The article ‘Learning by Gaming’ was published in the 17^th edition of the El Tiempo newspaper’s magazine ‘la Revista Colegios.’ Written by Miguel Salek, an Information Technology teacher at Saint George’s School, the article says: ‘Virtual Reality has reached the classrooms, ‘Learning by Gaming’ (Learn Through Play) is the latest strategy in use in several of the schools in the capital.

Games provide many educational possibilities and though children do not exactly play in order to learn, they do ultimately learn because games are instructive and provide new experiences.

Now a days children do not play the same games as before but to play is a human necessity and in one form or another will always be part of our lives. Thus, it is essential that games should be adapted to age, be challenging and of course interesting.

This is the reason why Miguel Salek teaches primary school children computer language so they can develop logical thinking. He guides them through different educational programmes in varying subject matters.

One of the programmes used is ‘Scratch’ in which animations, stories, comic strips and games can be created. If the students want to, they can even create a robot as this is in the programme.

The School is using the programme to reinforce projects with fifth and sixth grades to create games such as Trivia.

In the words of Miguel: ‘This supports the study and revision of certain subjects. Students make up their own questions and it is interesting to see how they respond to those of their own companions.’

In the article, Miguel goes on to say that to play not only allows a student to learn, reinforce and self-evaluate his own skills but it also has a positive impact emotionally. Students who are shy and do not ask questions or share their ideas in class can still use their abilities and show their skills without fear of making mistakes or being judged.

Such is the effect of these programmes that other teachers are using them in their classrooms. Adriana Ballesteros, the maths teacher in fifth grade has found an increase in student participation not only in everyday exercises but also in mathematical problems involving algebra, statistics and geometry.

Very useful for those teachers who are constantly looking for new ways to help children learn.