Rockstars of Mastery
If we looked at the literal, and technical meaning of rockstar — we might assume that it has nothing to do with spelling nor learning. However, to us, being a rockstar means more. To be a rock is to stay put, regardless of the circumstances — and that shows resilience. When we picture a rockstar, we imagine bright lights, confidence, power… What if we adapted this to learning? To be bright just like the lights, to be confident to rock their education upwards, to gain power through knowledge. To be a rockstar is to be an expert in your area, leading to higher accomplishments thanks to your confidence and courage.
Throwback to when you, the reader, were in primary school. Being a star was one of the main goals! As children, we want to be good at maths, literacy, science, everything; we technically wanted to be a rockstar in our class. However, for many of us — we were told to memorise spelling, numbers, equations. Although this does work, it cannot be the only way we approach learning. One of the biggest obstacles primary school pupils face is that some subjects can be stressful and overwhelming. This can result in a low attention span and not enjoying the lesson.
Teachers today believe in a fun learning approach, much like Emile does. That’s why in most modern classrooms you will find interactive whiteboards, tablets, computers, music, videos, and games.
With well-designed games, children can enjoy themselves while learning subjects at the same time. However, you can’t just expect any game to be educational. Like for example, you wouldn’t use the adventures of Mario and Luigi to teach children literature. Therefore, to make sure the game you are using for learning is adequate keep in mind the following points:
Is the game focused on the subject?
Has the game been developed by professionals?
Does the game promote a positive learning experience?
If the game is not focused on the subject in mind, it is not good. Games must be specifically designed for children to learn, developers do this by keeping in mind their audience and elements that do not help pupils learn, such as loud sound effects, distracting scenes or objects. By focusing on specific subjects, pupils can concentrate more and get involved with the task at hand.
Educational games must have been designed by professionals that understand exactly why they are creating educational games. Developers must ensure that the games designed are safe for minors to use. Not just this, educational games must be safeguarded as well as teaching pupils about gaming online safely. Therefore, playing a game that has been developed by teachers, game designers and organisations that specify in educational games, is the best choice.
Games that are boring and harsh to players, will result in low popularity and less enjoyment. Therefore, to ensure a positive environment is created for educational games, one must put themselves in the student’s shoes. What are the latest trends? What colours promote “feel good” emotions and memory? For primary schools, it is best to use warm colours and fun themes in games rather than having something that is distracting or inappropriate. High Schools might opt-in for a more grown-up look which might promote independence and growth for their students.
Although there are many ways, we can make sure educational games are appropriate for pupils, the ultimate goal is that: it’s educational. We want children to have fun, laugh and have positive experiences. We can certainly do that through games that promote independent learning.
Learning with Emile supplies great Maths and English support for primary school pupils which is fun and engaging. Looking at our case studies, we are proud to say that we work alongside experts and game developers whose goal is to provide the best positive learning experience with Emile you can have.
