Parent Child Learning Games

The idea of parent child learning games is a great concept. Lots of people seem to think of online learning games being played by kids alone by themselves. This really does not have to be the case as nicely described in the article "Parent Child Learning Games".

Actually, when you think about it, the radio and television already were distractions from people getting together. But use these and online games as complementary tools and you have something that can bring people together.

Company's games make serious learning fun

PAUL SWIDER Times Staff Writer writes in St Petersburg Times published September 16, 2007 that "Company's games make serious learning fun". I really like this. This fun learning thing is bigger than I thought. Let's look at an extract from this news:

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"Hot Wheels toy cars on the conference room table are the first clue that this company is different.

But the cars aren't toys; they serve as tools for clients to learn about ethics, diversity or security - real bottom-line issues.

Still, Sealund and Associates is building games.

"People are much more interested if there's going to be a game," said Barbara Sealund, who founded the training company in 1985 after a career as a schoolteacher. "They don't want PowerPoint."
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If this fun learning really catches on, then learning will be a pleasure instead of being a real pain.

Games-Based Learning

Learning games has again been highlighted in another news article TrainingZONE.co.uk. An article by Terry Hurley, managing director of ITI Techmedia, looks at the growth of games-based learning.

In his article entitled "Games-Based Learning – Tomorrow’s Training Today?", he says
"Games-based learning isn’t a new concept. For years, the military and aerospace industries have used video game style simulations to train soldiers and pilots, where real-world environments or locations may be unavailable or dangerous. While there are differences between military simulations and games-based learning, the concept and rationale are essentially the same.

Games-based learning motivates and engages learners in a more creative manner than traditional classroom-based learning. Games can even be personalised to ensure the user is taught the relevant learning skills suited to them.

Today, approximately 70% of European companies now use some form of multimedia in their training, and researchers expect that to increase to 80% in the next couple of years."

Instead of one style suiting all and all following the same time frame, it is quite clear that learning games are more effective.

A Parent's Sharing on Online Learning Games

For parents who are keen on and work with online learning games with their children, Jenny Mannion has been teaching computer games to children of different ages and now has 2 children of her own. Her kids give her an excuse to still play and seek out the newest most fun kids computer games!

Found some information by her and was particularly interested as she prefers non-violent and mostly games with some educational value.

Think that Jenny has as much fun as her children doing this. Click here if you would like to read more on Jenny's thoughts and recommendations.

Book on "How Computer Games Help Children Learn"

I just picked up this topic on online learning games as an interesting topic, and am now finding out how well extensively this concept is being worked on and serious work being done.

While lots of schools use computers, question is are they using it to teach the age old stuff or exposing the kids to new ideas still via games. You can use "boring games" to teach math or "more worldly games". Instead of deciding what we want to teach them and then build these online learning games based on that, which typically will be "teachie", is it possible to develop fun games into which the learning points are included?

And this book entitled "How Computer Games Help Children Learn" by David Williamson Shaffer was one that attracted my attention to check out what it is about. I checked out reviews of How Computer Games Help Children Learn on Amazon and found that it had a 4.5 star rating and comments that were well worth reading on what people expect from online learning games.

Learning Games for Math - Carnival of Math Games

The Brunswick News dated October 18 2007 talks about how teacher Beth Oberg using learning games to teach her students maths using their imaginations.

An extract of the news:
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"It's not only arithmetic. Math is everyday life," she said. "And I do not want my children to be bored or afraid of it, so we play with it."

She decided to make her classes a big carnival of math games as a way for students to experience the subject in a fun way and reinforce their skills.

The idea of making learning fun has brought her legions of student fans for more than 21 years and helped her create Math Game Night, a festival of math games for students from pre-K to eighth grade.

On this night, held twice a year at the school, children bring their parents to play games that can tackle addition, division or probability.
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It is great to know of dedicated teachers that think of how best to educate. In a manner that allows the students to get the most out of learning. The news says "With the games, the kids don't realize how much math they are using because they think they're playing and not learning." That is truly awesome. To have fun and by the way be learning as well.

The good news is that Oberg's idea has become so popular among her colleagues that many have incorporated games into the math curriculum. Some have 25 games, others 30. As for her: After 21 years of teaching math, she has compiled 400 games from which to choose.

Learning Games can also be Serious Games

Learning games is also a reality in the world of serious games based on this news article "Games which aren't fun but are useful" by Duncan Jefferies in The Guardian on Thursday October 18 2007. Here is a short extract:

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The words "serious" and "games" do not exactly go hand in hand: the former is to do with disasters and global warming, the latter being associated with things like fun, excitement and pleasure.

Despite this, the term "serious games" has become a catch-all term for software which uses videogame design principles to deliver educational and training experiences. Typically bespoke, they are designed to run on standard PCs or games consoles, immersing players within a virtual environment where they must perform a series of objectives in a similar fashion to a mainstream videogame.

"Learning through play is a well established educational principle," says Mary Matthews at TruSim, the serious games division of independent video games developer Blitz Games. "The fact that it's now being applied to adult learning should not be a surprise to anyone. Look at roleplaying: nobody bats an eyelid at that as a valid form of training. Transferring that to videogames is the automatic next step."
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Although this serious games concept is about delivering educational and training experiences, it just means it is being applied to more serious learning than games that are being played just for the fun of it.

The basic principle of learning the fun way still applies. Not only is it fun but it now does not have to be dependent on an instructor being available all the time.

There are Learning Games Even for Languages

When I started this blog, I was not thinking of learning games for languages. Would you believe that there is a book called "Games for Language Learning" by Andrew Wright.

Here is a short description of the book:
"Games provide meaningful and enjoyable language practice at all levels and for all age groups. They can be used to practise any of the skills - speaking, listening, reading and writing - at any stage of the learning process, from controlled repetition through guided practice to free expression. To enable teachers to select the activities most suitable for their needs, precise information is provided, both at the beginning of each game and in the summary chart, about the language content, the skills to be practised, the level, the degree of teacher-control, and the time and materials required. Clear advice is given on preparation and classroom procedure, with many illustrations and examples. There is a comprehensive index."

You can get Games for Language Learning (Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers) from Amazon. It has a 5 star rating from four reviewers.

I did not learn languages using games. Wonder how it will be like. Guess definitely more fun than how I was taught.

Cool Learning Games for Caregivers and Frontline Senior Care Staff

Cool learning games are not for the little kids and teenagers, it is also for caregivers, housekeepers, activity directors and other frontline employees who have daily, hands-on contact with residents in assisted living and nursing communities according to this press release dated October 11 2007 entitled aQuire Training Solutions Announces New Courses Available A La Carte.

Here is an extract from the article:
"Using a game-based approach to training is an intentional concept designed not only to increase the enjoyment and engagement of learners, but also to improve retention and build skills more quickly, proven results of repetitive learning games.

Unique courses designed for staff in community based care settings like Assisted Living and Residential Care also set aQuire apart from other online staff training programs.

"Several products are available and specifically designed for nursing home staff," comments Brothers. "Recognizing both the growth of assisted living, and the public's preference for home-like care settings, our courses are designed to promote a less medical and more personalized approach to caregiving. We support the move to a culture change that focuses on the individual, not the facility."

Courses are written by an instructor team consisting of nurses, restorative therapists, testing and education specialists and experienced senior care administrators. California has approved all courses for CNA continuing education; other states approve the courses for inservice and staff training requirements."

It is wonderful that learning is now possible anytime, anywhere with cool learning games that make it more fun and engaging for the people who use them to get trained. Such methods have become really pervasive and shows great promise in training people in the best way that they can absorb and at their own time.

Teaching Teachers a Thing or Two

KRISTIN MacFARLANE reports in The Daily Post in New Zealand about children teaching teachers a thing or two. Here is as extract from the report:

"Whiteboards are the new blackboards and children at Owhata Primary School are about to teach the teachers a thing or two about how to use them.

They're set to front a national conference to show teachers from around the country how to use interactive whiteboards."

The thing about these interactive boards are that they can play learning games on the whiteboards and can project websites or their own work. Is this not wonderful? The whole thing about learning is to be able to learn. People describe this with a big word called "adaptive". It is all about being able to learn what one needs at that point which is relevant for the moment. With interactive online learning becoming open to students, they will not be constrained just to their text books.

Owhata School: GREAT WORK!

Click here to read the complete report.

Learning Games being played in a bank

Rajeshwari Sharma from New Delhi reports
"For some new hires at ICICI Bank Ltd, India’s largest private sector bank, play is an integral part of work. These hires, typically junior and middle-level managers hired for customer-facing functions, are made to play online games for several hours before they get down to the business of dealing with people."

I know they had e-learning facilities at most large organizations but actually playing games online. That is really cool.

ICICI actually has four gamea
- queue management
- cheque clearing (operations)
- cheque payment across the counter, and
- savings accounts.

As the names suggest, these games present situations with customers seeking services in these areas. The games require the staff to provide quick services and resolve issues efficiently. For every right move players make, they get a part of the key to the kingdom, while they lose a life for every wrong move.

That is a fun way of learning on the job!

Welcome to The Online Learning Games Blog!

Hie!

This space has been set up to bring to you information on online learning games that are will be both fun and educational.

Watch out for more to come.