The console, the laptop, the television, the tablet, the mobile … are fuming. During confinement, minors are spending many hours in front of the screens, and many of them playing video games as popular as Fortnite, and that is indicated for people over 12 years old. Inadequate doses and taking certain precautions, playing video games can provide benefits for the cognitive development and education of our children. For this to be so, in the following lines we point out 10 tips that all children should take into account before facing a video game. In addition, we make a small review with five educational video games with which to learn programming, natural sciences, or mathematics.
10 tips for playing video games
Objective: have fun and learn
History, mathematics, biology, languages, physics, or programming are some of the hidden subjects in many video games.
Respect other players
It is important to treat playmates with respect and politeness.
Learn to win and lose
Rejoice in the victories of your opponents and take the opportunity to learn from them.
Choose the most suitable video game
Just like in books or movies, there are recommended games for every age. You have to look at the PEGI logo.
In the company is better
Play with your family, as well as with friends. Share your skills and progress with them and teach them all about your favorite video games.
Homework first
Homework is unavoidable. Comply with them and collaborate at home before you start playing. Establish with your parents when and how much you can do it. And be responsible for what has been agreed.
Beware of strangers
Never share personal data or information about location, email address, phone number, passwords or images. In addition, you can block other players from contacting or report them to the game or platform provider.
Ask the elders for advice
Before accepting an invitation to play online, buying or downloading a video game, and making any payments, consult your elders. They will check if it is safe and will help you choose the most suitable ones. Go to them with any questions you have or with any situation that seems strange to you.
Always move on to official pages and stores
To avoid viruses or dangerous links, buy video games in official stores and download them from authorized online portals.
Don’t confuse fact with fiction.
The video game is just fantasy; When you finish playing, what surrounds you is your world, where you live and the people you really care about.
5 video games to learn
Minecraft Edu. (PEGI 7) This block-based construction game helps stimulate creativity and learn basic notions of programming, dimensions, organization of spaces, collaborative work …
Dragon Box. (PEGI 3 and 7) A video game designed to learn math and algebra concepts in a fun way. The problems and challenges posed by Dragon Box are available both for the classroom (educator version) and for the user, through the download of its applications (all are paid). It is divided into two blocks, one for children from 4 to 9 years old and the other for schoolchildren from 9 years old.
SimCity Edu. (PEGI 7) Its purpose is for young people to learn to design cities, managing finances, and understanding how the communications and basic infrastructure of a municipality work. They will also have to make decisions, as they will become cyber mayors of their Smart City.
Spore. (PEGI 3 and 7) Online game to learn natural sciences. Children can manage and see how living beings evolve from the smallest category (a cell) to become impressive living beings that, depending on how they have been care
d for and the habitat in which they have grown up, will have one aspect or another. This game is paid but has a free trial.
Simple Machines. This initiative developed by the Chicago Museum of Industry and Science has online access. The objective of this game is to help a robot to build its world, for which it will be necessary for the player to make a selection in the logical order of the different pieces found in space.
