The Good Electronic Games and the School Environment
We live in times of rapid and unpredictable changes. The demands of contemporary life go beyond everything that traditional school can provide for students. School does not prepare for life, since it is real life itself. In this world, young people will have to renew themselves, to constantly change throughout their professional lives. Hence, it is necessary to rethink school learning. Education will have tremendous change in the coming decades. Learning will take place only in places where we will employ carefully designed educational tools in the spirit of today's world.
Electronic games are among the favorite leisure activities of young people. Let's remember that leisure can mean simple fun, but its primary meaning is recreation, encouragement and inspiration. In other words, it is use of time for high purposes, that is, recreate or renew the mind and heart. In addition to changes in the school environment, aiming at a more modern and healthier environment, the ideal lesson in the classroom today is the one that looks like research. Whenever possible it will connect the class with the problems that need to be solved now. Education needs to be a more flexible experience, adapting itself to kids and young people experiences and learning styles, instead of the other way around.
There are many bad electronic games as well as many bad books. Good games are spaces for solving problems. They improve problem-solving skills and improve social skills. They emphasize the search for creative solutions and provide opportunity for collaboration. They create opportunities for complex learning experiences. They can help students to understand the world and its history and also to express their life story properly. It would be nice to see all the students studying to learn how to apply knowledge to the real world. And not just to pass exams.
The new digital technologies allow the users to create situations that simulate those of community and city life. Simulation means experimenting with a model. The good game enriches the learning experience with personal and social meanings. Good electronic games encourage teamwork and cooperation when played with others. Researchers point out that these games increase children's self-confidence and self-esteem. Finding solutions to their problems and those of their community is what will develop interpersonal intelligence and perception. As they learn to articulate their personal narrative and share it with others, they end up realizing that various situations are collective. And this can make a difference in their lives. In this way, they can have a creative relationship with the society in which they live.
