Spurring Natural Creativity in Children through Electronic Games - Essay Example

Young ones of all animal species are naturally curious and human children are no exception. In fact, the young human mind possesses intellectual potential and capability which is unparalleled in any living species. A child’s innate curiosity can be exploited to teach him or her life’s basic skills, the state of the environment in which he or she has to grow up and survive, the necessary skills needed for self-sustenance, and how to learn and become responsible adults in a civilized society. Education has developed over the years into a highly intricate developmental activity for humans in all civilized locations of the world. Set patterns of curricula and defined standards have to be met in order to qualify for the desired and specific professional goals. Modern education involves the usage of electronic media which can be either in the form of informative multimedia presentations or interactive activities using a computer interface. The following paragraphs illustrate an educational activity planned for 12-year-old children.

By the age of 12 years, most children have acquired basic language and mathematical skills and are well aware of themselves and the surroundings they live in. However, the real world is quite different from the narrow confines of a classroom or home and there is a need to increase the awareness of children about other places of economic importance to humans, like factories, farms, markets and industries. Students in cities usually are isolated from such places and rarely visit them until advanced age. They can, however, now be given a virtual experience of any environment using interactive electronic media like computers and interactive games.  Instead of going to an actual place, children can now visit virtual farms, factories, etc. on a personal computer through role-playing games that are available freely on the internet. Some examples are HP (Hewlett Packard games) which come bundled with their PCs (personal computers) or other online interactive game sites like Shidonni, Runescape and Roblox (Respective websites)
Activity
The purpose of this activity will be to familiarize children with farm life through a role-playing game, ‘Farmscapes’, available for trial download from the Hewlett Packard  (HP) website (HP website). Children will be assisted by the teacher to sign up for role-playing games available at the HP website which offers free (trial) as well as paid games for online subscribers (HP website).  Co-branded as Wild Tangent games, these are thoroughly well-designed, interactive and attractive games for children (Wildtangent website). To play the game, a person has to register with a valid email and the teacher can assist the students in doing so. As the students may not be aware of the intricacies of downloading and installation of the game, the teacher will download, install and assist the child to initiate the game on a desktop PC.

For this particular activity, the children will be asked to choose the game ‘Farmscapes’ and familiarize themselves with various farming operations. The main character of this game is ‘Joe’ who owns a ranch. Children will assist Joe in various farm activities like sowing, fertilizing, growing, harvesting the crops and selling them to reap profits for the rancher. They will learn how to run a dairy, a chicken farm, a beehive, etc., and indulge in interactive activities on the computer screen akin to actual farm operations. The children will learn to cope with natural disasters and farm operations necessary for running a profitable agricultural business. There are hidden treasures and mysteries which attract the children to the game and sustain their attention. Children can spend the allotted time on the game and leave the rest for the next day, on which they can resume activities on their farm. This takes away the strain on children from having to complete an activity in a single instance. The ability to resume on the next day provides adequate rest to the child and also prevents any undue eye strain. The game is colourful, attractive and involves actual movement around the farm in which the students can get a feel of the real thing Read More