Screen time has always been a topic of discussion about its consequences, especially for the young ones. Excessive screen time may reduce face-to-face interactions, impacting children’s social skills development and relationships. Moreover, there are concerns about the potential effects on mental and emotional well-being, including issues like increased anxiety or depression associated with heavy use of gaming.
But a moderate amount of screen time is not necessarily bad. If applied purposefully, it can be one of the most valuable assets for a child to learn. Game-based learning represents a promising approach to turning screen time into an educational asset that supports children’s cognitive and emotional development. Sky Village™ is a perfect example of how game-based learning can turn screen time into a positive learning experience that fosters intellectual and emotional growth in children.
Sky Village™: A Game with a Purpose
Sky Village™ – Trail of Spells is an educational role-playing game suitable for all children, particularly those who love to read. It is helpful for K to 5th graders facing difficulty with reading, and those looking to enhance their reading skills through an engaging reading adventure. The game also attempts to solve the problem of learning sight words and symbols essential for early reading skills. As a result of consolidating learning and play into one; Sky Village™ guarantees that children are not only exposed to entertainment via screens but also learning.
The Science behind Sky Village™
Sky Village™ is based on years-long research on learning through fun and a 3-D learning process. Inspired by Bindu Tech, the game encourages kids to engage in breathing exercises and visualization to calm their minds, a feature we call Bindu Focus. When the game detects frustration in the child, it prompts them to perform these exercises. We plan to introduce more activities in the game using Bindu Focus and will gather data to see if this helps children effectively manage their emotions and learning experiences.
How Sky Village™ Supports Cognitive Development?
Learning Through Play
One of the important features of Sky Village™ is that it makes learning enjoyable. Further, play-based learning is linked with the game design, so the children learn through playing activities and tasks. This method is highly effective since it incorporates play, which children love to engage in making the educational content more appealing.
Personalized Learning Experience
Sky Village™ considers the rate at which players learn and their learning abilities. This approach is significant in developing cognitive capabilities because it avoids boredom and overload in children. The game also gives feedback to parents about their children’s progress and suggests areas for improvement.
Learning Enhancement with Sky Village™
Focus on Sight Words and Symbols
Sky Village™ targets the mastery of recognition of sight words and symbols which are the parts of early learning. Framing these elements in the adventurous storyline lets the children easily differentiate, memorize, and learn the words and symbols being used by the game.
Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving
Sky Village is designed in a way that will enhance children’s critical and problem-solving abilities. The game has many puzzles, brain twister activities, timer-based challenges, and word skills practice sessions. Players are presented with different actions, they need to solve problems and tasks and avoid or overcome certain situations, which all imply strategic planning and decisions. It improves their thinking capacity and tunes them into problem-solving real-life situations.
Emotional and Social Development
Building Confidence
As children progress through Sky Village™, they receive continuous feedback and rewards, which boosts their confidence. After successfully addressing the challenges in the game the child feels accomplished which enhances a positive attitude to learning.
Social Interaction
Currently, Sky Village™ is a single-player game. But soon, you will see Sky Village™ multiplayer, with features like leaderboards, progress tracking, and the ability to create ‘Tribes’. This update will enable teachers to set up classroom tribes and families to form groups, fostering cooperative learning and social skills development.
Conclusion
Sky Village™ utilizes time spent in front of the screen which is no more an unproductive time. On the same note, the game targets the cognitive and emotional aspects of children thus making learning fun. In this context, it is necessary to appreciate the importance and the role of using innovative tools such as Educational entertainment, for example, games like Sky Village™ as the key to a better future for our children. Thus, screen time can be used for development by making learning fun and an inherent part of your child’s life.