Education through Games

Education through games? Sounds strange, doesn’t it? But it sure is true. Well, times are changing for sure. With the turn of the 21st century, we have progressed very rapidly in different domains such as personal technology, medicine and science; and education is no exception to this rule.

Methods of education are changing across the world. In India, however, we still have a fairly traditional system of education. So it is time that we revamped our system a little to make it more contemporary and enriching. One useful way of doing that is providing education through games. Games are surely great teachers. For instance, research has shown that video games, which are usually associated with promoting laziness, actually assist in teaching varied subjects ranging from Mathematics to Music. This is because it engages learners and involves them in the learning process.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the famous book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, is a very strong advocate of the educational abilities of games. In his book, Kiyosaki has created a game called Cashflow 101. It is a board game designed to educate players about the different notions of earning through investments. This was also released in the form of a computer game and both were extremely successful.

Games help kids to become self-reliant in terms of learning. They provoke the children to start thinking for themselves and questioning ideas presented to them instead of merely gulping them down and reproducing them in examinations. You will come across several instances where kids lose concentration after sometime while sitting in a traditional classroom.

The great thing about education through games is that kids are made to think and process information while they are playing them. Games also appeal to others kinds of learners for whom books might not work such as children who prefer to learn by doing.

Educational games make learning fun, but more importantly, they ensure that learning actually occurs. They also help in the reduction of stress levels among kids by presenting assessment exercises like tests and exams in a more interactive format. In addition, a combination of education and entertainment can act as a strong motivator for students.

Compulsive studying versus Encouraging learning

Imagine- A typical scene at home before school feedback and assessment time. When the mother is coaxing her child to do his homework. Struggling by all means to get him to study and revise. Trying it all - persuading, negotiating, shouting, threatening and sweating it out to get him to sit on his desk, but to no avail. The stress levels are high, so are the sound levels arising out of the confrontation. The child has a strong resolve. He is adamant - come what may, no one is going to succeed in getting him to sit and learn. He has a far more important agenda – playing. How can anything else come in the way? How can he allow study to interrupt his precious play time? Studying just doesn’t figure in his scheme of things.

Familiar sight, isn’t it? There is a sense of desperation on both ends. While the child is exercising all his defiance, the mother is left feeling helpless and in extreme anxiety. This is without doubt a consequence of studying which feels compulsive: Rigid, unbending and strict. It’s got to be done in a certain way, no choice given there.

Compare that to a diverse learning pattern. Where learning is encouraged by implementing an innovative and efficient way of teaching. Through educational content which is enjoyable and everlasting. Whereby the student is self-motivated to learn. Whereby self-learning becomes a new found way of gaining knowledge.

Mexus Education has pioneered a soon to be introduced edutainment tool, a revolution in the education scenario. So there are no more quarrels at the desk. So that learning is encouraged to be enjoyed.

Innovation in NCERT curriculum

It is commonly said that ‘Familiarity brings content’! True. But with all due respect to whoever quoted it, this too is also a well-known maxim - ‘If you do not change, you can become extinct’!

Now this can become a debatable situation. On one side, it is easy and convenient to tread on the known path and to swim in safe waters. To continue doing what has been believed and done for even aeons together.
While on the other hand, in order to bring in change, there is always the fear of the unknown, the skepticism of the concealed and the reluctance of getting out of the comfort zone.
Herein lies the difference between complacency and risk-taking. The difference between stagnation and movement.

Mexus Education firmly opines that innovation stems from the necessity to transform. The desire for change, the compulsive rejection of the old and the craving for the new. When there is scope to improve, why tolerate the existing? Why make do with the ordinary when the extraordinary is attainable?

Adopting this philosophy is the cornerstone of Mexus Education and its fundamentals.
And this has led Mexus Education to revolutionise the NCERT curriculum. To present it in a manner which has not only challenged the conventional, but also thrown open a whole new array of learning methods.

What follows is only the outcome of taking the risk, of plunging into unknown waters!