Could social networking provide the panacea for overcoming the challenges of our students?
Permit me to share the concerns of educational psychologists and neuroscientists with respect to social networking websites. They believe that these websites may be
doing more harm than good. Educational psychologist, Jane Healy states that children should be kept away from computer games until they are seven years old. Most games only trigger the ‘flight or fight’ region of the brain rather than the vital areas responsible for reasoning. In addition, she states that they encourage young people to be more self-centered. Susan Greenfield, a renown British neuroscientist fears that ‘these technologies are infantilizing the brain into the state of small
children who are attracted to buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment’.
Interesting bit of informaion incidentally they are the words of most parents who have not studied psychology!
ReplyDeleteChildren need to engage in other activities rather than video games the nintendo Wii is an interactive attempt by this company to overcome this negative aspect of video games.
While we feel that children need to be engaged otherwise I wonder sometimes how these young children are able to manoeuvre some of those courses within the video games...don't you! It must take some sort of skill to cover those courses and reach those targets, children also persevere till the end.
I agree with the above comment. I am unable to play some of the games my 8 year old cousin uses, those games are complex, multitasked and engaging.
ReplyDeleteThe skills needed for video games ar more of the realm of the visual-spatial and auditory, therefore, to say that they are just for flight and fight maybe a bit overgeneralising.
I am in support of computer games as a way to engage students, as with everything else it has its pros andcons, but there are some educational games which can be iincorporated into our reading curriculum. Check out the secondlife conference held in Ohi and you will be amazed to see what these computer games can do. You can build entire communities online and navigate and explore without leaving your clasroom. Think of the possibilities. Of course, virtual reality is much more advance than a mere computer game- but a game nonetheless:)
Like everything else man has created, there is the good and there is the bad. Computer games capture the attention of children and they become so engrossed that they spend long hours at the consoles. They forgo outdoor activities and friends for the thrill of these games. This is one negative aspect but they learn and use skills that can be transferred to an academic and practical setting. A surgeon said that his navigation skill used in surgery was honed on a joystick and other computer games.
ReplyDeleteLife is about having balance and even though socialnetworking sites and computer games may have their benefits, good old-fashioned play and real friendships(not only virtual) should be cultivated. The MOE is currently promoting both healthy lifestyles through physical education, and the use of technology in the classroom. So we have to promote both in our students'lives.