video games are strong learning tools helping the learner with understanding. With the help if video games, learners are able to develop critical thinking in analyzing not only situations but being able to solve problems easily.
“Some people may think that video games are a waste of time, and some parents have even refused to buy their children the video games. If they are to buy them, it is only over the holidays and when the school opens, they have to take them away and may be giving them once in a weekend (Gee, 2014).” This is happening so because some parents actually do not know the importance of these video games, and if they could have known, then they could easily part with their money to buy them.
Video games help children to learn easily and also develop not only mentally but also socially. In the first place, video games help the learners to develop social skills, as well as interpersonal relationships. As they watch the videos together, there are some ideas which they can share which will make them to identify with each other. For the introverts, it is them tool which brings them closer to the others and this helps them to learn through sharing. If they are able to share with the other learners, they will start to open up slowly to the other world surrounding them and eventually, they become sociable.
moving from the social sphere, let us move to the mental sphere
The video games are also very important in developing the mental capacity of a child. This is because as they play, there must be application of the mind so as to know which place to go next. These games then make the child to think critically before they are able to do the game correctly. “The more they think, the better the development (Devlin, 2011).” Research has shown that children who play video games so much have higher thinking capacity that those who do not play. If they develop a high thinking capacity, they will not only apply the knowledge in the video games, but in all life matters.
These children will also be better at problem solving than those who never play. This is because at least in every play they make, they are solving problems and they have to make sure that they win. Even if they do not win, they could have tried their level best. This makes them better suited to any situation since they will be having inbuilt problem solving skills. After all, a problem is a problem whatever it is and solving it needs that the person involved think critically and determine the best ways to go about it.
having talked about the mental situation and sphere, let us move to the psychological and health sphere
Video games are not helpful to children only, but to people of all ages. The people who are playing in most cases get to relieve their tension and they feel free. They also get emotional rest since they forget all their problems as they put their full concentration on the game. Forgetting one’s problems is very healthy to the mind and body in general because it will be hard for that person to develop stress or related problems such as depression and such like. Stress is most caused by pondering on one’s problems. “If a person stays without thinking of the problems, then they will probably stay a health life (Kellinger, 2016).”
When the mind is given time to rest, the emotional and mental well- being of a person is enhanced. This could also lead to relaxation which in turn helps to do away with such risks as heart attacks and strokes. It is also known to boost the memory and buffers against depression. It helps in some cases in decisions making since a person is in his or her correct state of mind. The person will thus make decisions which he will not regret to have made hastily because he was depressed or emotional.
The games are also fun, and they also make a person happy. There are some people who are made in a way that they do not like walking for one place to the other, and they find themselves rooted in the house. Television gets boring because they come to know it in and out and they do not have any fun. Video games can be the best tool for them, which will help them not only to enjoy but to learn. Learning does not only mean that a person enters into a classroom and a teacher stands on the front to teach, but one can learn individually. The video games thus help the learners to invent much on their own as they play and as they relate and apply the knowledge they have acquired, they may come up with very good plans and ideas.
Each learner has their sets of unique characters and while some of them enjoy being taught by a teacher, there are those who think that teachers are too complicated and they fear them. However, the video games help them to explore new ideas and enable them to learn how to do away with the challenges. For instance, when they play and they struggle to get everything in the first level, the game will adjust itself to the next level which is more complicated and which needs the person to think more critically even than what they were doing at first. In the struggle to balance enjoyment and challenge, the learner gets a place to fit in the learning zone, where they are able to solve many challenges a lone.
having discussed the importance of video games and how they can be used in learning, let us look at the counter argument
Counter argument
Some people think that video game is a waste of time. When children are given these games, or even grown- ups, they get obsessed with the game and that is the end of work. They are unable to do any work since all their time will actually be spent playing the video games. Then, the game becomes a threat to the education of a child as the child will not study; they will not concentrate in anything and will not even be sent in the house. They will see anybody who calls them as a disturbing element and they may end up hating some members who tell them enough of the video games and on with other work.
“If a game is to be helpful, it should not be used to harm a child. However, the video games are harming children especially in their education and relationship with their friends and even their family members, such that instead of working or playing with their friends to develop their relationship, they could like to be alone to play the video games, and this is not socially fitting (Wang & Haomin, 2011).” This is why they find the games not paying and they decline their children from engaging in them whatever the case.
Since I do not agree with this idea, I could like to refute it in the following lines
It is not a must that a person plays a lone; people can play together and make the games enjoyable. In most families, there are rules which are well understood by every family member, and there are also consequences for those who break the laws. Thus, as the learners start to play the video games, they know which time they start and which time they stop. There will not be much conflict in making them understand that rules are to be followed such that the family can run as needed. The whole scene is just simple and it is like they were playing outside. Each game is distracting and calling the player back to attention will need some energy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Because of the many positive sides of video games in the learning process, I strongly urge parents to not only buy them to their children but also encourage them to play when they have free time. Considering that they help in the development of better health, mental status, emotional and psychological status and even the social status of the players, video games should be highly recommended as tools for learning, better, efficient and new ideas which can be applied in the schools where learners attend and even in life- challenging situations.