Patrick Lanning on How Oregon Put Back the Fun in Learning

There are lots of fantastic educational games out there. Yet, many schools still forget to use these in their education. They still don’t understand that learning through play is one of the best ways to assimilate and retain knowledge. Patrick Lanning is happy to see, therefore, that Oregon grade schools are starting to break the mold. They have understood that learning through play is, in fact, one of the best ways to learn, even once children start to become a little bit older.

Patrick Lanning on Fun Educational Resources

There are many fun ways to become educated. Computer and video games, card games, and board games are all excellent examples of educational opportunities. In fact, many of these games were created by teachers. They help players to learn about science, music, math, problem solving, and/or communication, all the while having lots of fun.

What sets schools in Oregon apart is that they don’t just pay lip service to the concept of learning through play. They really implement them in the classroom. In fact, they have even worked together with parents so that they can take the same games and play them at home, in an environment that is both safe and fun. The added bonus is that they then become a more integral part of their child’s learning.

There are a lot of different educational games out there. Some of these are 100% free, as well. Consider games such as Brain Age, Zoombinis, and KidPix, for instance. These are all designed on improving various thinking skills. Some games, such as Zoombinis, focus on a specific area of learning, such as logic. Jump Start is a particularly popular educational game, whereby children learn how to review what they have picked up in school, reinforcing their knowledge. Oregon Trail is also very popular, as it enables students to follow early settlers heading towards the Wild West. Disney has a range of educational games, and Reader Rabbit Software teaches young children how to read.

Of course, there are lots of opportunities to move away from electronic gaming as well. The game Jeopardy, for instance, can easily be adapted to become an age-appropriate educational game. IT can even be adapted to various different subjects and knowledge levels.

Children in grade schools in Oregon have been using educational games in a virtual environment for many years. Some of those were created thanks to the National Science Foundation grant, and developed by Harvard. What this shows, is that there is a clear public and educational commitment to the importance of playing games. What researchers believe is that children, of any age, build up a natural resistance to anyone telling them what to do and to learning. They believe it to be boring and subconsciously choose not to listen. But introduce the same subject through a game, and you may quickly find that you have a classroom full of excited, hard working children looking forward to showing off their skills.