There is perhaps no better way to harness the power of the technology that’s all around to great effect than by using it to encourage young, enthusiastic and inquisitive minds to explore educational games and digital learning activities. Ever since video games started finding their place on our computer systems, there have been games aimed at offering kids a fun way to learn. Here are some of our favourites.
SplashLearn
SplashLearn isn’t one game, but it’s rather a vast library of educational games that can be played on a variety of Kids Computer and tablets, including the iPad or even just in your web browser. It’s free for teachers to incorporate into their classroom lessons, and paid plays for parents start at $5 a month, depending on the features you want. There are games and integrated lessons for just about every grade and subject you can think of right up to grade 5, so if you have a younger kid and want to encourage learning by making it fun, SplashLearn is a really strong one-stop shop.
Camp Wonderopolis
The value of exposing your kids to STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math) from a young age can’t be overstated, and that’s the message behind the National Center for Families Learning’s Camp Wonderopolis. What started as a fun and free way of providing a way for parents to encourage learning over the summer break is now available to everyone for free. It’s divided into five distinct experiences, each with a specific goal and subject-orientated activities, from construction and engineering to health and fitness.
The Symphony of Wonders, for example, focuses on music and guides kids through lessons on music production and composition as well as some science and math-related content.
Animal Jam
Animal Jam puts players into a rich online virtual world to learn important lessons about both zoology and ecology. It was created in partnership with the National Geographic Society and delivers its educational content through a massively multiplayer world with many different games and adventures. It boasts a user base of over 160 million registered users, which offers you insight into how popular it is. You can play it on your computer, or mobile device, with apps available for both Android and iOS. Naturally, there’s a paid version but it offers plenty of content without having to fork over any money.
Kahoot’s Dragonbox
If your kids have spent time in pandemic-induced online lessons in the last few years, they have almost definitely been exposed to Kahoot, an interactive quiz game that can be played remotely. The company behind Kahoot has produced a set of interactive learning games called Dragonbox which is aimed at kids with a focus on math skills. They’re aimed at kids between the ages of four and eight. There’s even one called Dragonbox Learn Chess, which provides a gentle introduction to the game of chess, featuring a collaboration with chess grandmaster Magus Carlsen.
There’s no doubt that these fine examples of educational video games for kids prove that learning can be fun and doesn’t have to be something that kids try and avoid.