Can Online Games Really Work as a Learning Platform?

You might not realize this, but online games can actually do much more for your children than just provide them with a fun and time-consuming pastime. They can be used as a learning platform, as well.

Through the years, online games have actually become more and more popular with parents, teachers and kids alike. As a matter of fact, they are now considered to be a big part of today�s educational system, penetrating into classrooms and helping students learn various digital technologies while mastering different academic subjects and gaining more knowledge and skills in the process. Some of the subjects that these games can help greatly with include languages, math, painting, management, economics and physics.

As such, it is safe to say that online games really work as a learning platform � and an efficient one at that. After all, the right games can teach, control and evaluate students, as well as boost their overall motivation to learn more and study more. Aside from that, teachers and parents will also get to monitor the students� progress as time goes by and help them become more responsible in terms of their studies overall.

There are also various other benefits that come with using online games as a learning platform, though.

Playing online games is a pastime that will give children the chance to hone their skills while having fun at the same time. Parents and teachers will also have an easy time evaluating the knowledge and skills of the children through these games. While it wouldn�t be right to call these games proper assessment tools, especially if they aren�t labeled as actual educational games, they will still be able to evaluate the learning skills and progress of students with them in time.

Aside from that, online games are easy to access nowadays. Plus, students will be able to develop their creative skills when playing the right games. Playing online painting games, for example, can hone their creativity skills like no other.

Naturally, any top quality games can evoke a sense of learning responsibility in children and encourage them to learn new skills while developing their creativity. Online games do not just assess skills, after all; they can improve the learning process and turn it into a more interesting and efficient one, as well.

Online games can also be used to demonstrate and develop certain knowledge factors and skills, such as the use of computer skills, which is required by every online game out there; and the knowledge of math. There are actually quite a few quality math games on the Internet nowadays, where children will have to solve basic equations non-stop or within a certain limit of time.

There are also online games that can help hone creative skills and management skills, or even a mixture of both. If you are trying to use online games to teach younger children certain skills, then you might want to opt for games that feature their favorite cartoon characters. A lot of the time, children respond better when they see their favorite characters on the computer screen as they play.

There are also a lot of social media games that can help children multi-task and exercise their brain better. Believe it or not, even the most basic Facebook games out there can do wonders at exercising a child�s brain, no matter how futile they may seem.

Overall, it goes without saying that using online games for teaching and learning processes can definitely be very beneficial due to the convenience, accessibility and pleasure that come therewith. You just need ot make sure that your kids play the right ones.
Image Credit: Jeroen van Oostrom

Author Bio:

David Miller is an educational researcher who has vast experience in the field of teaching, Online testing and training. He is associated with prestigious universities and many leading educational research organizations. He�s also an ed-tech veteran, currently pursuing research in new eLearning developments and contributing author with ProProfs.