Online Games Outdo Textbooks

To some young minds out there, it is still a mystery why we need to have textbooks. Although education in the past twenty years has changed drastically, it is still holding onto some of the most antiquated methods of instruction. A textbook is a player in these mysterious, old fashioned teaching methods. Students often ask me, "why should I carry around this book when I can use my cell phone to read the information"?

Despite the rising costs of these books (not to mention the weight it carries in their backpack), we should actually take a look at whether these books are a good resource for learning. When deciding if a method of learning is effective we must first evaluate the individuals using that method.

When dealing with students we have to remember that they are still young meaning they are very energetic and curious about the environment they live in. Providing students with a non-interactive classroom along with a large textbook can be depressing at first sight. Another area to consider is the rising condition of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Although ADHD is talked about a lot, it is important to treat ADHD as a serious condition. According to CDC.GOV (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), “Approximately 11% of children 4-17 years of age (6.4 million) have been diagnosed with ADHD as of 2011. The percentage of children with an ADHD diagnosis continues to increase, from 7.8% in 2003 to 9.5% in 2007 and to 11.0% in 2011 ”.

With ADHD conditions rising largely each year in young people, alternative learning sources should be introduced. An effective tool for learning is online school games. So just how exactly are online games useful for learning?

Educational, online games are more accessible. Unlike books, an educational game can be accessed on any web connected device. Many students today are using a mobile device where they have access to the internet.

Games can track a person’s progression. This allows the learner to evaluate themselves throughout their course of learning, plus the teacher can view results. Monitoring the progression of a learner can be very important, especially for teachers. With this sort of information a teacher is able to evaluate where the student needs improvement and how they are best learning in the future. Teachers can use the free tracking service offered at https://ReviewGameZone.com to assign work to students and monitor their performance. This is a great form of learning because it benefits both the teacher and the student.

Lastly, online games are simply more fun! If you ask any young person today would they rather learn from a 300 page book or an online game through their mobile device, a tablet or a computer, we all know how a lot of students would answer. Online educational games offer that bit of excitement to motivate a student to learn.

So there you have it. A few important points to keep in mind when picking between educational books or educational games. As a teacher or parent, it is crucial to balance the enjoyment and learning activity with a student. You never want a student turned off by a piece of work because they will never learn. Enforce the use of online educational games and see the improvement in attitude and learning of students. These games are not mean to replace traditional teaching method, rather supplement them.

*Review Game Zone is a cloud based review game creation site where teachers can make educational games directly from their browser. To create a game simply input the question data, type the answer choices and that's it! The games are automatically created in the cloud and provide interactive review of classroom topics. The content in the games is fully personalized and customized to suit your student's needs. You can even track your student’s progress and results within the games. Click here to Sign Up for a free account.