when it comes to learning and experience, unsupervised, unorganized or irrelevant application can lead to accomplish failure or have negative effects. A few of the negative impacts of digital games in general and in context with the education are listed below:

• Digital games have now been facing constant rebuke for allegedly enhancing aggression amongst kids and developing a violent streak at an early on stage. In a study by Anderson and Bushman (2001), Children involved in violent game titles are more prone to have increased aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and decreased prosocial helping. Utilization of weapons and being rewarded if you are violent is a reason for widespread concern.


• Digital games could be addictive for kids and make them physically inactive. Digital games, besides social networking, are thought for reduced physical activity leading to obesity in kids and postural and skeletal disorders.


• Addiction to games can be known to make kids socially secluded. Impulsive behavior, depression and increased anxiety levels are largely related to excessive gaming in children. Some studies also suggest that the kids winning contests are unable to concentrate for an extended span and have reduced attention span.


• Students are susceptible to absorbing socially unacceptable behavior through some digital games such as using profanities and ill-treating the fairer sex. Not enough adequate understanding of screening the material available online is an increasing concern amongst the parents.


• Digital games are thought a burden to raised performance in academics. Students are often found to skip homework to play games leading to deteriorated performance at school. However, despite their reputation as promoters of violence and mayhem, digital games have actually been shown to help children learn skills, content, and vital "21st-century" skills. From digital games children can learn: content (from rich vocabulary to science to history), skills (from literacy to math to complex problem-solving), creation of artifacts (from videos to software code) and systems thinking (how changing one element affects relationships as a whole). Strong arguments in support of using digital games as learning supports secondary education are summarized below:


• Digital games involve extreme hand-eye coordination and enhance motor and sensory skills. Sensory stimulation theory proposed by academician Laird (1985) validates that effective learning occurs when the senses are stimulated. While some studies reveal that digital gaming reduces attention span, you will find strong evidences of improved concentration in short intervals of time. Digital games involve keeping a watch on every detail, follow the rules and respond proactively to the given situation. Complex digital games help is developing problem-solving and decision-making skills. Some games also involve logical analysis of the problem and pattern recognition and improve memorizing thus assisting in the cognitive process. Playing by the rules teaches children to simply accept and respect a specific amount of discipline.


• Multi-player digital games create a sense of constructive competitive attitude. Collaborative games also improve team-building attitude. They develop time management skills in a group and train the players to cooperate for mutually desired goal. They teach the players to simply accept defeat along with strive for better results. Digital games offer an avenue for hyperactive kids to direct the vitality in a constructive system based game. In addition they provide a store to release aggression and frustration, thus helping in diffusing stress. Some games also involve physical activity such as Nintendo Wii boxing helping kids to activate mentally and physically with the kids. Complex digital games involve advanced of multitasking thus improving brain's natural learning process. Brain based learning theory proposes that multi-tasking is an inherent activity of mental performance and learning is enhanced by challenges at various levels. Digital games develop efficient situational analysis and strategy making in children. Since games have certain objectives at every level and your final objective of the game, it teaches players to devise temporary and long-term strategies such as scoring points, retaining energy and reaching the ultimate goal of the game. Simulation games and the role-playing digital games help players gain expertise or learn by experiencing in replicas of real life situations. Experiential learning and action learning theories are based on the premise that individuals learn faster when they by experiencing and actually participating in action.