Showing posts with label play minigames. Show all posts
Showing posts with label play minigames. Show all posts

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Free Online Gaming


We have enough reasons to label the last decade as the age of free online gaming. Today, even if the new medium is gradually shifting to the cellular medium, the demand and popularity stays the same, increasing even! People still resort to playing free online game across various sites including social media platforms.

There may still be some people who go to malls and bazaars looking for games and gaming devices, but a lot of game lovers are shifting to online gaming. They only need to connect to the Internet and play flash games in 2D, 3D, 4D or download gaming software.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Why Virtual Pets Are More Fun

In this day and age, with the explosion of all things electronic, it’s no longer surprising that even pet adoption has made the transition from the offline world to the world of computers and the Internet.

Virtual pet adoption has become one of the biggest trends among kids in this online generation. Instead of getting a real pet that you need to clean after and take out on walks, virtual pets have become the more convenient option for people who just want the fun side of pet care. Virtual pets are perfect for kids who are not yet ready for the big responsibilities that come with real live pets. The truth is, however, virtual pet adoption is not only a great way for kids to learn responsibility, but it can also be fun for adults. Think about it, you will be able to adopt a pet through a virtual pet adoption site, take care of it, play with it, battle it against other players and feed it—without going through the usual hassles.

If you're usually very competitive, you will definitely love the virtual pet adoption concept. Different websites offer different features, so you will need to do a bit of research before adopting your pet from any site. Not all of them will allow you to battle your pets against your friends' pets. If this feature appeals to you, find out first which sites offer pet battles. Playing games and engaging in friendly battles on virtual pet adoption sites are great ways of de-stressing at the end of a long day.

Another great feature that most virtual pet adoption websites have is the option to pick out costumes and other accessories for your virtual pet. If you're into fashion and have a knack for styling, you can unleash the stylist in you by dressing up your virtual pet in the costumes that are sold in the virtual store or mall of the adoption site. There are hundreds of different styles to pick from and a lot of different backgrounds and accessories for purchase. So why don’t you express yourself and allow yourself to go a little crazy on your pet’s outfits? After all, it’s all about having fun.

Battling and dressing up your virtual pet are not the only things you can do, many virtual pet adoption websites also allow you to socialize with other pet owners. For example, your pet can have play dates with other pets and at the same time, gain experience points and other special items to help you level up in the game.

The virtual pet adoption concept has boomed since the early nineties and will probably keep growing over time. These virtual pet adoption websites are constantly coming out with new items, pets and other features. It is a never-ending cycle and a great one at that! So take your time, find a virtual pet adoption website that fits all of your needs, sign up and have fun. Engage in battles, socialize or dress your pet up! There are countless ways to have fun on virtual pet adoption sites.

Friday, August 19, 2011

What’s So Great About Virtual Pets?

If you spend a great deal of time on the Internet, you’re probably familiar with the popularity of virtual pets. You might not have one of your own, but a couple of your friends do and they probably talk about them all the time. What is it about virtual pets that even adults can’t seem to get enough of them?

Virtual pets are basically pets that you can take care of in virtual worlds. Unlike live pets, you don’t need to get one from a pet store. Virtual pets are easy to create and adopt. You can even customize them to your liking. Plus you can interact and play with them just like you would with a real pet.

There are many online games that you can choose from when getting a virtual pet. These games are virtual worlds where your pets can have a home of their own and be neighbours with other virtual pets. You will also get virtual money to buy food, clothes, and other items for your virtual pet. You can spoil them to your heart’s content without shelling out a lot of real cash.

Virtual pets often have health, happiness, and hunger levels that will be reduced when you are unable to play and spend time with them. At the same time, these levels increase when they are exercised, bathed, fed and played with. If these levels suddenly drop, the pet should be given special medicine which can be purchased from a virtual clinic or store.

These virtual worlds usually have mini games from which you can earn virtual money. Aside from virtual money, you will earn XP points that are essential for leveling up and unlocking new features in the game. Most of these online games are free of charge, but some games offer paid membership that gives you access to more areas and features.

Some parents are concerned that interactions via the chat system can be dangerous for their kids. While this is true on some sites, there are some safe virtual worlds online. Check if the online game has strict rules for safety and privacy, if it has restrictions on the manner messages are sent and if it makes use of a dictionary to block obscene words from chat messages. Sites that provide younger users with a drop-down menu with preset phrases they can use to reply to other players are also ideal. With this feature, they won’t need to type anything at all, which is good especially if they’re not yet adept at typing. One more tip for parents is for them to try the sites out themselves first to make sure that it will be perfectly safe to let their kids play in them.

Go ahead and adopt a virtual pet. It’s a very simple and easy way to learn and enjoy. In this technological generation, virtual pets are perfect for teaching children about responsibility without taking in a real pet at home.

Play Minigames at Sqwishland.com - Virtual Pet Games

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Go Virtual – adopt a virtual pet today

A virtual pet is much like a computerized version of man’s friends from the animal kingdom. Like real pets, a virtual pet is generally kept for company and because of the hours of fun it offers. But unlike real pets, it does not need any real food, sleep or rest. It will not even demand much of your time and attention. Although most virtual pets do thrive better when given a lot of TLC. So while most virtual pets do not require a lot of time; in the end, it all depends on how much time a pet owner is willing to invest. Most games provide virtual pet owners with options for personalization, enabling them to create pets that are best suited for their individual lifestyles.

Virtual pets can exist in various forms—as a game saved on a laptop, online on a website, or in handheld devices like the Tamagotchi, and as applications on mobile phones. There are plenty of accessible online and role-playing games where players can create a virtual pet and the adoption process is fast and easy.

Getting a virtual pet is really a breeze these days because of the wide variety of options currently available. You can get a virtual pet in various kinds of animals or creatures. Many websites have a large selection of virtual pets ready for adoption. It’s all a matter of picking out the pet you like best.
Some say that it’s best to get a virtual pet, since owning one has helped them decide whether they should get a real pet or not. Taking care of a virtual pet is great practice for those who intend to get one in real life. Other people, who cannot keep live pets for one reason or another sometimes opt for a virtual one.

Virtual pets have been around for a while now. Initially introduced in the mid-90s, the concept of virtual pets has greatly evolved. There is now a huge assortment of virtual pets unlike before. You can even use some virtual pets as avatars or website icons.

Even adults in today’s career-oriented world can find pleasure in getting a virtual pet. While they are more likely to be bogged down by the challenges of adult life and are often pressed for time, virtual pets can offer them a fun reprieve. Plus with practically unlimited choices, there’s definitely a virtual pet for everyone. So what are you waiting for? Go and get a virtual pet today!

Play Minigames at Sqwishland.com - Virtual Pet Games

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Adopt Your Own Virtual Pet

Adopting your own virtual pet is a very enjoyable activity for kids, especially if they can’t go play outside because of bad weather. Virtual pets have become one of the most favourite past times for kids today, thus causing a spurt in the craze for virtual pet adoption. Also, adopting a virtual pet gives kids the freedom to choose from a wide variety of pets that are available on virtual pet sites. Parents can rest assured that virtual pet adoption sites will have one pet that their kids are bound to love and enjoy.

Primarily, virtual pet adoption is of three kinds: first is the downloadable kind. Here you can go to the virtual pet adoption site and download the pet straight to your computer. The second is the online virtual pet adoption. In this kind of virtual pet, you must have access to virtual pet adoption website in order to spend time with the virtual pet. Finally, the third kind is a plush animal but is also provided with the choice of visiting the online virtual pet adoption site in order to spend time with the virtual model of the pet.

The downloadable kind of virtual pet adoption is an enjoyable activity, with the benefit of not having to be connected to the Internet in order to let your kid play with it. However the disadvantage of this virtual pet adoption method is that unless you get the virtual pet game from a trusted site, you face a grave threat of downloading virus infection.

The second kind of virtual pet adoption is the online virtual pet. Choosing this kind of pet necessitates you to get registered with a virtual pet adoption website so that you can acquire a pet. After you have logged on to the virtual pet adoption site, you can spend time playing with the pet and fulfilling its various needs.

The plush animal kind of virtual pets is another excellent method of ensuring your kids are pre-occupied. In this method, you just have to purchase a plush animal, so that your kids can play with it whenever they want. However this method of virtual pet adoption also allows you to access the virtual pet adoption website so that your kid can enjoy with the online version too. This can be done by using the code that comes along with the animal, which contains the access to the site.

In this kind of virtual pet adoption, you child has to look after their virtual pet online. They can build a house for it to live and play the mini games in the virtual world as well with their virtual pet. Virtual pet adoption is an excellent method of teaching your child how to look after a pet, while enjoying themselves. They will learn to be responsible for the welfare of the pet.

Play Minigames at Sqwishland.com - Virtual Pet Games

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Finding Cute Virtual Pets to Take Care Of

Remember those cute Tamagochi toys that were a huge hit a few years back? Remember how much in demand those little egg-shaped video games were? The Tamagochi toys were the first virtual pets on Earth. These days, virtual pets are no longer just in little hand-held devices but they are mostly found online.

Virtual pets are what are commonly referred to as gateway pets. They help teach people how to care for something that depends on them for care and attention. Some parents give kids virtual pets before graduating them to real pets. The gauge the children’s responsibility by how well they take care of their virtual pets.

Here are a few tips on how and where you can find virtual pets:
1. Software
Some virtual pets are readily available as game programs. You can get the games in any electronics store or in any run off the mill video game store. After buying the game disc, it’s just a small matter of installing the game in a computer.

2. Handheld Devices
Other virtual are also still available as small handheld games. You can find these games also in electronics stores and in video game stores. Some big retail chain stores have an electronics section so you may also check these places out. Handheld virtual pets are relatively easy to maintain. Just pop in a new pair of batteries every so often.

3. Online
If you don’t want to spend on virtual pets, you can always go online to look for them. Some sites will require that you register for their service before you can start taking care of a virtual pet. Most sites allow you to register for the service for free so you may need a functioning email address to log on. There are also some sites that offer virtual pets as a paid service. These are often an upgrade from the free ones and offer premium service virtual pets. Of course, one caveat for this is that you get what you pay for. Free sites won’t be as fully accessible, fun or sophisticated as those that offer virtual pets as a paid service.

One problem that you may encounter when taking care of virtual pets is that there may be attachment to the pet. There have been documented cases where people have become too attached to their virtual pet that it interferes with their daily routine.

If you’re allowing your kids to take care of a virtual pet, you may have to regulate the time they spend taking care of the pet. It’s important that they understand that the virtual pet is not a real living thing and is nothing more than a video game. If your purpose is to teach them to be more responsible then you need to make them understand that it is only a game and not a real live thing. The virtual pet may move and behave like a living thing, but it’s important your kids realize that they’re not.

Play Minigames at Sqwishland.com - Virtual Pet Games

Friday, May 27, 2011

Virtual Pet Adoption for the Summer!

Summer vacation has finally arrived. Kids have plenty of things that they can do now, most will probably be going on an out of town trip with their family, but for kids who don’t have any plans this summer, they can still play in the comfort of their own home by adopting a virtual pet.

Virtual pet adoption is a type of activity that can keep your kids busy during the summer vacation. Today, one of the trendiest online activities for children is playing with a virtual pet. There are various types of virtual pets available at various virtual pet adoption sites, so you can easily get one that will be appreciated by your kids. Primarily there are 3 kinds of virtual pet adoption methods, namely the downloadable one that can be saved onto your computer. Second is the online, where you have to login to a website to play and look after the virtual pet. Lastly, there is a plush animal, along with the alternative of going on the Net to play with the virtual copy of the pet.

The downloadable virtual pet is fun and the benefit is that there is no need for your kid to be online to play with it. The disadvantage is that until you get the virtual pet game from a well-known source, you are faced with the danger of downloading a virus.

The second kind of virtual pet adoption is the online game virtual pet, which necessitates your kid to register with a website so that they can own the pet. After logging into the virtual pet adoption site, you can play and look after the pet.
The plush animal alternative is also an excellent method of making your kids work. In this option, you can purchase a plush animal with which your children can play anytime, just like a regular toy, but the difference being the plush animal has a code with which the child can visit the virtual pet adoption website to play. In this kind of virtual pet adoption, your child looks after its virtual pet online, while designing a home for it and plays many other games too.

Virtual pet adoption is a very effective method of teaching your kids about looking after pets, while enjoying themselves. If you want an outlet to keep your kids busy, think about adopting a virtual pet, since playing with a pet online will keep your child busy for a long time and you won't have to clean up the mess created by a real live pet. This is a great way to teach your children about caring and best of all, they will have fun doing it.

Play Minigames at Sqwishland.com - Virtual Pet Games 

Friday, May 6, 2011

Teaching Responsibility the Fun Way with Virtual Pets

When the virtual pet adoption online games first started, no one could predict that it would turn out to be such a huge market. With new users signing up each and every day to adopt new and unique virtual pets via virtual pet adoption websites, it is a wonder that this technology was not created sooner than the late nineties.

Now, with all the newest technology that has been introduced to the virtual pet adoption website market it was only a matter of time before virtual pet adoption website owners made it possible for the users to adopt a fantasy pet. Dragons, unicorns and trolls are all adoptable through virtual pet adoption websites so you can encourage your child’s imagination to run completely wild!

Usually when you first adopt a virtual pet through a virtual pet adoption website you can watch it grow from a small baby pet all the way to an adult pet – when you are dealing with virtual fantasy pets it is a little bit different, but the same concept. If you are adopting a dragon, the dragon will usually start out as an egg and then when that hatches, you will see a little baby virtual dragon that you can play with! A unicorn will first start out as a baby horse and then when it gets a little bit older it will sprout its horn and you will be able to say that you own a real virtual unicorn!

While most virtual pet adoption websites are the same, there are a few differences between them and one of them is the ability to adopt fantasy pets. There are some virtual pet adoption websites that are dedicated specifically to ‘real’ animals and do not include any fantasy animals, while others are specifically dedicated to fantasy animals. If you are looking for fantasy virtual pets, you will definitely want to go with the latter virtual pet adoption website.

Virtual pet adoption is a great way to teach kids responsibility. With virtual pet adoption your children will not only learn the responsibility of pet ownership, they will also enjoy a lot as they learn. After selecting a pet as their own, they can go online to their virtual pet adoption site and enter the virtual world where their pet exists. At the virtual pet adoption website, they can play with their pet by going with them for walks, dressing them up, constructing their house, and sending them to school. Besides playing with their pet, virtual pet adoption will teach them to look after their pet, just like they would with a real pet. It is not all fun and games, since they have to take care that they feed their pet, tend it at the times of sickness, and play with it if it is fed up. These are the same responsibilities they would take with a real pet but now they would be doing it in cyberspace with cyber pet adoption.

When you opt to allow your child to participate in virtual pet adoption they can select from various types of pets to adopt. Few virtual pet adoption sites will allow you to adopt multiple pets. Your kid can select from a specific breed of a pet or even an alien if they are interested – most virtual pet adoption websites have breeds as well as a variety of pets.

Virtual pet adoption allows your kid to deal with the pet just like a live pet and even more as they can do a lot many things in the virtual world. Your child may form an emotional attachment with their virtual pet, and will start loving it as though it is real. What is most interesting regarding cyber pet adoption is that they provide many of the benefits and responsibilities of pet ownership, without the trouble parents normally have to undergo when giving the child a pet.

Play Minigames at Sqwishland.com - Virtual Pet Games 

Monday, April 18, 2011

Adopting a Virtual Pet


Virtual pets are easy to adopt and create. You just choose a website that offers virtual pets, create it to your liking, then voila, you have produced a virtual pet. You can play with it, feed it, and interact with it. Adopting a virtual pet is so easy and fun that even kids can do it themselves.

Once you have creates a virtual pet, each player and pet gets a room or house on the website. In the house, you'll have everything you need for your pet, like food and furniture. In some games, you'll also get a chance to earn virtual cash to buy more stuff for your virtual pet. Virtual cash is a model of virtual currency. Every virtual pet has a specific level of health, happiness, and hunger that are reduced when the players spends less time with it. It is possible to increase these levels with exercise, bath, food, and play time with the virtual pet. If these levels fall down a lot, the pet should be given special medicine, which can be purchased at the virtual clinic or hospital.

Games on such sites comprises of earning and spending virtual cash. To get more virtual cash, you can either play games, or solves quizzes. Virtual cash may be used to buy things for the virtual pet, for their health and happiness. After registering a pet, you can adopt a virtual pet, use the website without any charge for a year. Once the year is over, you must register a new pet or adopt a virtual pet to continue playing for a year more.

Some parents have concerns that the chat system is dangerous for their kids. However, there are stringent rules laid down for users, and restrictions on the manner messages are sent, and a dictionary included avoiding any obscene words from displaying on the chat. Younger uses have to use a drop down menu consisting of a minimum of 900 preset phrases that may be selected to reply to other users in the chat room. They are unable to type on the system totally. Parents who are worried can take a complete tour of these websites.
After you adopt a virtual pet, kids can enjoy looking after their virtual pet. From decorating a home for the pet to live in to purchasing food, clothes and furniture of their pet, and buying other pets at the virtual pet store. They can play many games to play and read stories. The staff behind such virtual pet world adds new activities to the site every now and then so make sure to check for new game features. Adopt a virtual pet and feel free to enjoy life.
Adopt a virtual pet as it is a way to learn and enjoy. It is one of the smartest and safest ideas for playtime with children. It allows them to concentrate and it teaches them how to be responsible. Even young ones can use the computer like the older ones. Nowadays, kids can adopt a virtual pet right at home without any problem.
Play Minigames at Sqwishland.com - Pet Games



Wednesday, March 30, 2011

How Do You Use A Virtual Pet Adoption Website?

Let's say you just recently learned about the virtual pet adoption and are very much interested in adopting a virtual pet yourself. Being new to the whole virtual pet adoption website thing, you're probably not at all oriented on how to use one. Well, this article can guide you through and help you get on the right path to owning your own virtual pet. Virtual pets are a great addition to anyone and everyone's lifestyle, for they not only bring the joy of having a real live pet, but they can be for anyone! If you live in an apartment or have allergies and thought that you would never be able to own your own dog, cat, rabbit or any other type of animal, you are totally wrong! Virtual pet adoption websites are now allowing everyone to own the pet of their choice, and here's the good part, normally it's free of charge!

The first step you want to take when you are looking into adopting a virtual pet off of a virtual pet adoption website is researching. You will want to make sure that the virtual pet adoption website you go with is one that you will be very happy and content with. There are hundreds of virtual pet adoption websites that you can choose from, so you should take your time researching which one will best suits your wants and needs.

Once you have finally picked your virtual pet adoption website and have signed up for an account, you will then want to adopt a pet! There are many types of different virtual pets for you to choose from, most virtual pet adoption websites have an extensive line-up, ranging from a gold fish all the way to a horse. Some even have out of this world creatures that you can customize to your liking.
Once you have finally chosen which pet you would like to have, it is now time for you to provide a name for your own virtual pet and then become familiar with how the virtual pet adoption website works. There are many things that you can do to interact with your pet, all the way from feeding it to taking care of it when it is sick. Go ahead, take your time and make sure that you explore each and every option and avenue of the virtual pet adoption website so that there are no surprise if your pet does fall ill, or needs you to play with him/her because they are bored. Most of these sites are kid-friendly so it will be easy for you and your kids to figure out what each object or element in the site functions for. Hover over them and a pop-up message will appear, explaining their purpose.

That is it! These are all the guidelines that you will need to know when you are first looking into a virtual pet via a virtual pet adoption website. Research, name, familiarize and have fun! Just keep in mind though, that virtual pets still need to be taken care of, so it is important each and every day to check on your virtual pet.

Play Minigames at Sqwishland.com - Pet Games

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Is Gaming Good for Kids’ Brains?

According to Dr. James Paul Gee, a professor at Arizona State University and a leading authority on literacy and the potential of educational games, “Your brain’s important, but not all that important”. What does he mean by this? What we’d assumed about the importance of brain functions – following rules, logic, and calculating – are no longer relevant. There has been a revolution in the learning sciences and the new theories say the human beings learn from experiences, that our brains are capable of storing every experience we’ve ever had, and that’s what informs out learning process. Following the logic, Gee says, the best kind of learning comes as a result of well-designed experiences.

Gee, who spoke at the Learning and the Brain conference, used this theory to launch into research-validated reasons why gaming is good for learning. Here are 10 truths on gaming according to him:

1. Feed the Learning Process

The best learning experiences have the following values: motivation, clear goals, interpreted outcomes, and immediate and copious feedback. Gaming has all of these components. Kids play games for fun with the goal of progressing to the next level and eventually conquering the opponent, whether that’s another player on the computer. What’s more, the social aspect of gaming: sharing tactics, experiences, and explanations, helps cement what they’ve learned.

2. Obviate Testing

The current assessment system forces teachers to teach to the test. Gaming holds out a different way of thinking about assessments: namely, that we don’t need it. Compare a student who’s taken 12 weeks of algebra classes to one who’s played the video game Halo on the most challenging setting. The algebra student must take a test to assess what he known on the day of the test. The Halo player has mastered the skills needed to get to the final level – and that’s his ultimate goal. There’s no need for a test in that context. “Learning and assessment are exactly the same thing,” Gee said. “If you design learning so you can’t get out of one level until you complete the last one, there is no need for a test. There would be no Bell Curve. It’s unethical to test a student based on one day’s knowledge. We have to change the attitude about testing on a government level.”

3. Build on Experience

With every new game, the knowledge and expertise pocked up in previous games can be applied to a new experience, a fundamental part of learning.

4. Redefine Teachers as Learning Designers

Game designers create well-designed experiences and social interactions. Teachers are designers of learning, and can create experiences tailored to suit their outcome. If we “re-professionalize” teachers as designers, they can create their own scripts for what they want their students to learn. This type of learning is based on good teaching, not curriculum per se.

5. Teach Language Through Experience

The biggest problem with using scholastic language is that it’s not used outside of school. “The language you learn at school is not the one you use at home,” Gee said. The best way of learning language is not from a book or a dictionary, but from applying it to an experience. A good example of this is when kids can decode even the most cryptic game manual after they play the game because they’re experiencing every image, action, and dialogue that’s described.

6. Entice Kids to Love Challenges

The gaming industry is making a killing selling toys and games that are difficult to master. “They’re selling stuff to kids that are complex and hard. And because it’s outside of school, it’s virtually addictive.”

7. Motivate Learning

If a student isn’t motivated to learn, learning is non-existent. It’s hard to motivate student to learn something like algebra without context, without motivation and the gratification that comes with mastering a video game.

8. Teach Problem-Solving

When it comes to problem-solving, research shows that if you teach and test facts and formulas, student learn facts and formulas. This doesn’t correlate to solving problems. But if you teach through problem-solving, students learn problem-solving skills, plus they learn the facts for free.

9. Encourage Risk-Taking

If the cost of failure is high, as it is in schools, then student are discouraged to explore and take risks. If the cost of failure is made lower, such as in games where players die and start over again, students are motivated to explore all their options. They rethink goals over and over again, and try out new tactics if something’s not working. That type of learning, risk-taking, can’t happen if the cost of failure is too high.

10. Provide Valid Learning Model for Schools

“We should use the learning principles built into good games in and out of schools, even if we are not using games. The learning principles can be built into many different curricula”.



Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Virtual Pets Game for Kids

Games wherein players have virtual pets teach them to care for and nurture an animal as they would in real life. Kids, specifically, are allowed to have fun and learn the responsibility of caring for an animal. This can be beneficial for parents who hope to get a real pet in the future for their kids.

Virtual pets for kids are one of the many hottest trends in the Internet nowadays. There are a lot of virtual pets that are targeted especially for kids and the young at heart. Virtual pets, also knows ad digital pets or cyber pets, basically represent a way of giving artificial companionship to humans.

Similar to owning a real personal pet, a virtual pet is taken cared of in the virtual world. Very useful for kids who are allergic to fur or any other things related to animals.

There are a lot to choose from once you look around in the Internet. There are many websites that cater specifically to animated cyber pets or virtual pets. It can range from cute cats and dogs, horses and monkeys. Though there are already a vast collection of animals in the real world, there are virtual pets that are fictional. These websites allow you to choose what color, breed or gender you’d like your pet to be. Some even allow you to combine the different features of animals into one strange looking virtual pet to your liking.

Some websites allow you to download a virtual pet on to the computer so you can play with them even when you’re offline. Being interactive, kids can make the pet walk or run with only the help of basic commands. Some websites also allow you to play the virtual pets online without the need of downloading any software. Such sites require you to register and visit daily to keep the pet active.

Virtual pet adoption is another trend amongst kids who are hooked on to this activity. Many websites allow users to sign up and adopt a pet and continue with activities such as naming the pet and allowing the user to play games with their pet. These virtual pets also give a sense of reality through their different actions. The animated actions also depend upon the way a user moves the mouse for the animated character to perform a particular action.

No matter how affectionate and cute your virtual pets are, they won’t replace a warm loving lick from an actual dog. That’s their limitation; they stay in the virtual world. Parents should keep in mind to educate their children about the difference of the real world from the virtual world. The pros and cons will always remain as a subject of debate. Therefore, it lies entirely up to the parents to know how to monitor the use of virtual pets.

With all that said, having a virtual pet will help parents to prepare their children for the real pets that they might get someday. Having a real pet in the house is a big responsibility. Training them with a virtual pet is a discreet way to teach them that taking care of a pet is a lot of work and it’s not only just fun and games.

Play Fun Educational Minigames at Sqwishland.com - Safe Pets Virtual World for Kids

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Discovering your child’s core competencies through gaming

Valerie J. Shute, a researcher from Florida State University, has presented an approach wherein a learning experience can be made more enjoyable by creating games into which educational content and assessment tools have been discreetly added – and how this can online and video games can be incorporated into school curricula.

Shute believes that this would not only remain a pleasant diversion for kids, it will also reassure parents that their child is acquiring the knowledge and skills that they need to excel in an increasingly competitive world.

“The concept is known as ‘stealth assessment’. Essentially what we try to do is disguise educational content in such a way that kids aren’t even aware that they’re being assessed while they’re engrossed in gameplay,” said Shute.

How a child reacts to new challenges and put evidence together in the games that they play can reveal a great deal about their creative problem-solving skills.

According to Shute, “Based on a student’s responses to various situations that come up during the course of playing a video game, the game itself can be programmed to assess where that student might be especially strong or weak in core competencies.”

“The game can then adapt its content so that the student is exposed to more or less information in that area. And it continues to assess the student’s progress to determine how well he or she is learning the embedded concepts and skills.

So in theory, not only can these stealth-assessment games measure a student’s current level of knowledge in a given area, they can also determine areas where that student needs to improves and then help him or her to make those improvements, using feedback, maybe easier problems, and so on,” Shute adds.

There are other important features of such games: They can be used to assess a student’s knowledge on a specific topic both at the beginning and at the end of the game, thus providing numerical data that illustrates how much the student has learned. They can be easily customized to meet the educational strengths and weaknesses of individual students. Through this, each student can learn at his or her own speed and be appropriately challenged.

“Essentially, the patent is for a computer algorithm that we developed,” she said. "The algorithm applies ‘weights’ to a student's responses to specific tasks within a game, then uses those weights to measure proficiency levels. With that information, the game knows whether to assign additional tasks to the student in a particular area or move on to another area."

"It's important that we change the way education thinks about what competencies are important to support in students (that we're not currently doing) to yield excellent global citizens. We also need to develop new kinds of assessments to capture and make sense of this new information. Stealth assessment within engaging learning and gaming environments might be one of the key tools we can use to improve the way we teach our children and the way they learn.”

Play Fun Educational Minigames at Sqwishland.com - Safe Pets Virtual World for Kids

Monday, February 14, 2011

Be a Believer: Gaming’s Good for You and Your Kid Part 2

3) Socializing Through Games
Games are social. Of course, there are many games that kids play alone with an electronic competitor. But games are social in a number of ways
-Chat rooms with the games
-Playing a game while your friends watch (often happens on desktops at schools)
-Background to a party. When your kid has friends over, the Wii is always on. They still talk and eat and communicate but someone is always playing in the background.
-Social networks built behind the games. There are many game websites that have whole social networks and profiles built behind their games where users can list their hobbies and favorite games and tips.

4) Movies and Games as One
“We are the 16 candles of online games,” says Connally of AddictingGames.com. Gaming sites are trying very hard (and succeeding) to tie together traditional entertainment and games so that they are seamless. Almost every movie out has a component online game and this is a way that young people experience more of the movie, by playing a version of it.
5) Games with Statements
There are many games that make some kind of statement and might even teach a lesson. For example “Barry Bonds Game” is a game where you can give steroids to your baseball playing avatars where they will play well, but if you choose to give them steroids then, after the game you run the risk of having them get really bad press and have to switch teams making your next season bad. There is also Trillion Dollar Bailout, it has little AIG employees running around New York City cartoon buildings. Escape the Oval Office is another popular one featuring a cartoon Bush. There are many attack and kill mode games but also some that are pro-social.

6) Homework Games
There are online games or dashboard games which are very popular on Mac laptops where there are mini-games like tic tac toe and Bedazzle. They are literally one click away when the teacher decides to breathe in between points.

7) Double Time Games
This generation’s middle name should be multi-task. Teens often are gaming while doing something else. Especially casual gamers, they almost never just do gaming. They play games while watching TV, while in class, while at a party, while on the bus, while hanging out with friends.

8) Mobile Games
Mobile games are on cell phones as opposed to dashboard games (on a computer) or games in the cloud (games online). These are so popular. If a teen is bored and they have their cell phone on them (which of course they do), they will have some sort of game on their phone and play it to fill any gap times.

Tips for Parents of Gamers
-Make time limits
-Identify the ‘No Electronic’ zones in your house
-Make no electronic times during your week where they have to find something else to do
-Spend some time gaming yourself, gaming can be really positive and the best way for parents to make relevant rules is to understand the appeal and the types of games they are playing
-Ask them to show you what they are playing
-Make it a bonding thing. Play with them!

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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Be a Believer: Gaming’s Good for You and Your Kid Part 1

According to Kate Connally of AddictingGames.com, 78% of teen girls and 82% of teen boys play online games. Most probably, your kid is included in that percentage. Every parent with kids ages 6 and up should consider that this generation is a new gaming era. Gaming today is very different from how it was developed decades ago. For a lot of parents, gaming is perceived as a distraction and is not a helpful tool in the education of their children. Not today, online games can actually help kids in different aspects without them realizing it because they’re having too much fun. There are tons of studies today that show how this generation is able to think faster and gaming has helped with this. Here’s a story that you may want to read if you’re still not a believer of the good side of gaming for your kids

“I am a dad and I travel a lot for business. I used to call home and talk to my son on the phone and get grunts or short answers. It was always expensive and the calls just made me feel further away because I would ask how he was and not really get any answers it always sounded like he was texting at the same time or something. When I was between trips one time I saw him playing Command and Conquer and asked to play with him. We figured out that I could play anywhere with an Internet connection and you can chat with head phones through the game or text chat in the bottom of the game about strategy. So, when I travel now we log on to a game together and play a mission and talk and chat during the game. Not only is it a great break for me, but he looks forward to talking to me and we actually chat during the game.”

This is a true example of the positive effect of the new form of gaming. Check out some other ideas

1) This is not the video game talk
Online gaming is different than the talk about video games 5-15 years ago. 5 years ago, gaming was mainly in your TV with your Play Station, Sega or Nintendo. Gaming is now mobile, in the cloud and on the desktop and the type of gamers has changed.

2) Casual Gaming
The majority of kids are casual gamers, meaning that they play games 1-2 times at least per week and often game when
-they want to pass time
-they are bored
-there is nothing good to watch on TV
-they want to talk with friends

They do not necessarily trade tips or take their gaming very seriously. Yet, just because someone is a casual gamer, does not mean they do not necessarily spend a lot of time gaming. Casual gamers can spend 12 hours a day gaming, it just means that they do not compete regularly in the same forums or on levels of a game.

3) Socializing Through Games
Games are social. Of course, there are many games that kids play alone with an electronic competitor. But games are social in a number of ways
-Chat rooms with the games
-Playing a game while your friends watch (often happens on desktops at schools)
-Background to a party. When your kid has friends over, the Wii is always on. They still talk and eat and communicate but someone is always playing in the background.
-Social networks built behind the games. There are many game websites that have whole social networks and profiles built behind their games where users can list their hobbies and favorite games and tips.

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Thursday, February 3, 2011

Free Online Games-a Choice Of All Age Groups

Recreational activities are generally done by people to keep them relax and make fun. Entertainment is an essential part of our lives and seen as one of the effective sources to keep ourselves stress-free. Some use TV shows, Movies to entertain themselves, while others consider online games as one of the finest alternatives for amusement. In addition, the popularity of a variety of gadgets can’t be underestimated to do the same. However, among all these entertainment sources, free online games are the ones that are appreciated by different age groups. Today, online media not only provides the people with amazing entertainment alternatives, but also allows them to collect the valuable information on the concerned topics. And, of course, with the availability of such alternatives, this source has played a pivotal role in giving them break from their busy life and hectic schedule.

To play online games, one needs to have a computer with an internet connection. These days, a plethora of people have a huge craze for such games because they provide the internet users with an opportunity to connect to multi-player games. However, in terms of popularity, single-player online games win the race. With the overall expansion of computer networks, the introduction of internet has been taken place. And, with the growth of internet, people have started to experience from simple text to complex graphics. Of course, later, people also get an opportunity to engage themselves in virtual online games for playing with multiple-players.

The growing popularity of Flash and Java in Internet has opened lots of new options for online game freaks. Now there are alternatives like streaming audio, websites video which are basically used to guide such people. Numbers of websites are out there providing a wide collection of free online games for the people of different age groups.

Covenant Mateus has been associated with providing the users with the content on numbers of websites which deal in exploring a whole to new world of online gaming, where you can play free online games starting from action games to sport games.For more information you can visit free online games.
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Sunday, January 30, 2011

Benefits of Playing Online Educational Games for Kids


For every growing kid in today’s generation, online games are a staple in their life. Technology is now kid-friendly enough that even kindergarten aged kids play games on the computer. Grown-ups who grew up without such innovations often frown upon this trend, seeing these games as disturbing elements for the child’s growth. However, if you analyze these games closely, you’ll be surprised to find that they actually provide positive benefits and help kids to learn things that aren’t in their schoolbooks and daily class lectures. Combining fun and learning is one of the best advantages offered by online games, helping them to grow and educate by their own pacing and effort.

There are tons of online games freely available for kids to play, but not all of these games can be categorized as educational for kids. Some of them do not have the values that parents would like for their children to learn, some impose a sense of violence and killer instincts that are not good for the sensitive minds of young kids. That is why parents need to keep a good eye on what games their children are playing and see to it that the games provide enjoyment and learning at the same time.  Educational games and music games are the best choices that can help a child learn something different which will surely help him to grow mentally.

Apart from learning control over playing gears, musical games help kids to learn how to compose music at their own effort. These musical games are excellent stress relievers thus help kids and parents unwind at the end of a hectic day, while at the same time stimulate mental freshness and stamina. On the other hand, there are three main aspects of kids’ education which get especially nourished with regular playing of online games. These three fundamental areas are: learning and acquiring command over mathematical skill, spelling conception, and language skill.

These three aspects are the pillars of complete education. Online educational games can help a kid learn these three fundamental pillars of education grooming in a friendly and fun-packed way, which is obviously a great comfort for their parents and teachers. But one thing that parents need to manage is taking subscription with a quality website for kids.

Developing general math skills and conception is a great help for kids’ grooming. With all that playing of math skill oriented games, it will definitely help to get rid of kids’ math phobia, and will prove helpful for developing better motoring skills in managing  addition, subtraction, or multiplication which are the fundamentals of mathematics. Math games incorporated in storylines are also very effective for the process of learning math. The skill of managing finances can also be learned at an early age from math games where a kid might be allowed to shop or to visit play stores and handle their own virtual money.

Spelling is another important skill for kids as well as for adults in education. Learning spelling is a great help for kids to help them with literature and writing. Parents can also play along with their kids and help them to learn grammar and spelling.

Language skill is very important even after education in the professional world. Language skill games are the best way to teach growing kids about language in a friendly method.


Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Why You Should Let Your Kids Play Online Games



When we talk about online gaming, most parents have this negative notion that online gaming will do no good for their kids. Parents believe that once kids start playing online games, they’ll get too hooked with it and take their studies for granted, and sometimes worse, acquire bad habits that they see in the games. That’s why for most parents, rather than take that risk, they immediately don’t allow their kids to play any type of online game.

Believe it or not, there is actually a good side to online gaming. And there are plenty of reasons why you should let your kids play online games. Read on below and you might change your mind about your negative notion of online games:

1.       All the other kids are playing. For a kid, it’s important to go along with the social trends and popular culture. It’s a vital part of their childhood. You wouldn’t want your kid to be bullied around because they’re labeled as a lame weirdo.

2.       Online games make kids smarter. Yes, you read that right. There are certain online games that actually improve kids’ reading skills, stimulate their creativity and teach them basic computer skills.

3.       Keeps them away from bad influences. They’ll love online games so much that they wouldn’t even want to hang out too much with other kids who have nothing else to do but try to smoke or any of those nasty habits.

4.       Family bonding. While your kids are playing on the computer, you can watch them as you work on that business report on your working station. And when you’re done, you can play with them too.

5.       Builds a good sibling relationship.  When your kids can play together, they tend to help each other out when they’re stuck in a certain level in the game, or they teach each other the tricks that they’ve learned.

6.       Learning to be independent. Online games do not require total parental guide for a kid to play. When kids learn the basics of the game, they want to play it all by themselves without any help from other people.

7.       Computer skills.  Kids will discover the complications of the Internet and the computer during the process. This skill will help them someday when they grow up as computers nowadays are an indispensible part of people’s lives.

8.       It’s fun. Games are always fun, and kids should have fun because that’s what being a kid is all about!
9.       It’s better than television. Some of the shows in TV nowadays are just, well, you get it, they suck. Especially those reality shows, don’t even get me started on that. Online games on the other hand, require your kids to take action and respond to what they’re seeing.

10.   It keeps them inside the house. Some kids always go out and party, or hang out with their friends until late at night. When they’re immersed with gaming, they’ll spend their time inside the house where you can always guard them and ask them to watch the house while you’re out.