The next question to ask: is it worth it?
Apparently, the software consists of games that target improving memory, sequencing, sound discrimination, pitch, vocabulary, comprehension and grammar.
Tract Alloway, a psychologist, offers a counter argument on her website that such brain training programmes need to be substantiated with measurement and research (see http://tracyalloway.com/index.php/working-memory/brain-training-does-it-work/). Scoring well in PacMan after some time of practice doesn't mean the child's IQ is improved. She says that before-and-after IQ tests need to be conducted to properly measure if playing PacMan correlates to better thinking and better IQ.
What do you think?
And oh, we just learnt something related to the psychological aspect of our KM course: in the brain, axons send out information and dendrites take in information.
Brain image taken from e-learning website: http://api.ning.com/files/9tcSfHhJzl2TPvCpu*rJ18shk8zYlamQiYFD6Mw2PDo_/brain.jpg
16 comments:
It is, if you think of it from the current society's needs.
Kiasu-ism as singaporeans are termed to be, will make sure that parents spend more and more in such training for kids, whether they are effective anot.
I have friends whose children have to attend all sorts of enrichment lessons, abacus, violin, piano, etc.. I have to admit that these lessons are good for the children's upbringing. However, try not to take away these children's childhood...
I am shocked at how much parents can spend on their kids these days. My colleagues are actually spending like at least $1000 per month on pre-school education. Actually, I wonder if all these extra education is actually useful for them. Yes it might be possible that by sending them for these courses and stuff might improve how they do at school in future.
$However, I feel that children at this age should be not be deprived of their right to have fun and be carefree. In fact, there are people who did not have all these 'courses' when they were children and yet are doing well in life. One thing though, should the children request to attend such courses on their own, that is a different thing and I would say that parents should wholehearted support their interests.
Exactly, just like what Clinton has said, I seriously wonder why would you want to see your child going from classes to classes just so they can, or might have a chance to, get ahead in school next time.
Perhaps one of the privileges of being a child is to just find out more about the world, in his or her own pace and way and let learning be a joy rather than a chore.
I know this might shock some of you, but there is apparantly a forum set up by groups of parents talking about right brain training for kids:
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?p=56377
As the name of the portal suggests--kiasu-- is it really a case of being kiasu (scared of losing out), or is it really a need for kids to go through this?
Ask yourself do you need the brain training:
1. Are you just getting better at the game?
Let’s say you play PacMan every day for a month. Sure, you’ll have a better score than when you first started out, but that doesn’t mean that you’ve actually trained your brain. All you’ve done is just improve your score in PacMan. A better assessment of whether the game is actually training your brain is to use a ‘benchmark’ test to measure improvement. For example, some psychologists test IQ before and after using a brain training game. If IQ improves, you can reasonably attribute this to playing the training program (presuming all other factors remain constant). I’ve looked at the benefits of Brain Gym*. Their claim is that it improves learning. However, when I looked at reading and math scores before and after using Brain Gym for 13 weeks, there was no improvement.
This leads us to the second question you need to ask yourself:
2. Is my improvement better than someone playing a non brain training game?
It is crucial to have a ‘control’ group. Ideally the control group should be doing something other than brain training. For example, if you want to investigate the benefits of brain training compared to doing crosswords, then the control group should do crosswords for the same amount of time as the group using the brain training program. This allows psychologists to accurately compare the results from the two groups and see if any improvements genuinely reflect the brain training program. In education, one school tried out a brain training program and suggested that learning improved. However, without a control group, we don’t know if this is because the students simply liked playing computer games instead of sitting in a classroom.
http://tracyalloway.com/index.php/tag/brain-training/
Someone has done a study to say that braing training is effective though, how true is that?
Brain training game aids kids' learning skills, study claims
DS Lite sales to soar
By James Sherwood • Get more from this author
17th March 2008 13:35 GMT
A daily 20-minute ‘brain training’ session on the DS Lite appears to help improve kids' learning and behaviour skills, according to research conducted by government educational body Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS).
The organisation recently ran a ten-week trial at Dundee school St Columba's Primary. Children aged between ten and 11 spend the first 20 minutes of every school day playing More Brain Training with Dr Kawashima on the handheld console.
Teachers reported rapid improvements in pupil behaviour, co-operation with other kids and their ability to focus on lessons.
The study also recorded recognisable improvements in pupils’ mental arithmetic skills, concentration levels, quality of behaviour and ability get on with tasks on their own.
The trial has been so successful that daily sessions with the software may be implemented in other Scottish schools, LTS said.
Although the report’s findings seem positive for children, there’s no official recommendation that adults will get the same benefit by playing the game before work each day. However, it’s another weapon in your armoury of excuses if your boss catches you playing with a DS Lite during working hours...
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/03/17/ds_lite_scottish_school/
ANd here's a whole string of comments which ensued:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/03/17/ds_lite_scottish_school/comments/
Oh my god.. they're just tots!! Listening to classical music etc is okay.. but definitely not this! I'll gladly leave my toddler's development to nature. I reckon the money will be better spent on enrichment lessons when the child grows older.
Paying that kind of exorbitant money for such programs without any proven results reeks of eltism and kiasu-ism. I will gladly save up the money for my kid's future education.
Let's not rob our children anymore of their precious childhood.
I find it rather absurb that the web are flooded with articles of brain training using games like that of Nintendo. There are already many studies done on this area and apparantly there is a certain level of effectiveness.
I am not sure ho true is this. Then in that case, linking back to this article, isn't parents wasting money by sending their children to these high-cost programs when all they need is just Nintendo or WII to increase their child's brain power?
Here's an aticle talking about Brain Training using the gaming approach and has been validated through clinical trials. Interesting!
http://worldmysteries9.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-brain-training-games-give-children.html
Forget expensive software training programmes, everyone should just buy a NINTENDO!
Here's another article to top it off from Ruth's one. If hers doesnt convince you, perhaps this might!
And in case you don't know, I am a fan of NONTENDO games!
http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2007/10/28/nintendo-ds-brain-training-game-proven-to-improve-maths-skills/
haha, Me too! Next time, we'll share our games ya!
Count me in the Gaming part!
Hi,
Brain Training techniques and games are very popular these days. Brain Training can help kids exercise their memory, cognition, logic skills, and response times. There are some good brain training techniques which are not stressful, but are actually fun.
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