How Video Games Helps You to Learn
Playing video games can help you learn in various ways. And the benefits of video games to your education and career is one you wouldn’t want to ignore. Multiple studies have shown that playing video games goes a long way in improving your motor skills and thinking critically. Video games also promote critical social skills such as team building and leadership.
You can free up more time to play video games when you outsource some of your schoolwork. And if you need any custom research paper writing help, you can always get it at the click of a button. That said, let’s explore more deeply ways by which video games can help you learn. Grab your mouse and sit tight; it’s time for take-off!
Contents
Why Play Video Games?
Video games have numerous benefits for students of all ages. And with the growing awareness of the importance of games to education, many more educational games have sprung up. These games are practical tools for teaching algebra, coding, biology, and lots more. So, if you’ve been seeking a way to deepen your learning and understanding of specific subject matters, you can try video games. Some games are also great at improving one’s mood in a short period.
What skills are essential to success in life? Persistence, determination, creative thinking, resourcefulness, mental adaptability, communication, and the likes. When you play video games, you’re able to hone most of these skills.
But how? Imagine been stuck at a stage in a video game. You think of ways to pass that stage. Sometimes, you have to think about it and mull it over in your head countless times. Then you try it repeatedly till you either find a way around it or do some research online on how to pass the stage. You could also ask a friend to help you out. Whatever method you use to pass the stage, you have harnessed and used several skills essential to success in life.
Therefore, in summary, video games can help you:
- Deepen your learning and understanding
- Improving a person’s mood
- Learn important life skills
- Learn to solve problems
- Learn to ask for help
How to Use Video Games in Education
Although mindless gaming could have some adverse effects (will be discussed in the next section), one can intelligently avoid the negatives and embrace the positives. Here are some tips to help you enjoy gaming for educational purposes.
- Control How Much Time You Spend on Gaming
To benefit maximally from gaming, you have to limit the amount of time you spend on gaming. If you spend much time gaming, you can easily get addicted, and games begin to control you. A few hours a week (1 to 3 hours) is optimal.
- Play Games Appropriate for Your Age
As with movies, games have age ratings. It would be best if you spent time playing games that are appropriate for your age. This is a sure way to get optimal gaming benefits.
- Set Goals
You should know the reason why you’re gaming. In this case, it is not to while away time but to help you discover and make connections as well as build and improve your understanding.
- Be Creative and Innovative
You need to be creative and innovative when it comes to overcoming obstacles or solving puzzles. Doing this will help you develop the much-needed flexibility that will open the portals of your creativity.
- Reflect Briefly after Gaming Sessions
After every gaming session, you should always take some time to reflect. Think about what you learned and how you may apply that in real-life scenarios. This will help you transfer what you learned and put it to practice.
The Downside of Playing Video Games
So, what are the possible downsides of playing video games? It would be best if you always remembered that all video games are not the same. Most popular video games are based on theft, drugs, alcohol, violence, etc. Children are great imitators. Therefore, exposing them to these game types could lead to them showing more aggressive behavior. This can counter any positive skills learned during gameplay.
Also, children who play video games excessively could experience some social and behavioral problems. Here are some of the issues associated with excessive gaming.
- Poor social skills
- Less time spent socializing with family and friends
- Time away from other vital hobbies
- Less time spent studying
- Lower grades
- Less exercise and the tendency to be overweight
- Poor quality sleep
- Aggressive behaviors and thoughts, etc.
Closing Thoughts
Although gaming can help you learn better, excessive gaming can bring about the opposite effect. Therefore, there is a need to balance and control gaming activities. It should never replace the time spent socializing, studying, sleeping, etc.