Why Games Can Be Good for Education



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You may have heard people complaining time and time again that their friends would much rather spend hours on end playing a game online than to get out and socialize. While playing games for more than an hour or two at a time can be harmful, there are several benefits to them.

A game can be an educational tool and something that helps us exercise our brain. In fact, some of the knowledge we get as kids comes from games. It all depends on the format and the purpose of the game. Let us go over why and how games can be educational.

Abstract Problem Solving

Games can be colorful with a gallery of creatures and places that have no physical shape. They present the player, and this is especially true in the case of simple games, with a pattern. If you do something like this, you will win. If you don’t, you will lose. Sounds simple enough, right?

Again, the format of the game is very important. If you want the user to learn more about the wonderful world of physics, present them with a game that holds different settings for different objects. For example, how fast would a bowling ball fall, compared to a tennis ball in the vacuum, but with gravity? The users quickly start learning the laws and parameters of the game, which enables them to approach future problems and dilemmas in life with creative curiosity, rather than irritated confusion.

Engagement

For a child that has too much energy (as well as for the one that has too little), a textbook with static letters on paper often does next to nothing in terms of transferring knowledge. Games are much more dynamic and engaging. The sleeping users will wake up, since the learning format is now interesting. The same goes for the energetic ones – they now have a place to burn out the excess energy. Mind you, we are talking about games in general, not just computer simulations.

The Social Aspect

As much as games these days seem to be alienating people from one another, there is a social aspect to playing games. The gaming communities often help one another with the insurmountable obstacles. The exception to this rule comes in the form of games with the toxic community, like League of Legends.

Users learn from one another and become more engaged in the lives of people around them. Think back to when you were a kid. How many friends have you made simply by playing a game together in the field without even knowing each other? Games help us develop our minds and interaction with the people and the world around us.