Far from it... Long gone are the days when we got our first phones in high school... with a monthly package of just 30 text messages! Nowadays, the average age for getting your first smartphone is barely age 10. Surrounded by screens at home, 58% of kids aged 7 to 12 also have their own console. Screens are everywhere, as well as the conversations denouncing them. But do they really harm our children’s development?

Lots of studies show a link between overexposure to screens in children under 3 and a delay in early speech. In their first three years of life (the 1000 days of Boris Cyrulnik), children are intrepid explorers who need to talk to real people, hold real objects to understand the wonderful world around them. At this age, screens don’t benefit them in the least and replace other activities and interactions that are vital to their cognitive development. So it’s simple, they’re just too young at that age!

You also need to distinguish between the two types of screen; non-interactive screens (like television) and interactive screens which require action from the user. Video games fall into this second category. When you play, you can’t just stare at the screen! Children have to take the initiative, make their own choices... all of which fosters the learning process.

Even if you’re a fan of Stephen King, you can’t really compare him to William Shakespeare. In the same way, games don’t all have the same quality of content or educational impact. As well as the child’s age, how long you use it for and the kind of interaction (so that’s quite a lot of factors...), you also and more than anything need to consider the “quality” of the content in question. Luckily, there’s a lot of other rich content around like PowerZ.

Are screens dangerous?

Playing with your children is not just something you can enjoy together, but is also something that is important to their development. By laughing with them, you show how interested you are in what they’re doing and how much you love them.

Much more than just creating happy memories, video games are also a rich platform for conversing and sharing. Olivier Duris, who meditates using video games in his therapy sessions, has observed how good games are at getting people to talk.

So video games are a great way of talking to children at home about what they’re doing, and especially for getting them to open up emotionally. For kids (and sometimes adults too), feelings blow up like storms that are hard to control. Getting children to put what they’re feeling into words helps them control their emotions better. By commenting on what the game makes them feel or makes you feel, you’re encouraging them to express themselves and to understand their own reactions better!

Video games also help them develop a whole range of skills that are useful to them in their school life and their everyday life, including innovation, concentration, cooperation and so on as well as social skills! Yes, video games don’t trap children in a bubble, in fact, it’s the opposite! Children socialize when they play multiplayer games or the same games as their friends.

Keith Stuart goes as far as comparing Fortnite with what skate parks did a few years back. Games are much more than a place where you do a certain activity, they’re a meeting place. People’s appearance in game has replaced skater’s caps and dances have become a new language. With the rise of esports and streaming platforms like Twitch, watching others play has become just as important as playing yourself... And the community aspect takes precedence over the passive dimension. So something you thought was bad turns out to be good actually?

“We shouldn’t use screens as something that alienates us off from others but as something that unites us.”

On average, kids aged between 3 and 10 spend 2 hours a day in front of screens – and spent three times as much time as that during the first lockdown. Is that too much? Yes, according to the WHO (World Health Organisation). Children should increase their outdoor activities and restrict their screen time to just an hour per day before the age of 5. However, screens are more and more a part of our children’s lives, including during their school day. Should we reduce the amount of screen time at home based on how much more central they are becoming at school? This is a paradox we still need to explore...

In any case, you have to set up family rules to restrict screen usage. To help you, the psychiatrist Serge Tisseron uses the tags 3-6-9-12 in his "screen diet". No television before the age of 3, then restricted use under supervision which gives way to more autonomy and self-regulation as the child grows. Sleep is a precious commodity; so it’s best to avoid screens before bedtime for better quality sleep. Meals should also be eaten strictly without screens for quality time with the family.

Setting rules for screen use isn’t easy so we’ve come up with a mobile app that includes a parental control feature. You can therefore set a time slot and duration of play time where the child cannot access the game outside these times. Ideally, you should discuss these rules with them and remain fairly flexible to prevent them from being frustated about having to stop right in the middle of an activity.

Last but not least, the best way to teach children how to use screens properly – and we know it’s not easy – is to lead by example! From the earliest age, children observe and imitate. So it’s up to us to teach them the right habits!

“The best parental control is parents!”

“Chocolate is all very well, but you don’t want to eat a kilo a day. And the same goes for screens.” Olivier Duris, psychologist and expert in our relationship with screens, is here to debunk received notions and to give us some tips about how to use them better around children better!

To sum up:
- Video games are very cool and they’re fine for children as long as they’re a means for sharing, conversing and, if possible, contain smart content.
- Because you don’t eat kilos of chocolate, setting screen rules based on the child’s age prevents metaphorical indigestion.
- The main thing is to talk to your child about it, have fun with them and share their hobbies!

SCREENS AND CHILDREN: HOW CAN WE STOP ALL THE MADNESS?

Surprisingly, and almost certainly bolstered by the wave of paranoia about new technology, these two spheres, rather than recognizing each other as siblings that could have grown up alongside each other, continued to drift apart, secretly jealous of one another... But couldn’t video games become a part of the educational system, once the latter realizes it has so much to gain from them? Wouldn’t video games provide a powerful tool for channeling and holding the attention of children who often have trouble concentrating in class? What are video games if not one of the best ways to apply the current educational approach of active learning? Trying to make content more fun is the logical next step in this approach.  

Let’s stop pitting both of these against each other and stigmatizing them for their respective shortcomings! Instead, let’s try to focus on the ways they can be complementary to each other, to understand how these two worlds can come together, learn from each other and ultimately combine for the greatest benefit of our children. With PowerZ, we firmly believe that gaming and education are mutually reinforce one another. Find out how through this 3-part dossier. 

They are complementary because video games still cannot – no matter how much the developer cares or how determined they are – make our children get away from the game and share their experiences in the real world, even though the values of togetherness are upheld (and this failure is obviously regrettable). Video games therefore have everything to gain from using a solution that connects them to reality, outside the game itself. One of the greatest strengths of schools is that this is something children have to do every day. It might seem trivial but it is actually far from it. Gaming has its MMOs or Massively Multiplayer Online games, and school enables tens, hundreds, thousands of children to connect with each other every day. And offline. Unbelievable, right?

The real world or how to compensate for our relationship with screens




>PowerZ wants to work alongside schools, museums, theaters, cinemas and all places of culture and activity that help our children (...) connect with the real world.”

PowerZ does not want video games to become an end in themselves. Yes, paradoxically, we want to work alongside schools, museums, theaters, cinemas, and all places of culture, all landscapes and all activities that help our children get their minds off their screens and connect with the world that really counts in our eyes, the real world. How do you make a game that inspires somebody to read a book? How do you cultivate a preference in them for a healthy diet and everyday sports activities? How do you get them to take up a mindful, intelligent stance when confronted by society’s challenges, and develop this through their gaming experience? Games should encourage our children to ask life’s big questions. Its main aim shouldn’t be to become an addictive drug but to operate as a hub between the platform and the world around them. 

Practically speaking, there are multiple solutions available to offset our intensive relationship with our screens (yes, we, grown-ups, could quite easily include ourselves in the equation). Beginning with educational gaming itself! Can we make the progression and reward system in PowerZ so motivating for our children that we could seamlessly submit content to them outside the game as part of their progress? As part of a quest, suggest that they read a book from the library or bake a chocolate cake for example? You can do anything in a game. But in real life, as you know, children need a link! 

Hence our leading role! As parents, PowerZ must also provide us with the means to support our children more. In addition to their progress, in the PowerZ mobile app, you’ll see advice, supported by cognitive science research and recommendations about play time, and how regular the sessions should be for optimizing hybrid learning.

As teachers, PowerZ needs to offer an interface for monitoring student-players in our classes. How can teachers appropriate PowerZ as an educational game?  As you have now realized through this mini series of articles, that’s not our main goal. We are indeed designing a video game, an educational system in its own right, for learning sessions at home. And it’s not meant as a rival but as complementary to learning at school. So, as proven by the fact that we already developed the game alongside teachers, it’s a relevant question! And it should be...   

In fact, this summer, as parents and teachers, through the Chimera Circle – our community of children – we’ll also be able to sign our children up for giant hackathons! The idea is to get them thinking for a few hours over a 4-week period about major societal issues (about the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals) and to come up with their own suggestions for PowerZ! For example, we could ask them to think about world hunger and food waste (SDG no. 2), provide them with courses of action in their daily lives and get them to think in groups, with our help, about what we could add to the game to cover these topics. Sarah, our best chimera trainer, will tell you about it soon… 



“A single dream unites us: turning PowerZ into a movement to advance Education.”

Getting our children’s attention, sending them a message, helping them progress and learn... all of them are noble causes! Ah, but did you think we were talking about school? No, we were actually talking about video games! Both have been seen as so opposed to each other, to the point that, most of the time, they are pitted against each other, that it’s still a surprise to be able to say that video games and education can actually be complementary.

So there you have it, this is the note we’ll end on for this mini series about why video games and education are complementary to each other. You can see our whole approach to learning through our first cookbook recipes, in the first edition of the PowerZ booklet that came out on February 15 (add link). We’re already working on a new version so we can show you how we think and our tools which have become more and more concrete as we’ve progressed in an area that is still under-documented and experimental. As we believe that Education is for the good of all, we want to share our insights from this wonderful story that we’re writing together. There is still a lot to be done in the communal adventure we’re on together, us parents, kids, teachers and enthusiasts... An Adventure with a capital A. We don't yet know the right path nor the destination, but we progress, every day, fueled by the dream that unites us: turning PowerZ into a movement to advance Education. Everything will turn out alright as long as we continue to share a couple of our children’s best character traits: imagination and seeing everything with new eyes, so that we continue to believe that, together, everything is possible.  

UNDERSTANDING WHY VIDEO GAMES AND EDUCATION ARE COMPLEMENTARY TO EACH OTHER 3/3

Surprisingly, and almost certainly bolstered by the wave of paranoia about new technology, these two spheres, rather than recognizing each other as siblings that could have grown up alongside each other, continued to drift apart, secretly jealous of one another... But couldn’t video games become a part of the educational system, once the latter realizes it has so much to gain from them? Wouldn’t video games provide a powerful tool for channeling and holding the attention of children who often have trouble concentrating in class? What are video games if not one of the best ways to apply the current educational approach of active learning? Trying to make content more fun is the logical next step in this approach. 

Let’s stop pitting both of them against each other and stigmatizing them for their respective shortcomings! Instead, let’s try to focus on the ways they can be complementary to each other, to work out how these two realms can come together, learn from each other and ultimately combine for the greatest benefit of our children. With PowerZ, we firmly believe that gaming and education are mutualy beneficial. Find out how through this 3-part dossier.

They are complementary because our traditional education system cannot – no matter how much the teacher cares or how determined they are – teach all the content in a way that upholds its principle of everybody having equal access to education (and this failure is obviously regrettable). The education system therefore has everything to gain from using an aid that is flexible enough to tackle different subjects and learning phases.


>“In Super Mario (...), you learn how to get through the level by falling down the wrong places multiple times before you learn exactly where and when to jump.”

One of the biggest strengths of video games is also the fact that they have mastered the art of active learning. Take Super Mario for example. You learn how to get through the level by falling down the wrong places multiple times before you learn exactly where and when to jump. This empirical “trial and error” mechanic is a guaranteed learning process that is constantly threatened with extinction in a mostly punitive education system. Video games enable you to learn continuously through your mistakes, and you enjoy the process too! Amazing, right?!

Trial and error very much supports the consolidation phase of picking up knowledge and skills. This mechanic has to be teamed with other brain training principles such as “close feedback loops” and “expanded rate retrieval”. If you want children to consolidate any skill properly e.g. ensure it stays in their long-term memory and becomes a reflex in their procedural memory, you have to tell the child where and why they made a mistake, where and why they were right and launch this trial-and-error session at set intervals. The whole process is part of a practical consolidation strategy. However, when we refer to phases in the plural, it’s because there is more than just a consolidation phase.

Out of our strong desire to give each child access to extracurricular lessons that often depend wholly on the parents’ social background, the game also focuses on an awakening phase. Our children therefore have the opportunity not only to improve their progress in mathematics but their awareness of classical music, and their progress in vocabulary increases alongside their knowledge of yoga. Without any distinction being made about the importance of each of these subjects. And once the children have got to a certain point on this infinite horizontal scale, based on their own preferences, they can progress vertically as much as they want and potentially lift all academic “level barriers” for a more thorough exploration of all the fields that attract them personally.

Well, the latter point remains to be proven of course, hence the concept of phase distribution. It is up to us to interest them in as many different subjects as possible to help them find the areas that inspire them the most and then to acquire a lasting foundation of skills enabling them to progress as far as possible. And then to enable them to build on this knowledge and these emerging aspirations at school. Can you imagine how much time and energy would be saved for both parents and teachers if we could focus fully on face-to-face teaching? Can you imagine how liberating it would feel and all the potential springboards there would be for children that were finally freed from the chains of a system that is too cumbersome for them and from our restrictive beliefs?

The principle of phase distribution or the fair allocation of resources


>“The Wizards’ Tower and the trials it involves are the perfect place for children to build on their newly acquired skills or those in the process of being acquired.”

Practically speaking, we’re developing these three phases for each of the learning areas covered. We started to structure the game so that the main quest – as well as progressing through the main storyline of PowerZ – mostly supports this awakening phase with introductions to all these areas of learning. With the exception, perhaps, of the basic skills/tools to progress comfortably through this world. Once we’ve piqued their curiosity, our children will be guided by their internal leanings and will naturally head (we definitely push them a bit) towards the secondary quests available – every variant of the secondary quests helps you consolidate specific skills in a particular field of learning. Of course, these are trends, as these three phases are interdependent and in places, consolidation might be similar to awakening, because the effects will be similar.

Finally, at regular intervals, the wizards of Omega will test our children. The Wizards’ Tower and the trials it involves are the perfect place for children to build on their newly acquired skills or those in the process of being acquired. However, we never forget that truly intelligent application of these skills happens in contexts other than educational settings and emphasizes the usefulness of the knowledge acquired; in the distance, something we call the juxtaposition of realms is taking shape. But we’ll come back to that later...

Getting our children’s attention, sending them a message, helping them progress and learn... all of them are noble causes! Ah, but did you think we were talking about school? No, we were actually talking about video games! Both have been seen as so opposed to each other, to the point that, most of the time, they are pitted against each other, that it’s still a surprise to be able to say that video games and education can actually be complementary.

Interested in finding out more about how video games and education are complementary to each other? See you next week for the last issue where we’ll explain how a game like PowerZ can make your kids want to get outdoors, enjoy sports and even cook, but... in the real world.

UNDERSTANDING WHY VIDEO GAMES AND EDUCATION ARE COMPLEMENTARY TO EACH OTHER 2/3

Adrien Aldasoro, Head of Education chez PowerZ

Adrien_Aldasoro_Education.png

They are complementary because our traditional education system, which is run on a national scale or limited to the size of a class cannot – no matter how much the teacher cares or how determined they are – adapt to suit each child even though it upholds the principle that everybody should have equal access to education (and this failure is obviously regrettable). The education system therefore has everything to gain from using a solution that IS capable of accommodating each individual: video games. Ultimately, one of the greatest strengths of video games is that they offer an experience that every player can make their own. Whatever your skills or preferences are, video games have the ability to adapt and become usable by us – all without even knowing us personally or physically. Incredible, right?

PowerZ is an educational video game for children aged 6 and over, that adapts to each child’s needs and ability level, for a genuine learning experience. The game has a powerful and responsible artificial intelligence system. From the very first chapter, it analyzes a host of data in order to create the optimal learning experience for each child. Ultimately, it will help us work out the best way of learning for that particular player. It’s neither new nor heresy to point out that listening in class isn’t all a child needs in order to retain something. Not for the majority in any case. It can help obviously, but other methods are sometimes required to help children memorize something; for some, this will be repeating it out loud, for others it will be making diagrams or reformulating the lesson through writing, etc. PowerZ will soon be able to work out each child’s learning profile and thus develop solutions tailored specifically to them that will optimize the way that they pick up knowledge!

Artificial intelligence or a means of adapting to each child

Our artificial intelligence also supports us with adapting the game’s difficulty and keeping the player in the flow state (to use a games industry term) or the Zone of Proximal Development as defined by Lev Vygotski (to use an educational term). Put simply, both of these mean the distance between what a child can do or learn on their own and what they can only learn with the help of somebody who is more expert, be it parents or teachers. In other words, this means the perfect difficulty level for them – neither too easy nor too tricky. In this zone or state, the child is never discouraged or bored, but is stimulated to the height of their abilities! What education system can truly say it offers each of its students exercises that are so well suited to their abilities and personal progress? Video games can act as personal tutors! How many times have we found a particular exercise too hard or too easy at school (okay, mostly too hard, to be honest...)? It’s frustrating, isn’t it? On the other hand, it’s a real joy when you work out something by yourself! Can you imagine the power of such a solution? Video games have made this one of their specialities. In games, if you keep giving the player a sequence or a mechanic that is too finicky or too easy, it’s a guaranteed game over!


>“By giving pupils an intelligent method, you give them the method to become intelligent.”
>Antoine de La Garanderie

So, from the very first chapter, our AI can generate game sequences procedurally, which means an almost infinite number of levels that increase in difficulty. It’s designed to constantly assess the child’s level, to split exercises into difficulty clouds and to give them the ones that suit their current abilities, with a couple that are a bit easier to bolster their confidence and a few that are a little harder so the child is challenged. This is what we call Adaptive Learning. This adaptability at present applies to specific locations in game, Aria’s Hall of 1000 Doors or the temples in the Azamar Desert for example, but soon it will apply to the entire adventure! We train our Artificial Intelligence so it has the ability to work out each child’s strengths or areas they need to work on, tell their parents about this via our app and suggest – just like a virtual coach – training programmes, resources and advice tailored to the skills targeted. This is PowerZ’s main aim, to go above and beyond a simple educational game and become a unique learning experience.

Children’s games aren’t child’s play! This is a complex arena and there’s still a long way to go. Now for the next issue, where Super Mario (yes, the plumber) will explain to us how he’s a pioneer of new learning methods.

UNDERSTANDING WHY VIDEO GAMES AND EDUCATION ARE COMPLEMENTARY TO EACH OTHER 1/3

Grégory Gelly, Head of data and IA (intelligence artificielle) chez PowerZ.

gregory_intelligence_artificielle_powerz.png

PowerZ is an educational video game for children 6 to 12, offering a real educational experience. Learn math, English, astronomy... and build the game with us!

NEWS

SCREENS AND CHILDREN: HOW CAN WE STOP ALL THE MADNESS?

UNDERSTANDING WHY VIDEO GAMES AND EDUCATION ARE COMPLEMENTARY TO EACH OTHER 3/3

UNDERSTANDING WHY VIDEO GAMES AND EDUCATION ARE COMPLEMENTARY TO EACH OTHER 2/3

UNDERSTANDING WHY VIDEO GAMES AND EDUCATION ARE COMPLEMENTARY TO EACH OTHER 1/3