Teacher Discussion Forums

[funfunfun]

Hi I've posted before regarding this. There are many views but none replies... sadly So i'd like to say this again..and then post it again

how do kindergarten students respond to teachings using computer games? (if any of you teachers have done it before)

what are 3-5 year-olds capable of? (language-wise= reading, writing, forming sentences)

regards,
fann

[mesmark]

I made some games: ESL vocabulary games

Here's another: phonics games online

The students (3-5 year olds) enjoy the games and learn the vocabulary, but I haven't done any studies comparing kids who do and don't use the games. I just made the games to help out the students.

Happy teaching,
Mark

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[funfunfun]

thanx for the reply! i'm making a game for my thesis on educational game-based learning, do you have any suggestion?

[shelleyvernon]

Hi there,

I know this will sound old-fashioned but I have more fun playing language games with other human beings than I do with a computer.

Computer games are great and I learned a fair bit of Portuguese using a CD rom so I'm all in favour of them.

However I'm not in favour of sticking kids in front a computer during class time when they could be learning just as well by interacting with other people.

Computers are great for independent study and homework tasks. Young kids want to be grown up already so giving them something to look up on the internet will be more likely to appeal than doing a worksheet.

Hope someone else out there agrees with me!

Shelley
http://www.teachingenglishgames.com/3-5.htm
For Preschool games, stories and songs needing humans.

[Sally Olsen]

Here is another site you might want to use if you use computers.
http://www.kindersite.org/

Here is an abstract from one study that I found on Google Scholar under "kindergarten computer use". There are tons of studies.

The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the cognitive and social effects of the use of microcomputers with kindergarten children in the school and at home. Three schools received microcomputers for use in kindergarten classrooms and each student in one of the classrooms was provided a PCjr and educational software to use at home. Software used by the children consisted of games, simulations, and drill and practice programs that coincided with the goals of the kindergarten curriculum. Two additional schools served as control groups. It was hypothesized that computer-using classrooms would make larger academic gains than the other classes. It was also expected that the home use group would gain more than the classroom use only group. The impact of the use of microcomputers was assessed by a criterion referenced pre- and post-test based on the objectives of the school district's kindergarten curriculum guides. The test included subsections concerning reading readiness, mathematics, Piagetian cognitive operations, and keyboard knowledge. Findings indicated that the use of microcomputers in the classroom facilitated the acquisition of school readiness skills. When supplemented by concurrent computing activities at home, academic gains were even greater. No indication was found that computing experiences interfere with the normal cognitive development of preschoolers, and no gender-related differences in cognitive gains achieved were found. (RH)

It is not just going to be an argument about games versus drills but teachers and parents versus the computer.