Why Online Educational Games are a Boon for Parents

Getting kids to sit down to complete homework is nothing short of a Herculean task for many parents. Imagine getting the little ones to spend some more time on practicing what was already taught in the classroom! For many parents, evenings are spent chasing the kids around the house to get them to sit in one place for some study time. It’s never a problem sitting down in front of the idiot box or the computer screen, but when books are involved, it’s an entirely different story. 

Fret not, there’s a solution to all these woes! Online educational games are gradually becoming the new-age parent’s best friend. Why, you wonder? Read on to know about the magical advantages that these online games offer parents.

Advantages of Online Educational Games

1. Ideal Mix of Fun and Learning

This is probably the most obvious and popular feature that parents has parents gunning for these games. There are a plethora of educational games online, and almost all of them strike a healthy balance between being enjoyable and instructive. With exciting visuals and challenging levels, kids are motivated to do their best to progress in the game, using all their classroom lessons in the process. Many times, the little ones do not even realize that they sharpening skills in a variety of subjects and topics as they play these games! 

2. Practice Perfect

If you think that homework completed correctly and on time is enough to get your kids to master a topic, think again. It takes regular practice and revision for kids to feel confident about any topic. But getting them to spend additional practice time after completing homework can be a nightmare! Online educational games come to the rescue here. There are several kinds of games to be found online. Depending on the topic in question and the grade your kids are in, pick a game and encourage them to play it. Kids will get the practice they need and you’ll be a smiling, content parent. 

3. Productively Occupied

It’s almost impossible to keep kids gleefully engaged in productive activities. If the activities are fun, they’re seldom productive, and if they’re productive, kids mostly find them boring. With online educational games, the task of keeping kids productively occupied has become relatively easy! Since most kids enjoy gaming time, they’ll be more than happy to spend free time playing these games, and as parents, you’ll be satisfied knowing that even though your child is busy playing, the learning doesn’t stop!

4. Safety First

There are many kinds of games online, and not all of them are safe for kids. But if the games have educational content, more often than not they have good safety measures in place. So if your kids are sitting down to play educational games, chances of untoward incidents related to cybercrimes are greatly reduced. But always do take the time out to check the websites that your kids frequent. You can never be too safe!

5. Bonding Time

What could be better than participating in fun activities that your kids enjoy the most? Show the little ones that there’s more to you than homework, healthy eating, and exercise! As you spend time with kids playing educational games online, you not only have fun and bond with your kids but also encourage them to choose and play games that offer educational value. 

With all the advantages that educational games offer, they are certainly a boon for parents! Browse through some online games immediately and get your kids hooked on them!

Educational Games vs. Traditional Learning – The Differences

Can educational games ever replace traditional teaching methods? Probably not. But they can certainly be an effective and more practical approach to learning and help offset the limitations of classroom teaching methodologies. Research suggests that while online kids’ games might not be as effective as traditional learning, those based on Game-based Learning (GBL) approaches motivate students and help them learn better. So before you impound your child’s Xbox, learn how it makes learning material more accessible and education more relevant . And also why gaming literacy is now considered to be important enough for schools to incorporate it in their curriculum.

Educational Games-based Learning – Why it Works

Try and deconstruct the fun in any good computer or video game – it all boils down to the same thing -the integrated learning process that is as subtle as it is effective. A player can only progress in an educational game when he masters certain skills or logic – while he is actively engaged with beating the game his mind is experiencing the pleasure of figuring out a new system. This is true even if the game is considered to be pure ‘entertainment’ such as Angry Birds. Classroom learning, on the other hand, often feels dull and passive – that’s because kids are being engaged or challenged as much as they should be. Learning is synonymous with acquiring the skills and thought processes required to handle and respond to a variety of situations but most forms of traditional learning are little more than rote memorization.

On the other hand, a well-designed educational game for kids targets specific learning goals to motivate highly-engaged learners to apply the problem-solving skills to real world problems. In fact, the same factors that contribute to the success of Call of Duty are also the ones that help create ideal learning environments for students.

Online Educational Games for Kids – The Top Benefits 

These are some of the top reasons why your child should play virtual educational games:

1. Online Educational Games can retain kids’ notoriously short attention spans far longer than classroom teaching sessions. 
2. Most computer games apply relevant educational principles to foster important skills such as motor skills, cognitive strategy, verbal information and intellectual skills. 
3. Kids’ educational games online have a proven record of increasing students’ motivational levels and making them master skills far more quickly than traditional teaching methodologies.
4. Computer games are particularly skilled in promoting a positive attitude among players towards the topic they engage with thus increasing their knowledge about it. 

Educational Games for Kids – The Final Analysis 

Children’s learning games have a number of well-documented and proven benefits – however, this does not mean that classroom learning and traditional teaching methodologies are redundant and should be done away with. Computer games can never replace teachers but they can be used to complement classroom learning when used along with text books and web-based learning to provide a well-balanced education to your child. The support and encouragement of your child’s teacher are crucial for making educational game-based learning a success.