New computer games have been created for primary school students

A presentation of new electronic learning resources - computer games - was held at the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia.

At the primary education stage, it is particularly important that the learning environment allows students to acquire knowledge in a positive emotional setting. Learning through play is a priority among the teaching methods selected for this age group. Didactic games develop students' independent learning, problem-solving, and creative thinking skills, while enabling teachers to tailor their approach to the learning needs of each individual student.

To this end, the National Curriculum Department of the Ministry, in close cooperation with the Education Management Information System (EMIS) of the Ministry, has been working for several years on the creation of methodically and substantively sound educational electronic interactive games.

The new computer games created for the 2013-2014 academic year for primary school students cover the subjects of Georgian language, mathematics, natural sciences, music, and art. The computer games serve as a kind of virtual laboratory through which students become researchers, learning and exploring with enthusiasm and active participation. These entertaining games maintain the consistency of the educational material, correspond to the thematic content of the subject syllabi, and serve as an auxiliary additional tool for better mastering the subjects. Each stage of the games is packed with new interactive animations, puzzles, and engaging tasks. Upon completing each task, the student is awarded an “encouraging reward” in the form of an animation or a theme-related video.

The new computer games have been uploaded to the web portal of the Ministry of Education and Science at www.buki.ge and will soon be loaded onto the personal “Buki” laptops of elementary school students.

The participants of the event were welcomed by Lia Gigauri, Deputy Minister of Education and Science; Natia Jokhadze, Head of the National Curriculum Department; and Lasha Verulava, Head of the LEPL Education Management Information System. The authors of the computer games - David and Ilia Songulashvili, and Alexander Asatiani - provided a detailed presentation of the new educational resources to primary school teachers and department heads from Tbilisi schools.