"Games are good for children," says new report

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 6th July 2009
Comments (14) Stumble
"Games are good for children," says new report

A new report from the creators of Sesame Street claims that games are as good for children as conventional lessons.

A new report issued by the creators of Sesame Street claims that computer games can be just as good for children as any traditional classroom activity or form of educational media.

The report itself was written up and produced by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, which is owned and run by the Sesame Workshop, according to Eurogamer. The report explictly advises governmental groups and healthcare organisations to begin investigating how they can use computer games to communicate effectively with children in a positive way.

"Despite their reputation as promoters of violence and mayhem, digital games have in fact been shown to help children gain content and vital foundational and 21st-century skills," the report says.

"Well-designed digital games show significant potential to promote children's growth and healthy development. They can foster skills and knowledge that help children with academic learning, as well as habits which contribute to better health."

"Digital games offer a promising and untapped opportunity to leverage children's enthusiasm and to help transform learning in America... Games are here to stay and offer the country a rare opportunity to leverage children’s already established enthusiasm in order to reform education and promote healthy development."

While the report is mainly focused on purely educational games, what mainstream games do you think are suitable and positive experiences for children? Personally, we always recommend Psychonauts, Lego Star Wars and World of Goo as games that younger players might enjoy, as well as many of the older adventure games that we grew up with. Let us know your ideas in the forums.
Quote Paradigm Shifter 6th July 2009, 14:53
Any game that tests your puzzle solving skills, or hand-eye co-ordination or observational skills is going to be useful for something. I would be leery about saying that games could aid social development (get out there and talk to people - it's a lot better) but hey, it's good to see a report saying something other than "games are teh evil."
Quote proxess 6th July 2009, 16:46
Definitely about time someone said something decent about games, tho this is the second report someone says something good. Remember that FPS games increase contrast visibility.
Quote capnPedro 6th July 2009, 18:08
I've been saying gaming does wonders for your hand-eye-coordination, reaction times, vision, observation skills and problem solving skills for ages!
Quote B1GBUD 6th July 2009, 18:24
I agree, my 3yr old is loving Portal!
Quote SMIFFYDUDE 6th July 2009, 18:43
Playing online games has improved my typing skills. I can now type "noob", "FFS", and "cheater" without looking at the keyboard.
Quote CSMR 6th July 2009, 20:12
"Games are good for children" != "computer games can be... good for children"
Quote zimbloggy 6th July 2009, 20:51
Any article is great that can use that picture.
Quote supaste 6th July 2009, 22:36
sim city teaches quite a lot about human geography as well as money management. i always liked building strategy games as a kid.
Quote Elton 6th July 2009, 23:33
Quote:
Originally Posted by supaste
sim city teaches quite a lot about human geography as well as money management. i always liked building strategy games as a kid.

Sim City was a great way to build patience..
Quote Skiddywinks 6th July 2009, 23:43
The effect of most games on cognitive abilities, and things like hand-eye co-ordination etc can not be denied. But the actual act of sitting at a computer is usual quite detrimental to people. Things like upper cross syndrome become far more common, as does laziness, obesity etc.

The key is getting the balance correct. Regular exercise as well as video games (mainly things like FPS for hand-eye co-ordination, deductive reasoning and logical puzzles for mental growth etc) is a great way to improve the abilities of young people, in both the physical and mental regards.
Quote Yemerich 7th July 2009, 02:27
Manhunt. Very educational
Quote sub routine 7th July 2009, 08:13
duh, kids like playing games some ground breaking research there.

Make them a positive role in the class room attention spans will go through the roof. More groundbreaking commentry :£
Quote keen2learn 7th July 2009, 08:45
Can you imagine the dilemma for a teacher wishing to set homework. "I want you to read a text book; do a homework exercise or complete a video action game." As teaching resources go you can't beat educational games. We just need more of them that tie with lessons in class.

keen2learn
Quote mi1ez 7th July 2009, 08:47
How about Crayon Physics? I checked out the demo on Steam and it seems fun. Not sure I'd pay £15 for it, but the demo was a laugh.
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