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So what does video games do for the players?

Video Games include puzzles which boost intellectual thinking and make people come up with clever strategies. It improves cognitive skills such as problem solving and decision making hence making it quite an interesting activity for younger players.

People who play fast paced games have better vision, attention and cognition. Reaction times are improved and quick thinking becomes a second instinct while playing games.

Games require excellent eye-hand coordination and the only way to improve the same is to play more games. Some games also improves memory skills and the ability to detect small activities onscreen.

Real Life simulations can be emulated via games which can be used for anything; from Flight Sims to even cooking.

Recent hardware for gaming consoles such as Xbox 360s KINECT and PS3s MOVE even encourages people to get off the couches and move their body.

By playing online games, people can be socially active interacting with others. Kids who are usually shy can interact with other kids online (with parents guidance of course).

Video Games are even said to reduce stress and depression and even prescribed to cancer patients to reduce anxiety. And above all that its the sense of achievement a person gets while playing/finishing a game. Games usually rewards its players with oodles of stuff be it points, score or in-game goodies.

Video Games have been burdened with the blame of having many cons some of which listed below:

Despite having a social element many games are single-player which lets kids as well as grown ups isolate themselves from family and friends for hours. Social Games can take up an awful lot of time and the level of immersion a game promises may lead to several hours of detachment from the real world which when worsened can even lead to addiction.

Prolonged Gaming may lead to eye strain and constant use of hands and fingers leads to RSI and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Games are often said to make you unfit but as stated above the recent motion sensing hardware and games that accompanies them makes brilliant use of your body encouraging physical activities.

The games as well as their hardware can get a tad expensive.

Games are also accused of promoting violence with recent incidents like shootouts at schools and all blamed on game like Grand Theft Auto. But a video game is only evil or ill mannered as its users. Video Games have a censor board as well, Entertainment Software Rating Board or ESRB as its called lists each game with a rating and parents have to take care in selecting games thats suitable for their kids.

Apart from entertaining, games also serves to enrich learning skills. The reasons? Its easier to grasp a concept while keeping it entertaining. There are a number of games out there. Some of the more educational games:

  Crayon Physics

Crayon Physics could be one of the best examples for the criteria. Crayon Physics lets players draw their way out of puzzles. Its a great way to improve a kids drawing as well as as their cognitive skills.

  Spore

Players guide a single-cell organism in the primordial ooze as it attempts to climb the food chain. Once certain levels are met, players can give their creatures ears, eyes, legs, arms, and other body parts as they evolve and move up the evolutionary ladder. Creatures can then do battle, build cities, advance their societies, and even explore the stars.

  LittleBIGPlanet 2

LittleBIGPlanet not only boasts some amazing graphics, but it is also a great game for getting kids to develop problem solving skills. Players navigate through a rich landscape, finding objects along the way, many of which can be used to solve puzzles that will challenge young minds.

  Portal 2

VALVE, the game giants, PORTAL seemed like any other game on release. But instead of having players shoot their way to victory like many games do, in Portal 2 players have to use their wits to escape Aperture Laboratories and challenge the power-mad robot at the heart of the story. Ranked as one of the best games of all time, it’s a memorable and mentally challenging experience that players won’t soon forget.

  Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster

Suitable for younger gamers, this video game brings Sesame Street favorites like Elmo and Cookie Monster together to read kids' stories and get them engaged and moving through a series of fun and physical games.

  SimCity

This classic game isn't just fun. It also teaches invaluable lessons about city planning, environmental impact, and even natural disasters.

  Crazy Machines

The Wacky Contraptions Game: Build creative machines, test your contraptions, and put them to work in this imaginative game that teaches the basics of physics, electricity, gravity, and particle effects.

  Civilization

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”

William Arthur Ward

  “They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even when you don't know it”

Nicholas Sparks, Dear John

  “When you study great teachers... you will learn much more from their caring and hard work than from their style.”

William Glasser

  “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.“

Albert Einstein

  “Those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents, for these only gave life, those the art of living well.“

Aristotle

  “One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.“

Carl Jung

  “the calling of the teacher. There is no craft more privileged. To awaken in another human being powers, dreams beyond one’s own; to induce in others a love for that which one loves; to make of one’s inward present their future; that is a threefold adventure like no other.”

George Steiner, Lessons of the Masters

  “That's what education should be," I said, "the art of orientation. Educators should devise the simplest and most effective methods of turning minds around. It shouldn't be the art of implanting sight in the organ, but should proceed on the understanding that the organ already has the capacity, but is improperly aligned and isn't facing the right way.” 

Plato, the Republic

  “The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called 'truth'.“

Dan Rather

  “Everyone who remembers his own education remembers teachers, not methods and techniques. The teacher is the heart of the educational system.“

Sidney Hook

  “I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.“

John Steinbeck

  “Every child should have a caring adult in their lives. And that's not always a biological parent or family member. It may be a friend or neighbor. Often times it is a teacher.“

Joe Manchin

  “Most of us end up with no more than five or six people who remember us. Teachers have thousands of people who remember them for the rest of their lives.“

Andy Rooney

  “A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning.“

Brad Henry

  “The teacher is the one who gets the most out of the lessons, and the true teacher is the learner.“

Elbert Hubbard

  “There are two kinds of teachers: the kind that fill you with so much quail shot that you can't move, and the kind that just gives you a little prod behind and you jump to the skies.“

Robert Frost

  “I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a good teacher.“

Temple Grandin

  “One good teacher in a lifetime may sometimes change a delinquent into a solid citizen.“

Philip Wylie

  “A good teacher must know the rules; a good pupil, the exceptions.“

On the other hand, children are always interested in playing videogames and its proven that they allot their complete skills and reflexes when it comes to gaming and in the process and end up spending hours on it. It's fun for them. So wouldn't it be great to blend games and maths together to teach and learn?

Enter Mangahigh, an online maths resource which uses fun games helping children learn without realising it. Designed and developed by Toby Rowland of Blue Duck Education, Mangahigh makes use of innovative and fun online Flash based web games and takes learning maths to the next level. Mangahigh has tons of fun activities like quizzes and games which can be taught to kids between the ages of 7 to 16, covering the full school curriculum.

Teachers can easily setup an account/free school and start creating classes, pick out a lesson and assign it to a class or a particular student. The challenge comes up on the students' to-do list and they can start playing. The account comes packed with student competition, data and analytics to track your students progress. All the student data is stored online and it makes grading and marking a piece of cake thus getting rid of the tiresome paperwork. Students can also compete within their class or other schools. Mangahigh even helps to identify students who are performing great and the ones that are struggling. According to research using Mangahigh helps students to achieve improved test scores up to 50% and also boosts their confidence and ability.

The games features rich graphics and sounds to keep children interested and enable them to grasp difficult concepts in an instant. Apart from games and quizzes Mangahigh also packs a lot of features like the Gradebook which allows teachers to see how all the students are doing across the curriculum topics in a jiffy and also a News feed which offers a feed on class performance to the teachers. Rest assured, with Mangahigh, instead of chasing students to learn maths, students will be chasing you eager to learn more maths. And yet again Mangahigh proves that learning can be a fun thing than a chore. What's more, Mangahigh's basic package is 100% free.

Check them out and learn some maths!

mangahigh.com

Google has always been known for innovations in almost every area they could get their hands onto, and it is soon to launch its flagship product ‘Google Glass’. And the tech-savvies say, it's going to revolutionize the current educational trends. How? Let's read.

Google Glass is touted as the next big thing in portable technology. Poised as an eyewear and doing a plethora of things which don’t require any taps or navigation, it responds instead to voice commands, taking pictures with a wink, taking commands for search, share content, video recording, detect objects in front of you and look up related information like directions or maps. etc. The possibilities are endless though among all the possible consumers of Google Glass, the device has the potential to bring exciting new possibilities to teachers and students alike. 

Admit it, Google's Search is phenomenal. And the Glass will allow the student/teacher to stay connected to an interactive environment featuring online tools all the time. This could pave way to a leap into the future of educational system. Teachers as well as students can refer to topics related to their studies on the go. No fiddling through phones in the middle of the lecture; all you have to do is speak and voila...your search is done!

Students can record their lectures in real-time for future reference. The time saved on scribbling notes could be remarkable.

Google Glass could help students to create visually-rich projects and presentations. Students can shoot relevant videos and images with a wink. The same can be integrated onto their presentations via Google docs.

Learning new languages and speaking them could be done on the go with Glass coupled with Google's own Google Translator. Google Glass would be able to present text based translations in real-time.

Teachers could use Google glass coupled with facial recognition to take attendance and could be used to generate Student Information System. Just by looking at the student you will get access to his/her student records with details of academic and non-academic performance, attendance etc... Creating students reports, schedules and class timings for students is only the tip of the iceberg.

Distance learning could be made a lot easier than before with Google Glass. Webinars and such can be streamed directly onto your Glass than your smartphone or laptop so that its easy to be accessed anywhere, anytime.

The Glass could be used to set timetables for students along with information regarding the halls where classes will be held with details on professors to take the classes.

Timetable concepts for Google Glass by Matouš Skála

Google Glass in Education: The other side

While all this could be a boon in the education system, there are some cons of having Google Glasses at Schools/Colleges.

You must keep in mind that electronic devices are still prohibited for students in most schools; though, this is changing very fast. Students could misuse the Glass in a lecture in ways unimaginable. The distractions a smartphone causes in a classroom are well known, students wearing Google Glass will bring about a whole new level of the same.

There are many restaurants and business concerns already banning the use of Google Glasses as well as apps like instagram. This could also happen to Google Glass, being banned at all major concerns/colleges/universities. 

Not to mention a certain invasion of privacy. 

Like with any electronic device, prolonged usage of Google Glass can cause health issues mainly damaging eyesight.

Lastly, too much use of social media and on the go availability may harm your personal life.

Cheating in exams using Google Glass! Concept by Ujjwal Banthia

Conquest: the right platform for upcoming entrepreneurs

  Conquest 2013 is an ambitious extension of Conquest that was started in the year 2004 as a Business Plan Competition. It was in 2006 and 2007, it became an international event to help entrepreneurs share helpful insights with others. The main motive of Conquest till the year 2007, was to help startup ideas and to motivate them to extent that will help them do big. But it was the lack of efforts by business ideas to come out of papers and be something in real that forced them to change the format. Soon, after seven successful years, Conquest came up with a newly formed setup in 2011 that is still being followed.

Conquest 2013 is ready to search for new and innovative business ideas and has an excellent resource back-up with an incubation offer of INR 1 crore and an equity-less seed money of INR 3 lakh. Moreover, good amount of resource backup has also been received from sponsor companies like Foradian.  

Interested business startups can register online, after which there will be a mentoring sessions at various parts of the country. Top finalists will be competing in the Grand Finale before the winner will be declared.

A great idea like this deserves plenty of support and Foradian is one such catalyst that supports BITS Pilani in their effort “to bring about a startup revolution in India” for they also “strongly believe in the power of youth”.