Schools to play 'games' to ease learning

Children are known to have short attention spans, so as a way to make learning more interesting for students; the UAE is aggressively pursuing gamification in schools.
This new classroom concept is beginning to gain real traction among education professionals in the Gulf region, and it's also being implemented as a way to encourage innovation among students too.
Last year, to test the educational potential of games for teaching and learning, the UAE partnered with Finland's Seppo (an authoring tool for creating educational games) at the Ministry of Education's National Innovation Exhibition (NIE).
As a result, organisers and participants realised the power of gamification as a catalyst for motivation and said the potential for game-driven technology as a means of positively affecting the students' learning process was great. And ever since, it has been implemented in some classrooms here.
This year, Seppo will return to GESS Dubai to challenge participants from different schools to explore various innovations. Dubbed Explore GESS, the smartphone- or tablet-based game, aims to showcase firsthand how gamification works within an education setting and how it can be integrated in the classroom to engage students.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Christine Nasserghodsi, director of innovation at Gems, said schools today have to provide a comprehensive education that will allow "students to be the innovators, entrepreneurs, and intra-preneurs of the future".
And as such, that relies on more than just outstanding scores on university entrance and international exams.
"Our students need to have rich knowledge in certain areas and be able to have the skills to access "just in time" knowledge for specific tasks and projects. They also have to navigate and create new technologies. As a result, they will need to engage with philosophical and ethical questions around topics such as artificial intelligence," she said.
Although lots of this can now be taught in the classroom, Nasserghodsi said there is now a real importance of partnering with experts on employability and future-preparedness too.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com
Are educational apps helpful for students?
Anam Fatema Shaikh, The Indian High School, Dubai
Yes, I do think educational apps are helpful i.e. only when considering the fact that they are well chosen and carefully hand-picked. Educational material in the form of interactive technology/apps have proved to help accelerate learning and promote more innovative methods of retention (of knowledge ) than a simple textbook and a set of cue cards could ever do.
Archisha Marya, The Indian High School, Dubai
Educational apps are not so beneficial as youngsters can get addicted and can misuse those apps, and in this generation, anything is possible. However, some apps like Lumosity actually focus on training you on your weaknesses. Some students learn better using technology. Thus, educational apps have their own pros and cons.
Saba Farheen, Our Own English High Sharjah
I agree that education apps are useful apps and are useful in today's world because it boosts a child's thinking capacity and creativity. It also helps a student to easily understand any concept and can accept challenges along the way.
Malavika Suja, Delhi Private School, Sharjah
I think education apps are quite helpful for students. The education apps help children in many ways. Other than books, education apps are a bag full of knowledge in a fun way. Along with text books and workbooks at school, books at home, why don't we make education apps as one of the tools used to gain knowledge?