Children software

Salam...

There is no lecture at all for today, but all of us have been introduced to another useful resource for classroom teaching, which is children software. The software is in the form of children games and I find that it is very practical for teachers because of some reasons.

First of all, the use of this software varies the teaching aids available for students, which will show some difference during teaching and learning. Apart of using typical chalk and talk method, children software will be one of the best alternative that give both teachers and students its own benefits. As we know, children are always associated with games. It may sound very weird to hear a child who does not like to play games. Besides, today’s technological world which exposed students to variety of online, challenging games has maybe become the initiative for educators to insert it into the field of education. Since games are very common among children, this children software will be a good choice for teachers to enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning in the classroom because it is familiar to them. As we know, one of the basic principles in choosing teaching aids in the classroom is the familiarity of students with the teaching aids, as this will make it easy for teacher to instruct students during the classroom activities.

In addition, the use of children software will somehow create a safe, non-threatening learning environment. Why? This is because children software contains games that suits with students’ interest. A positive learning environment will ultimately enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning process. Imagine the effects of a dull, boring, or threatening class towards children. They are not prepared to receive the input from the teacher. As the result, the objective of the lesson will not be achieved, and the lesson may just become such a waste. This situation is in accordance with one of the hypotheses proposed by Krashen in his Monitor Model, which is the affective filter hypothesis. It has been said that a positive learning environment will low the affective filter, which will then motivate students to learn and accept the input given by their teacher. In contrast, a negative learning environment will increase the affective filter, which may block students’ acceptance towards the input given by the teacher.

Last but not least, this children software has the ability to increase students’ critical and creative thinking skills. We can see these through the way the students have to finish the game. Since this children software is for educational purposes, many elements of thinking and problem solving has been integrated in it. For example, the software Freddie Fish requires students to find the person who disguise as a ghost who try to scare students from coming to school. Using the clues given, students really need to be observant and critical in solving the case, so that they can finish the game. Hence, we can see that a game can also be a good tool for teacher to enhance students’ thinking skills, and this is really meaningful as it was done in a positive learning environment.

In short, children software offers many positive points for both teacher and students. Teacher need to choose the appropriate stage to implement this software, by considering its relevance and suitability with the lesson.