Final Project: Educational Handheld Video Games

      In today's technological society, it is not uncommon to see young children absorbed in video games. Everything from the PlayStation 3 and the Wii to the Nitendo DS and the V-Reader has been introducing  the youth of day to the technology of tomorrow. But what is the overall consequences of this influx of technological capabilities being introduced to our children? What is the influence of the contents of the games being played by these children? Can these video games educate children beyond the spectrum of technology?
     With the obvious willingness of young children to "play" over "studying" in their daily routine, it is no wonder why the two have been incorporated over the years. Educational toys and games have been a parental ideal for years. With the focus of children already being glued to the screens of televisions and portable game players, why not sneak something educational in front of them? V-tech, Leap Frog, and Nintendo are leading in the revolution that is educational handheld video games. Drawing children in with their entertaining concepts, these games are geared so that children are not only learning but also desire to do so. 

 Case Study on Educational Handheld Video Games
     We carefully selected a group of children between the ages of 3-9 with various levels of exposer to video games, and educational video games, to participate in a three week study on the how effective educational handheld video games can be as an educational tool. The children's exposer to educational video games were put into three categories: play educational video games, play non-educational video games, and don't play video games. The children and their parents were interview about education, video games, and educational video games. Then, the children were either given a Nintendo DS or a Nintendo DSi. They also received educational video games which corresponded with their age and educational level.

     The parents and their children were instructed to follow the following three-week work schedule as if it were an assignment set home by the child's teacher as homework.
Week 1: Play a science, a reading, and a math game for at least 30 mins each everyday. You may spend as much time on an individual game as you want as long as each game played for at least 30 mins.
Week 2: Play a science, a reading, and a math game for at least 30 mins everyday. You may spend as much time on an individual game as you want as long as each game eventually played.
(At the end of this week, the children were taken to the store to get two additional games each of their choosing, whether it was educational or not.)
Week 3:  Play at least 30 mins everyday. You may spend as much time on any of the five games as you want. You are not required to play all of the games everyday.

(The parents of the children shown agreed to have their photos and/or videos and that of their children put online.)

-Results
The parents said that they saw an increase in their children's willingness to not only do this "homework" assignment but also their actual homework. Four parents saw a dramatic increase in their children's mathematical skills and problem solving skills. Five saw a raise in their children's vocabulary, reading skills, and reading comprehension. Four saw a growth in their children's understanding of scientific concepts (such as taxonomy, photosynthesis, astronomy, meteorology, and anthropology). The children grew more comfortable with the handheld video games and enjoyed learning with the educational games. Even when they were not required to and had other options, the children continued to play the educational video games. When taken to get two more games, two children chose to get an educational game. One child chose to get two additional educational games (a history game and a trivia game). The parents agreed that the idea was an innovative way for children and students alike to learn. The parents said that they would not have a problem if their children were to actually be instructed to play the educational video games for their homework. The children all agreed that the games made learning fun and that they would not mind being instructed to play the educational games as homework for school. One parent reported that he allowed his child to play one of the math games to help her prepare for a math test. He was proud to report that his daughter got a 100% on the test.