From a report prepared in the United States, entitled "Children and games 2009"Among all American children between the ages of 2 and 17, 82% (more than 55 million) use video games. Of these, 9.7 million are between 2 and 5 years old, data that could be extrapolated to other latitudes in the developed world.
It seems to me that these figures are for thinking, first of all they are high but, if we cannot and do not want to act against it (as long as the games are adequate and limited), at least try to make video games useful. How are you use video games at school to learn?
And it is that as more and more children grow up with video games, educators see them as allies, and in a collaboration between game creators and scientists, new interactive experiences can be created for the classes.
In the United States, three games have been developed to make subjects such as world culture, molecular biology and space exploration more accessible and fun for young people. I believe that it is a success, provided that the games include the correct information, are used in their right measure and are adapted to the abilities of each age.
And, of course, that the weight of training is not left to the games, which would simply be a complement and in the company of adults (teachers and parents) that we are responsible for transmitting our culture and knowledge
The Federation of American Scientists and video game editor Escape Hatch Entertainment has created "Immune Attack", which aims to save a patient suffering from a bacterial infection. Along the way, players gain knowledge of cell biology and molecular science. Another game is "Discover Babylon", which teaches the meaning of Mesopotamia in world culture using objects from libraries and museums.
"Quality video games are very important in education because they reach some students who otherwise would not receive the knowledge," said Clara J. Heyder, a professor of physiology and pathology in Virginia, a component of this educational experience.
We do not know if these video games will be giving good results, but from my experience with audiovisual and playful in the classroom I would say yes.
Although rather I would distinguish clearly between "education" (citing the teacher's previous words), which corresponds to the parents first, and "training", as a culture, to which the school contributes apart from us. So, Do you think video games can play a positive role in the formation of our children?
