Why Playing Video Games Can Boost Your Learning
In recent years, video games have emerged as a source of great learning. More and more research shows what video games can teach us. In fact, video games in real life benefits are shown to boost brain activity, cognitive skills and visual abilities in numerous ways. This is how video games could change your brain – and life – for better.
Help to Learn Responsibility
Playing video games is widely believed to be about fun only. However, more research is showing that the benefits of video games go beyond entertainment. Think of a group of players playing a game and each has a certain task to do. To win, each player must do his task as best as she can. This gives players a sense of ownership of, a responsibility about, playing games. To be part of a playing team becomes, therefore, less of playing together and more of achieving something together. This skill is particularly important in today’s world. By learning how to assume responsibility as part of a team, you learn teamwork and collaboration. Of course, video games alone may not help you learn responsibility. That’s why, combining video games with other learning sources is important. For example, you might read, or write, about a sense of ownership and responsibility. This can be done independently or using best cheap essay writing services. In doing so, you combine practical and conceptual learning to help you learn responsibility.
Boost Problem-Solving Skills
Yes: video games improve problem-solving skills. Gaming is a complex activity. In addition to fun and learning, playing games boost problem-solving skills. The “maze metaphor” might help to explain. Essentially, playing a game teaches you how to overcome challenges and solve problems you face. Through a maze of problems, characters and objects, you learn to choose your best route to go ahead in game. You’re trying to figure out how to save a player without being shot – a very common theme in video games. You might think about avoiding harm to yourself but also to hurry up to save another player. This puts you right in the middle of a problem you want to solve. There are, of course,
many situations in video games where, to get to the next level, you need to solve many problems. In real life, just as in games, problems are an everyday fact. To succeed, you need to learn how to solve at least your problems. Think of video games as a simulation of real life where you have to figure out how to succeed.
Boost for Your Brain
There is a growing body of research showing video games can boost your brain activity. So, how do video games affect the brain positively? In addition to problem-solving, video games enhance visual focus, semantic memory and cognitive control. This needs some breaking down. By “visual focus” is meant gamers gain more attention to objects on (and off) screens spending more gaming hours. Imagine a player tracking several cluttered objects on screen and wishing to shoot as many targets as possible. Tracking many objects need focus and, more importantly, attention to visual details on screen. In doing so frequently, gamers have visual focus as second nature. This ability is critical for many jobs requiring attention to visual details, particularly moving ones. By “semantic memory,” is
meant a gamer’s ability to memorize as many concepts, sentences or words as possible. That’s, by listening to instructions, reading cues, keeping in mind several prompts to move on, gamers develop unique memory skills. By “cognitive control” is meant a gamer’s ability to exercise self-control to take action or not. That’s, amid a battlespace in a game a gamer has so many cognitive activities going on in mind. To decide which action to take and when needs cognitive control. That said, video games alone
aren’t, once again, enough to boost your brain activity. So, you’ll need to learn more about brain activity by reading, and possibly, writing about mind skills. There are many resources to draw on online. Edu Jungles is a great writing service providing customers with a diversity of video game essay topics. Take a look and boost your brain by playing games, ready and writing about your brain activity.
Increase Multi-Tasking Skills
Obviously, video games make learners great multi-taskers. By coordinating mechanical and cognitive skills, for example, gamers perform different activities simultaneously. For long, multi-tasking has been praised yet many still can’t learn nuts and bolts of multi-tasking. Now, video games offer a great opportunity, for young and adult gamers, to develop multitasking skills. The importance of multitasking can’t, in fact, be overemphasized. If anything, multitasking has come to be an essential life and professional set of skills. In today’s professional world, for example, workers are inundated by so many tasks. Failing to organize and coordinate tasks is a sure way to perform low, get depressed or fired. Think of a gamer managing different consoles, on-screen activities, outside noise and rival gamer’s distractions. In action games, gamers need to pay attention to so many details and objects. Flinching for a moment could lead up to a “kill.” The ability to multitask can, accordingly, be a matter of life or death in games just as in real life. So, depending on tasks you need to do simultaneously, you might need to play different games to see what effect you get.
Learn How to Give Up Sometimes and Start Over
Let’s admit it. Games, just as life is, are about gain and loss. You don’t expect to win all along. So, playing games helps you learn how to let go and move on. This is a crucially important lesson in games just as in real life. To accept loss is, if anything, part of being mature and responsible. You also learn from your loss. In the real world, learning is so important to move on and up. So, accept your loss and don’t create a fuss and move on.
Level Up Your Study
Once again, gaming is much more beyond fun and entertainment. In gaming, you learn to “level up” and leverage your potential. That’s, you pick up or enhance specific skills as you play. More, you gain insights you might not be able to get elsewhere. Similarly, you can use skills gained from gaming in studying, if you’re still at college. By pacing learning and picking skills in games, you’re actually setting a plan to advance. In studying, planning is super important. So, learning to pace, up or down, your learning style, just as in gaming, will help you level up in and beyond college. Use reliable writing services as EssayBasics.com to level up in studying and use free time using your gaming and non-gaming skills.
In a nutshell, video games offer more beyond fun and entertainment. Indeed, video games help you be more responsible; boost brain activity and problem-solving skills. More importantly, video games help you learn skills and enhance abilities you need in your personal, academic and professional areas.