Last Updated on October 9, 2023 by Editorial Team
Games are no longer just a leisure time activity, but these have become an essential part of a child’s education. Gone are the days when people used to consider games as just a recreational activity; these are now used to improve the academic performance of the child and build up essential skills.
As the world is drifting towards digitization, there has been a boom in the online gaming industry. But did you know that some online games positively contribute to a child’s academic performance? Online games improve motor skills in everyone- from toddlers to adults. They have made their way into academics in the form of a game-based pedagogy[1] approach. These games make classes more interactive and help students learn better. Research shows that 79% of students[2] play online, but how do these recreational activities help students with academics and their overall achievements?
Do games improve performance?
People often believe that games, especially online ones, have ill effects on academics. Some research[3] shows that games can have a bad influence on children and their academics. It shows that games can affect behavior, cognition, and attitude negatively. Moreover, it can be addicting and can drift the student away from studies. On the contrary, many online games help students elevate their performance and help them understand fundamentals in a fun way.
While facts and observations traditionally bring to the perception that games can be damaging for students, the truth is that games are an unsung source of learning. Children play games like Peek a boo and hide & seek for entertainment, and time pass. Little do they know that these games they are playing from a recreational point of view would positively impact the development of gross and fine motor skills.
Due to the advent of digitalization, outdoor games are being replaced by online games which the kids can play on their mighty devices. But these games are not always harmful or dangerous; when the child indulges in the right kind of games, they learn better and grow academically.
Benefits of playing online games
One obvious but most important benefit is that one can play online games from the comfort of one’s home. Online games also contribute positively to the various aspects related to education. From building and enhancing the overall personality and skills of the child, online games positively impact some spheres, some of which are –
- Helps with Cognition –
Cognition implies the process of acquiring knowledge and understanding various thoughts and experiences. Online games boost the child’s IQ and sportsmanship, which also positively impacts cognitive abilities.
- Enhances Spatial Ability –
Playing games enhances the understanding and reasoning of a child. They can remember the spatial relations among objects and space. Through this, the child is able to relate to other subjects, fundamentals, and topics, making them academically stronger.
- Multitasking becomes a habit –
While playing online games, children subconsciously focus on handling more than one task at a time; this makes the child experienced in multi-tasking. Multitasking becomes a vital aspect of education too, where the child can focus on more than one subject simultaneously.
- Improves Socializing –
Some online games allow a group of children to play together. This improves teamwork and socializing abilities. When children socialize, they open the gates of learning with their peers, which ultimately contributes to their studies and overall performance.
- Explain topics in a fun way –
Some online games based on education, revolve around a certain topic and teach many new things to the student without using conventional teaching methods. A classic example is spelling games, which help children learn the spelling of new words while playing.
The advent of game-based learning platforms
Online games have become an undividable part of little learners’ lives, which is leading to a trend of game-based pedagogy. Pedagogy implies those methods or practices that are followed to teach subjects to the students, especially the academic ones.
Today, with the increased popularity of game-based teaching, various websites have entered the market offering a similar approach for students to learn various academic concepts. The best part is that some of these platforms are free for all.
Free game-based learning platforms
If you want to explore free game-based platforms for your child, you can consider the following.
BrainPOP is a platform to play learning games and find animated videos that support students in learning the relevance, depth, and humor to improve academics. This website offers games in multiple languages like Spanish, French, and Mandarin.
This website has many online games related to subjects like arts, biology, civics, etc. Explorable explanations let the users make their own explanations in the form of tools and tutorials. This website consists of games that boost social skills, emotional skills, and cognitive skills, which ultimately help the student perform better in school. Not just games, this website has a lot of tutorials and documentaries too, to help children understand certain concepts.
ABCmouse is an educational gaming website founded in 2007. It offers curricular games for children of ages 2-8. This website has won numerous awards as it ensures training quality. Giving the opportunity to learn everywhere, this platform has over 10,000 games. Showing the real-time results, students can get to know their regular progress which motivates them to learn more through such websites and applications.
This is a math-dedicated website that focuses on training and development in maths. Owned by Scolab, this site offers software as a service (SaaS) and digital mathematical content, including games for students from 6 to 16. This website helps to motivate students and build their confidence, and perseverance and offers personalized learning where students can check their progress from time to time.
Created for kids from preschool to grade 8, this website offers 100 interactive games related to reading and maths. This platform also offers a variety of books and novels which can benefit the child in many ways.
Online games for improving academic performance
These learning platforms comprise games, videos, and so much more. But if you are more inclined towards online games, then here are the top picks for you –
1. Colorfy: Coloring Art Game
This digital coloring game for kids is filled with HD images that the child can color. This game has over 1000 images to paint. From flowers to mandalas to animals, the child can use the AR virtual gallery of the game to explore a new world of art. This game boosts the creative skills of the child and positively impacts academic performance.
Gamelink: Playstore | Appstore
2. Counting Pizza Party
This game is for preschoolers and children who are beginning kindergarten. Counting pizzas develops mathematics skills, and focusing on the number of toppings and adding them to match the order placed by the customer will enhance their mathematical fundamentals.
Gamelink: Official website
3. ABC Spelling
This website includes puzzles and games centered around spelling and the English language, helping children ages 2-8. Benefitting from teaching alphabets, sound, and phonics, this has three games in one, which help the students master the spellings of words while playing.
Gamelink: Playstore | Appstore
4. Synonyms Quiz
Choosing the correct synonym from the given options will test your English vocabulary. Also, this will help you to learn new words while playing. Ideal for anyone who is above the age of 4, this game also shows the exact definition of words so that you can learn better.
Gamelink: Appstore
5. Race Car For Kids
Nothing works better than audiovisuals together when it comes to educating through games. This is a racing game with narration in the background, which helps the toddlers learn pronunciation and new words. This game also allows kids to design and develop their vehicles, enhancing their imagination and fine motor skills.
Gamelink: Appstore
Summing up
In the midst of the increasing popularity of game-based pedagogy, it almost seems inevitable to opt for it. It is interactive and interesting, and so it ends up teaching your toddler in a better way. Thanks to the technology and the creators, educating in a fun way is now possible, only through these online games.
References
- Hanghøj, Thorkild. (2013). Game-Based Teaching: Practices, Roles, and Pedagogies. New Pedagogical Approaches in Game Enhanced Learning: Curriculum Integration. 81-101. 10.4018/978-1-4666-3950-8.ch005.
- Groff, J., Howells, C., & Cranmer, S. (2012). Console Game-Based Pedagogy. International Journal of Game-based Learning, 2(2), 35–54. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijgbl.2012040103
- Groves, Christopher & Anderson, Craig. (2017). Negative Effects of Video Game Play. 10.1007/978-981-4560-50-4_13.
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,