Gaming & Education- The Healthy Amalgamation Gaming can play a positive role in educational achievements
By Joomin Lee
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
While talking about the educational value related to gaming, especially in India, there are more chances that you will end up getting a skeptical look in response. However, the truth is that gaming can be a significant positive factor towards academic and educational achievement.
Don't believe us? Let's explore the ways in which gaming can help the cause of education and development:
Social skills
Gaming is largely a social activity, whether you're spending the afternoon on a PlayStation at a neighbor's house or meeting some friends online to tackle a few quests. While doing this, one learns to work well with others.
In team games, cooperation and teamwork are vital. Hence, gaming can help one learn the difference between success and failure via a joint effort. These qualities are not limited to the gaming world only but can aid an individual in growing in the real world too.
Interpersonal and communication skills that are honed at a young age through gaming will stand you in good stead through your academic years as well as your career.
Strategic analysis and critical thinking
When it's about academics, success can't always be easily measured. Sure, there's passing and failing, but there are a number of other relevant factors that can't be so easily assessed. For example, a 60% may not sound like something you'd be happy with but what if nobody else crossed 40%?
On the contrary, games are usually refreshingly black-and-white – there is success and there is failure. It is up to an individual to work towards the former rather than the latter.
Moreover, this process of analyzing the best way to accomplish something can be hugely beneficial in the long term. Video games foster strategic analysis, critical thinking, spatial reasoning, memory, perception, and problem-solving abilities.
Children and their parents can focus on certain areas and choose games accordingly.
Mental health
With the amount of academic pressure on children and youth increasing, it's sadly inevitable that many of them will succumb to it in various ways. Even as a hobby, gaming can result in many of the benefits mentioned above.
It also serves as the perfect stress-buster. Also, it has been observed that playing video games can boost self-esteem, which assists in enhancing every aspect of your life.
Something new and unique
Furthermore, primary reason for gaming contributing to the knowledge base is that it is simply different and a unique way of learning. Reading your mathematics textbook? That's work and not that much "fun', isn't it?
On the other hand, how about playing a game that introduces & explains the same mathematical concept? That's an entirely different proposition and much more engaging for a child.
The key to gaming's potential as an educational tool lies in the fact that it can approach its target audience in an entirely special way. More importantly, that is exactly how the audience will approach it as well.
The prevailing view for far too long now has been that gaming and education are two forces permanently locked in opposition. The truth is, conversely, that gaming and education can work together towards a mutual goal i.e. an innovative way of education and learning things that are not taught in school.
