Do Educational Games Really Work?

Over the years there has been the ongoing debate on the advantages that video games may have on young children. Many new products have been developed claiming to increase a baby or child's brain activity, and essentially make them smarter. Let's delve into those studies, and see what we can find.

Recently, a study released at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas claimed that the majority of video games that are labeled as "brain enhancers" have little to back up those claims.

Brain games don't always work, another study says.

The newly created Joan Ganz Cooney Center at the Sesame Workshop released a study entitled "D is for Digital" where they studied 69 "educational" video games currently on the market. Only two were found to be based on any sort of educational curriculum.

Yet for all of those so-called educational duds on the market, there is research currently going on that is working to redefine video games and work them into the classroom. The advantages of video games and the skills that are developed are wanted by employers - analytical thinking, team building, multitasking and solving problems in stressful situations are all key advantages in forming a well rounded student and a smart human being.

The Federation of American Scientists is working to bring all of those skills to use through video games, but also to incorporate an educational curriculum that will teach kids true facts as well as develop those skills; they are looking to redefine education. Federation President Henry Kelly made it clear that the video games they would like to develop would be games created and evaluated with a goal of raising curricular achievement. There are over 45 million video game consoles in American homes, that kind of connection would be staggering.

Yet where would the money come from? While private companies are dabbling in the educational market, as studies that have been seen, few are geared toward any sort of educational curriculum or format and the question arrises if those companies would put in the extra time, money, and research to pursue such a market. Getting money on the federal level will be tough, but groups like the Federation of American Scientists have their foot in the door.

Ultimately, video games need to be seen for their advantages and not solely for their disadvantages.