Online educational games have a positive effect on kids, enable better retention of facts associated with the graphics on the screen, and make the learning process more relaxed as opposed to sitting with books at a study table.There is also a debate ongoing regarding the possible problems students might face if the classrooms are completely made online, which shall surely hamper social learners.Teachers worldwide have been using this technique to cast a lasting impression in the minds of young, which enables them to associate words with situations and hence remember details easily.There are many issues involving the online platform for educational content, which has stirred many questions as content not owned by the teachers are being posted online, albeit for educational purposes.This shall not be within the scope of this piece and hence shall be taken up sometime later.
Virtual classes have contributed a great deal to this possibility, but the usage is restricted to those who have a high speed internet facility, advanced technology set ups and also continuous access to the same for a period of time to attend these classes.
Every kid in the 21st century is very well versed with Facebook and Google.The innovation in the games and quizzes attract different kind of kids, based largely on the subjects which they are interested in.A ranking of intellect or posting their achievement still pushes the basic human nature to show superiority, and this can be used to enable older kids in their learning process.
We do not come across platforms where the aim is to help students refine, understand and absorb the new knowledge which they have obtained.Many children are seen to struggle with lessons after school, and in many cases all that they need is the right methodology to be implemented in understanding their lessons.Then the question which will come to the mind of any educator would be why aren’t these students using the power of the internet and a virtual social media to their benefit in the process of learning too?
Exercises and online tests have been known to provide the required push to students to assess and determine their stand in various key subject areas.Letting kids create online games and quizzes is also another way in itself where they learn without actually taking the quizzes or tests themselves.If we look at the various aspects of education which have been brought out onto the web in the recent past, they are mainly educational content, online tests, virtual classes and a network of teachers and students from across the globe sharing thoughts, experiments and ideas to quicken the pace of education using forums, blogs etc.
In all the above cases we have a system in place where the content is created by a teacher/ teaching body and the students have the option to view/listen or test their knowledge in these subjects.A student might not be able to implement his knowledge on the new syllabus in this type of a platform and these tests need to be revised by the teachers themselves before they can be put to further use.These varied methods have been seen to be freely available on the web today, and this seems to be a matter unknown to many kids who are in need of it.
With the new entrants into education on the web stream, we see a more open approach being employed, wherein, the students have a greater level of control on the subjects and contents they are being tested on, and also offering them a chance to modify details with changing times and updates which occur.Content has been seen to become redundant in the past, requiring vast input in the form of continuous updates from teachers themselves or content managers employed under them.The test preparation process in itself ensures that the lessons are understood and retained.
These form a part of their daily internet usage in many cases.The online media has always been deemed effective for imparting cognitive knowledge, and this once understood, was taken up to be implemented for the use of people across the globe through the prevalent internet technology.Distance learning programs have gained wide popularity over the years, and the number of students enrolling for it has also increased rapidly, with some universities reporting a 12% increase in distant learners as compared to previous years.
When we are dealing with older kids, then we have a slight disadvantage here, they are more engrossed in a lesson and may not be interested in small games, but only in proving their intellect amongst a class.Many new educational web pages have tried to incorporate such features keeping in mind that a classroom education has its plus when it is rightly coupled with kids revising lessons taught, hence having a deeper understanding of the concepts.They need the physical classroom, and the teacher - student interaction to occur in front of them to be able to appreciate and learn their lessons.
A game which involves ranking and an award scheme tends to bring about a competitive spirit and push the kids to unknowingly learn their lessons in the process.Parents and teachers play a pivotal role in a child’s education, and they can help show them, more fun ways to learn and more importantly, retain all that they have learnt, hence resulting in fewer cycles prior to examinations.A student may wish to only assess and not learn from an online media, this flexibility is also provided by many online platforms.
Teachers can share with students in a classroom material which can be from any source for the purpose of educating the class, but when the same material is required to be posted on an online space, there are copyright, legal and distribution laws governing it.Children are known to have a short concentration span, so we need to weave a method where there is positive learning, and there should also be a large repository of material to cater to the needs of learners from different walks.Here, the problem arises when there has been a revision in syllabus or change in requirements for a given test.In all the above cases we see that the main target for educators is to impart new knowledge and help in the process of learning.
