According to a teacher, video gaming should not be seen as a waste of time but as a “gateway into computer science.”
Jude Nzemeke taught Year 6 pupils from Prince Avenue Academy in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, how to make an activity app.
The project is a collaboration with Digital Schoolhouse, which uses play-based learning.
Mr Nzemeke, from Southend High School for Boys, said it was designed to bridge the gap between computer science in primary and secondary schools.
Mr Nzemeke, the high school’s computer science leader, said he hoped negative attitudes towards video gaming were changing.
“People don’t understand that gaming opens a potential gateway into computer science, because behind gaming, we have a lot of computational thinking,” he said.
He believes that the more exposure students have to computer science at an early age, the more likely they are to cope with technology in the future, including technology that has yet to be created.
“They will be well equipped to challenge and use these systems adequately as their experience grows in the subject,” he said.
Shahneila Saeed is head of education at Digital Schoolhouse, which wants to engage the next generation of pupils in the computing curriculum.
She said computer science has been on the primary school curriculum since 2014, but “the way it is taught varies and we’d like to see more video games being used to help facilitate that learning”.
“Children love playing games – and that’s beyond video games, you see it in the playground – so tapping into that is a great way to further their educational and academic development,” she said.
“And video games are such a fusion of creative and technological skills… they also encourage communication and teamwork, strategic thinking, problem solving and creative thinking,” BBC reports.
The Year 6 children were enthusiastic about their computer class experience. One described it as “really fun and exciting. I loved how we made little mini games.”
Another said, “It’s really fun. It’s probably my dream job building games for all different ages, and if I can have a chance to have fun, why can’t others?”