COMPUTER games can play a key role in encouraging children to learn, a government minister believes.
• Brain-training games on the portable Nintendo DS can motivate pupils to learn and help them develop skills, say experts. Picture: Getty Images
Education minister Mike Russell said the technology, often seen as a distraction, could motivate young people to develop skills.
Mr Russell said the Nintendo DS console, for example, could lead to surprising educational benefits for young people, particularly its top-selling "brain-training" games.
He said: "We need to embrace new technologies and tap into all the resources available to us to ensure that our young people develop successfully in a modern society within which computers are so important.
"Educational computer games can be a great way of motivating young people to learn in a way that is relevant and enjoyable for them.
"Computer games are often perceived as solely a distraction to learning. But alongside traditional learning aids, they can help make learning more engaging.
"Parents and teachers across the country are starting to see the benefits they can have."
Dr David Miller of the University of Dundee has conducted studies into the effects of brain-training games on improving learning in partnership with government education body Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS).
LTS, which is responsible for the school curriculum, has been conducting trials at schools across the country using the games.
Dr Miller said it was clear many games had tremendous learning potential. The research focusing on a brain-training game showed it could improve pupil's basic computational skills.
Children who used the game for 20 minutes each morning over a ten-week period demonstrated statistically significant gains in accuracy and speed of processing.
He said: "Research is starting to point towards computer games providing some real and tangible benefits to young people.
"These can include faster processing of information, enhanced selection of relevant material and higher levels of engagement.
"Computer games are part of our culture and while we may have concerns about aspects of some popular games, many have huge potential for supporting learning.
"The motivation evident when young people are 'in the zone' of game playing is something we should tap in to for education."
However, he said it was key for parents to make sensible choices about the games they encouraged young people to play.
LTS has already been at the cutting edge in its use of technology for Scotland's schools.
Earlier this year it announced it would be putting free educational materials on iTunes for anyone to download.
Aberdeen College this week became the first college to use the same service to offer materials.
Star Wars director George Lucas, who heads an educational technology foundation in the United States, has praised the Scottish schools' intranet, known as Glow, which he said was putting his country to shame.
Glow allows educational materials to be shared across Scotland and uses video conferencing so pupils can watch lessons held hundreds of miles away.
However, teachers at this year's EIS union conference warned that the site was not available to all in the same way.
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