Can gaming help children learn?

Can gaming help children learn?

Who here likes to play video games? What if I told you that playing video games can help you become smarter, would you believe me? a group of Chinese students learning English used digital games as a learning tool. After the test 95 percent of the 3500 said  that the digital programs increased motivation among the students.

According to research by neuroscientist Paul Howard Jones gaming stimulates our brain into producing a chemical called ‘Dopamine’. Dopamine aids cognition which is the ability to acquire knowledge through thought, experiences and the senses. Everyone knows that this is important when it comes to education and learning.

A majority of you would agree that gaming is fun and also engaging, but gaming has been known to produce the greatest technology gods. Would you be surprised if I told you that Bill Gates and Rihanna were gamers? I would be surprised to know that Rihanna is a gamer but Bill Gates he’s quite obvious, considering he is one of the forefathers of the multi-million dollar corporation Xbox. Many people also make money from gaming like the creators of Call of Duty and Halo.

Teamwork is one of the most obvious increase in students playing multiplayer videogames and also educational games. It is most likely to happen when there is a challenge that is quite hard or impossible for one student to do, it is here when they ask for help within peers or they team up together if it has the multiplayer option. This makes it easier to teach physical education or otherwise called P.E and also when there is a team building activity.

Problem solving was also a skill that was improved the most with gaming a. You might think that I’m talking about educational games but games like Splinter Cell and Rachet also have these effects on children’s mind. It will be easier for students to finish tasks as they use past experiences and they will be used to doing it as most games have this feature. Problem solving is a big factor when it comes to education as most techniques are question and answer types

So next time your mum says gaming is bad for you, you can say not so much. Now with Christmas coming up instead of asking for a new bike or skateboard I suggest you ask for a gaming console like Ps4 or Xbox because it might just make you the next Steve Jobs or Stephen Hawking.

Fizz, Foam, Fun!

Ko te Raapa 18 o te Mahuru o tenei ra

Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid crystals
• 1 teaspoon of icing sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of drinking crystals
• 1/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

Method:

Stir everything together and then have a taste of your delicious sherbet.

Chemical reaction:

The sherbet released a soury sensation inside my mouth, a few moments later it fizzed and foamed inside my mouth. It changed colour into a yellow type of colour instead of it’s original pale white colour.

Fun with chemicals!

Ko te Rahina 16 o te Mahuru o tenei ra

WALHT: Observe and report on the chemical reaction that occur when combining substances together.

Experiment - Mix carbonates and bases to acids and record the reaction that follows

Combination	Hypothesis	Reaction
Lemon Juice - Citric Acid	We predicted that the colour would change or lose it’s original colour	The lemon juice colour faded after being mixed into the citric acid which then after solidified.
Raro - Vinegar	We predicted that the vinegar’s colour would over power the Raro’s distinct orange colour.	The reaction turned the vinegar into orange coloured liquid
Vinegar - Tartaric Acid	We predicted that the vinegar would turn the tartaric acid into a black liquid like it’s original colour black.	It looked like coke and solidified.
Baking Soda - Vinegar	We didn’t really predict because we have done this many times.	It rose and foamed up due to the chemical reaction.

Should children bring rubbish from school, home?

Should children’s rubbish from school be brought back home?

Rubbish is a common sight these days, there aren’t a lot of people reusing and recycling like a lot of people are trying to persuade us to do as a daily act. Although some rubbish isn’t purposely littered around streets, birds scavenging for food is known for throwing out rubbish from bins. Making it compulsory for kids to bring home their rubbish from school helps them to remember to reuse (if possible) and recycle to reduce rubbish around our cities.

Firstly, It will help children to remember to reuse and recycle to reduce rubbish in and around our cities as I said before. If this sticks with them until they’re older they would be able to pass these values to their kids (the new generation) which will help earth last longer.

This makes it good for the earth and for your town/country because it makes it look cleaner and the atmosphere will be good.

Secondly, More rubbish will be in the bin and  not littered around property because of hungry birds. This makes life easier for people who have to pick up the rubbish after us and they won’t get much stress. Although if all the rubbish is always put into bins people who work for the council by picking up rubbish might lose their jobs if the streets are to clean. A little bit of rubbish is ok but if we make too much rubbish without recycling or reusing in the next century we might have a world like Wall E’s and we won’t like that.

Lastly, Nature can be affected by our actions because the rubbish lying around can actually damage forests and also it’s atmosphere. If forests are damaged our unique wildlife would be extinct in a couple of years. Which in turn takes out one of the reasons why tourists come here.

Do we want our world to deteriorate because of our rubbish? Well if you don’t this is why children should take their rubbish home daily from school.

Wordle for Mission Day

Purpose - Mission Day: The purpose of Mission Day is to fundraise money which is then given to the Mission Sisters so that they can help those who can’t help themselves

Connection to School Charism: It’s connection to our school charism is that Mission Day help other people recover from their problems and that is what teachers encourage us to do. That’s why we have mediators because they help other people with their problems.

Chocolate is NOT healthy

I refute this absolute foolishness going on about chocolate being healthy, I mean 95 percent of it is Saturated Fat! I want to know in what way is that healthy?. Clearly chocolate is not a food or a desert it is a TOXIN that is one of the leading causes to diabetes and obesity!

To back my thesis most people would side with me although appetizing it is also very addictive and it has been proven that most things that are addictive are very very bad for your health. Chocolate is one of these addictive products that have been known to ruin people’s health through many thing including: Diabetes, Obesity and foul teeth which would lead into the consumer having to spend around 50 dollars from doctor’s bills and medicine.

Secondly, A few dollars for a block of chocolate could turn into 50 or more dollars like stated on the first paragraph. Also chocolate satisfies you for only a certain amount of time which will make your body crave for more, but chocolate is 95 percent saturated fat and so with that much fat how would you know if you’re consuming fat or chocolate. So chocolate could cost more than a couple of dollars if not eaten properly.

If you’re planning to be a model chocolate will certainly ruin your teeth and you will not be a very attractive and good model. Chocolate will ruin your teeth and it will cause it to have cracks, which will ruin not just your chance but also your looks.

In conclusion I assure you with very much confidence if you want to be hygienic chocolate is not one of the best products to consume. It is also one of the leading causes to Diabetes and Obesity, Again I say chocolate is not a food or a dessert it is a TOXIN!

Mathematics

This rumour going on about mathematics being a waste of time is an act only a 5 year old would even think about of saying and doing. In my perspective the person whoever thought of this absolute senselessness might’ve had Dyscalculia. Dyscalculia means having difficulty in learning, like complication in understanding numbers and understanding math facts.

A majority of people would agree that mathematics although sometime complicated is essential for us humans to thrive, for example technology wouldn’t be possible because of the number coding/Fibonacci needed to be understood. If numbers weren’t learned is would lead to putting more hours in simple house chores like laundry and cleaning (vacuuming) the house. Maths and numbers are important if we would want to thrive and have all this technology.

More evidence to prove this is that mathematics is one of the best ways to stimulate your brain, as numbers and challenges given to you has been known to go back to your basics. If mathematics was practiced daily it wouldn’t seem as impossible as people describe it. Mathematics is one of the best ways to stimulate your brain and if practiced daily it wouldn’t be as hard as it seems.

So, to wrap it all up mathematics is not a waste of time because it is needed for us to thrive, stimulate our brain and also to have all things we have right now. Maths contributes to almost everything we do like jobs and house chores. I leave you with this, imagine a world without technology, no cars, no time, no houses and finally no humans...