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
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
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
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!
Play Fun Educational Minigames at Sqwishland.com - Safe Pets Virtual World for Kids
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!
Play Fun Educational Minigames at Sqwishland.com - Safe Pets Virtual World for Kids
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.
Play Fun Educational Minigames at Sqwishland.com - Safe Pets Virtual World for 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.
Play Fun Educational Minigames at Sqwishland.com - Safe Pets Virtual World for Kids
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.
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.
Play Fun Educational Minigames at Sqwishland.com - Safe Pets Virtual World for KidsSunday, 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.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Parents See Benefits of Online Gaming
When the trend of online gaming started among kids, parents saw it as a distraction for their children’s studies. Majority of the kids who played online gaming got so hooked that they would rather stay in front of their computer all day than play outside with real kids. But as the years went by, there have been studies that showed the good side of online gaming for kids. Parents slowly understood and saw these benefits of online gaming, especially that video and online games nowadays are a great way to bond with their kids without having to go out of the comfort of their own house.
According to a new study from Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE), parents across America are now recognizing the benefits of their children playing online games. The results were published exclusively in the new November issue of Family Circle magazine; suggest that parents are seeing improvements in hand/eye coordination, problem solving and typing skills.
In addition to basic education elements, the survey also suggests that online games teach children to think strategically. The majority of online games require players to follow rules, think tactically, make fast decisions and fulfill numerous objectives to win. Thus the 70% of the parents surveyed who have seen their children’s problem-solving skills improve since they started playing video games.
Shine, Yahoo’s website that reaches 10 million women each month, hosted the survey throughout June 2008. In the study, 87% of parents who participated in the survey are spending time playing video games with their children. “Family video game nights are becoming incredibly popular with the variety of games out there,” said Linda Fears, editor-in-chief, Family Circle magazine. “Parents and children of all ages are finding games to play together, no matter what each person’s experience level.”
Other key survey findings from the survey says that most (75%) of respondents have attributed educational value and improved hand/eye coordination to video game usage. 84% of respondents reported an increase in their child’s typing skills from playing PC/online games. Meanwhile, 72% of respondents say that their kids play games online with other people sometimes or all the time. More than 80% of respondents said that their children play video games in a common area of the house (i.e., family/living room or computer room).
Parents have many options when choosing games for their children. The vast majority of games available in the market are rated E for Everyone (ESRB, 2007). This is an important fact for the almost 80% of parents surveyed who say they purchase all their children’s video games. “The ultimate parental controls are parents themselves,” said John Smedley, president of SOE and father of four.
There are a lot of free games online, like Sqwishland.com, that offer opportunities for kids to play online with others. “The good news is that parents are involved with and aware of what their kids are playing,” said Smedley. “The even better news is that parents and kids are playing together.”
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