Video games have both a positive and negative side that has to be considered in terms of the value they offer. Video games have been discouraged largely due to their impact on increased violence among children. However, despite the negativity, the positives are largely misunderstood and even ignored in some cases. The traditional teaching methods in Qatar have been based on lectures that do not include the input of students in the lesson. If teachers took advantage of video games and integrated it in the course curriculum, a different perspective would be in place within the education setting. One major benefit of using video games as learning a learning tool is it helps increase concentration of students through the interactive learning methods. At the same time, video games help enhance student engagement and competition during the class, which allows the students to be more open-minded and involved in the class.
Video games help enhance brain development among children. While playing video games, the player is bound to rules of the game, which defines their moves and even options they have to consider in attaining the goals for a given level. Integrating such a setting in class will increase the need of students to know more about their class and lesson. Every new game presents a new lesson, which requires players to familiarize with the new instructions and settings. Moreover, when children learn through the video games, their ability to understand would increase in a practical way. Students will be independent of the use of teacher explanation by searching, negotiating, and trying different way to find a solution on their own. In addition, video games help enhance non-cognitive skills and creativity. For instance, students can learn about perseverance skills through trying to find clues and solve a puzzle. Teamwork is also enhanced through playing as together and dividing the tasks among the players. Self-control can be taught by controlling the temper and emotions of the players when they lose a game. Finally, students learn problem solving skills by trying to figure out ways of solving a puzzle through following it instructions.
While playing video games, children have the benefit of enhancing communication skills through connecting with other players rather than be isolated. Multiple player games allows for development of cohesion and cooperation among players. Video games help children make new friends, and get new acquaintances. When video games are integrated with learning, it will help students find friends from their school. Furthermore, video games will allow children to accept competition and establish the need to continue trying rather than quit. When children get stuck in a game, they usually try their best to find a solution to it, and think from different perspective to be able to get the answer and not give up easily. This will benefit students while trying to solve things that they have not taken before. Video games also develop the characteristics of leadership in the child. In a game, one of the team should take the responsible in leading other members and planning how to distribute the tasks among them. Video games are interactive and allow children to apply planning strategies and executing the same. A wrong move would mean no points earned; in learning, this will allow students to consider a holistic approach to learning.
Video games help in increasing interaction among students in class. Traditionally, in most Qatari schools, children’s are often sitting and listening to their teacher’s explanation. But if the teachers integrated video games during the lesson, their students will undoubtedly be more interactive with them. This will certainly be more enjoyable and useful at the same time. Students will also benefit from the answers of other classmates since each of them has a different absorptive capacity. This will benefit students to link what they learned through the video game with the lecture objectives. By doing this, information’s will be suspended in students mind since they persists in order to solve the answers. This confirms that the use of video games for education can be an interesting and exciting way to motivate students to learn, and to be attention in the classroom.
Finally, video games are new, creative, and useful ways to gain students’ attention during the lesson and increase their interaction. Since they set an interactive learning environment, students get to redefine their standard learning experience and strive to increase involvement and participation in attaining learning objectives. At the same, video games help increase independence of students. Students have the option of deciding on the best actions that they consider will help them attain set goals, which in some cases might not be the actions considered by the teacher. This allows for development of cognitive skills among students. Therefore, video games offer a new setting in the education sector, which tutors have to consider as a supplement to the current teaching methods.
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