Irish schools are being encouraged to allow their children to spend more time playing computer games as it could have a positive impact on their future.
The calls come from Researchers at University College Cork (UCC) who say that games such as Candy Crush and Minecraft help children to develop their logical thinking.
Professor Patrick Fitzpatrick said: “We know that the children are playing the games, we’re actually going to allow them to see that the games have got logic in the background.
“We think that by developing their understanding of how logic is used in the computer games that they’re playing anyway, that they can have a better understanding of how computers actually work.”
UCC staff are leading a project called Boole2School named after the famous mathematician and logician George Boole. It is part of the George Boole 200 programme of outreach activities.
George Boole 200 project support officer Kathy Bunney said: “It’s introducing a new type of maths into the classroom, and it’s slightly off-piste from their curriculum – the kids are not only learning mathematics, but logical thinking.”
She told UCC alumni magazine Independent Thinking that this logical thinking will benefit children in many different subjects and aspects of their lives.
She continued: “A lot of the puzzles follow the game style of Cluedo: using detective work to eliminate people and figure out the one true solution.
“That type of logical thinking is something that will help them in many different subjects, not just mathematics.”
