Finally it is summer holidays, cheer up! it’s time to have some rest after a long year of hard work. We all love summer holidays and our students even adore them. but the question is are we going to have just fun and forget about our learning? the answer is definitely Nooooooo. Remember learning is a life long process and does not stop in a certain period of time. If you are one of those who relate learning to just formal settings like classrooms or to certain months of year then you are unfortunately not the kind of learner
the 21st century education advocates. Be it at school , home, or out with friends you should always keep learning and never stop discovering new things. It is that inquisitive urge and the insatiable thirst for knowledge that must always drive you to inquire and as educators we want to make sure our students adopt this approach too for this is the ultimate goal of learning after all.
If the good results your students have got by the end of the school year are the only reasons that make you boastfully think that your teaching goals have been met then you are completely wrong. Yes, We all love to see our learners mark up high in their exams and get good grades , this at least satisfies the ego of some of the teachers and would lift some of the burden on their shoulders but the heaviest burden, for me personally, is the bewildering question of whether i have prepared my students to be life long learners that would go on learning outside of the school and with the same motivation they show inside . Aristotle compared the mind of man to a blank tablet on which nothing was written, but on which all things could be engraved. There is, however, this difference, that on the tablet the writing is limited by space, while in the case of the mind, you may continually go on writing and engraving without finding any boundary, because, as has already been shown, the mind is without limit.
What is the importance of games in learning ?
This is a good question to ask yourself. Why using games in learning after all? aren’t they just a waste of time and an unnecessary feature of distraction for our students ?
To provide you with sound answers for the above asked questions i have done quite a long research online and even asked and emailed some experts in the domain and these are the results :
Games if they are not the backbone of the learning process then they are pivotal constutents of this process. The reasons are multifarious and here are some of them:
- Games are motivating and entertaining.
- Games help students to sustain the effort of learning.
- Games create meaningful contexts. They increase cooperation and lower anxiety.
- They arouse the interest in learning
- They give the students a good rest so that they can go on learning more efficiently.
- Psychologists claim that games can be , if used judiciously, very important learning materials especially for young learner for they fight the boredom and dullness some of the students might feel when classical learning is taking place.
- Games make learning meaningful to students
- They make learning more memorable
- Games are an essential part of the socialization process
- Games help learners make fewer basic-level errors and improve their linguistic competence.
- Games are fun and students love them so much
- Games help students learn by doing and fight the breastfeeding approach where students are only consumers of what teachers give them
- Games open up new interesting and enjoyable learning experiences for students
What are the things to bear in mind when selecting games ?
Games should be carefully prepared for. We will not just go around picking up games that sound and look good. We should treat them with the same importance as is the case with any other tasks in the lessons. There are many factors to take into account when opting for game selection and inclusion into the curriculum. before you choose a game ask yourself the following questions:
- What are the objectives of the game ?
- How will learners achieve these goals ?
- Is the game free to use or have any copyrights ?
- Is the game easy and simple ?
- Does it have clear-cut instructions for its users ?
- What skills does the game address ?
- Does the game require any previous preparation ?
- How long does the game last ?
- Is the game nudity free and student- friendly ?
Having grasped these points you can now start your safe online journey looking for the appropriate games to introduce to your kids and students. Again to start searching for games online you need to know some of
the search tips to save you time and render your search much more focused and therefore get the right results in the right time. If you still do not know how to effectively search the net then i invite you to read
Search Tips for Educators: Learn how to search the web effectively.
The following are some of the games i have picked up for you to use or share with your students and kids. Since we are on the verge of the summer holiday and most of us will not be in front of their computers then these games are just for mobile devices that you can play wherever you are. Remember these games all meet the above mentioned guidelines and are very safe to use with any age group :
The list is not exhaustive and i will be adding more and more gaming apps. If you have any suggestions or comments feel free to drop them down or contact me using the contact form above.
That’s it about :
Educational Mobile Apps – learn while having fun.
