Today’s youngsters are surrounded by technology and its high tech gadgets. We cannot expect them to follow the old approaches to learning such as lecturing and simple PowerPoint presentations. Educational animated videos are one of the best examples of learning facilitators. It is a helpful media to merge the subject matter and entertainment to enhance learning.
Roles of animation in the course of learning
Animation plays an important role in education. One of them is to support students’ cognitive processes. For example, when an equation is being taught to students, it may cause some understanding problems for some students. Therefore, animation with its various and creative abilities can easily solve this problem, the same thing happens in teaching chemistry or physics. Some rules and equations are tangible through explaining and lecturing. Schools require more facilities like a well-equipped laboratory. Here animation comes to intervene in the learning process. As an example, it shows the earth rotational movement around its axis and its orbital movement around the sun. Through this students learn better and more about their subject matters. The use of animation to support students’ cognitive processes helps them remember the stuff they’ve learned more efficiently and deeply and used them when needed.
Another reason why animation is important in education is that animated videos cherish and flourish students and young mindsets’ creativity, imagination, and motivation. Animated videos have no limitation in showing the scientific, artistic and practical subject matters. Its creative nature helps educators to teach more effectively and thoroughly. Educational animated videos or games increase engagement and comprehension in the course of learning. Subject matter attracts students with different learning background. This interactive process stimulates their learning. Therefore it results in a better understanding of the subject matters.
Benefits of educational animated videos
We have been challenging ourselves to get used to technological enhancement. Its rapid development has left us with nothing but finding ways to adapt ourselves. However, the young generation already adapted themselves to technology and a new gadget or even they can develop programs themselves. Using educational animated videos is a step forward toward learning. We can get advantages and benefit from it through removing the old learning barriers which came from the lack of facilities or even teaching limitations. There are a number of benefits for students to mention here:
Developing problem-solving skill
Watching animated videos about mathematics or geometry or even simpler criteria provokes student’s innate potential in problem-solving and critical thinking. Animation makes the learning environment more engaging and instructive. It provides a vast platform for students when learning essential and valuable lessons. Apart from the attractive nature of animation, it can deliver a message that lecturing, sounds or simple videos cannot deliver.
Cherishing Creativity
All of us were born with an amount of creative power in ourselves; some of us more and some of us less than each other. However, in the progression of life, we might forget this ability. The storytelling item in animation wakes up our creativity from a long hibernation. It facilitates communication between the subject matter and our understanding of it and helps us explore the meaning of our own work and experience. Check our brain’s functions when we are exposed to animated storytelling. Colors, shapes, characters, pictures, creativity, and imagination in the educational animated videos help students move further and answer the questions that have been left unanswered.
Improving Critical thinking skills
Educators can use animated videos to show everyday situations and public problems. Using animation like this in the classrooms provokes peer’s discussions. Students can discuss their opinion about a certain problem and call for an opponent and concordant. This way they can analyze the seen case and give answers which they can support completely and even decline other opinions with logic and reason.
For children, other personal skills are developed through educational animated videos such as personality development, memory enhancement, and spatial relationships.
Personality development
As mentioned earlier animation affects learning directly. Using animation in the course of learning involves several parts of the brain and use several skills simultaneously. This creates deeper connections between skills and results in life-long learning.
Memory enhancement
Memory has three stages in the brain. They are sensory memory, short term memory, and long term memory. It is through sensory memory that external input reaches the brain. For example, when a child receives new authentic information through visual sensory (eyes watching animated videos) it is easier to retrieve the information. Because most of the information will save in the long term memory. Therefore, if the valuable lessons from school or moralities are presented through animated videos or game, it is easier for the audience and the students to remember them.
Recognizing Spatial relationships
Did you know that children’s brain cannot distinguish shapes in the young ages? Animation comes to rescue the spatial relationship skills in the mind. Also, children can distinguish and recognize the shapes through animated videos. Animation helps children to understand objects and shapes and their differences more deeply.
To wrap it up
Animation today is no longer a media for entertainment. It plays an important role in the course of learning and in all educational fields. Moreover, with today’s technological enhancement it is important to use animation to educate our children about subject matters and morality. Don’t hesitate. Contact us today and strengthen your children’s learning process.