Video Games and Education: Top 5 Games That Teach Valuable Skills
The line between education and entertainment has blurred in the digital era, much as the line between real and virtual worlds. There is so much more to modern video games than leisure and button-mashing. They can be instructors in their own right, both deeply informative and fun.
Let’s look at the top 5 games that teach valuable skills to examine the exciting intersection of gaming and education in 2023.
Taking The Pressure Off
The weight of non-stop assignments, hectic schedules, and deadlines looming big often takes a heavy toll on students. They long for little breaks to rest and recover their worn-out minds. That's exactly why professional paper writers for hire are so helpful at such times. Students shouldn't drive themselves up the wall when the pressure is too high. Professional essay writers can come up with flawless, well-researched papers to help students get the coveted As they so desperately want.
With some of the academic stress off their shoulders, students can spend time doing their own thing. If they choose to play educational video games, they won’t just be chilling but sharpening some valuable skills too.
Let's now explore the top 5 games that bring fun and educational value at once.
1. The Blocky World of Minecraft: Critical Thinking
In the wildly popular video game Minecraft, players use virtual blocks to build elaborate structures and landscapes. As they construct towering castles, intricate bridges, and pixel-perfect sites, students explore geometric ideas like symmetry, proportion, and spatial connections.
Resource management, a skill often neglected in traditional education, takes center stage in the game. Players must routinely gather resources and mine for supplies. They learn about resource scarcity, sustainability, and ethical use. This can help turn students into responsible citizens, ready to tackle the most pressing global concerns head-on.
Image: Alvaro Reyes
2. Kerbal Space Program: Research and Experimentation
The Kerbal Space Program is a great game for all students passionate about space, astronomy, and physics. Players enact the role of space program directors controlling Kerbals—a charming and eccentric species. The game lets you build rockets and spaceships to explore a vast and exquisitely realistic solar system.
And there you have it, a fun way to learn about orbital mechanisms and Newton’s laws. The game promotes experimentation and failure-based learning, mimicking the actual scientific method. Players are encouraged to build hypotheses, carry out experiments, and make conclusions based on their findings. It's an extremely dynamic educational process.
3. Civilization VI: Strategic Thinking
Civilization VI is a strategic masterpiece that lets players take on the role of leaders and guide civilizations from their earliest stages of development. Students make complex decisions that impact the development and survival of their civilization. Every decision must be well-thought-out, from selecting the government to managing resources and dealing with other leaders. This promotes strategic thinking, problem-solving, and a deep appreciation of the causal connections that shape history.
What's more, Civilization VI acts as a mirror onto a player's inner world. Take good notice of your leadership style as you build your civilization to learn more about yourself. Are you a ruthless conqueror determined to expand your territory or a soft-spoken diplomat seeking peaceful relations with your neighbors?
Portal 2 from Valve
4. Portal 2: Problem-Solving Skills
The puzzle game Portal 2 will test your ability to think spatially and solve complex problems. Players assume control of Chell, a mute protagonist who must make her way through a number of challenging levels loaded with riddles and obstacles in a strange and delightfully gloomy environment.
As you advance, you’ll run into a variety of challenges, such as turrets and lethal traps, all of which need problem-solving skills to get through. What’s more, players are encouraged to investigate the connections between forces, angles, and motion, all the while developing a solid knowledge of fundamental physics concepts.
5. Alpha Centauri: Ethical Decision-Making
Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri lets players take on the role of leaders to determine humanity’s fate on an alien planet. As they explore space, govern colonies, and face intergalactic battles, players must make decisions that determine the fate of the entire mankind. The game sheds light on complex issues in philosophy, society, and ethics, ensuring a gratifying intellectual experience.
Alpha Centauri encourages students to think about the implications of their choices as they struggle with moral dilemmas that cut across time and geography. This is exactly why games for students are so valuable- apart from providing vast potential for learning across a variety of fields, they help them discover some of the most deeply ingrained psychological patterns that govern their decisions. Students deal with moral and ethical dilemmas and learn about the possible effects of their decisions