There are many products out there that claim to be “educational” for children. This is big business for producers of toys, games, media and other children’s products. And the promises are even bigger.
Games that teach math!
Videos to teach your baby Spanish and Mandarin!
Blocks made from organic pine that will turn your infant into the next great composer!
A good example of this would be the Baby Einstein brand. Largely marketed to parents of infants and toddlers, the Baby Einstein series of DVDs made big claims about how their system encouraged early neuron development in infants that would lead to big gains in language skills. These claims lead to equally large revenues (reported in the range of $4.8 billion annually at peak). The problem is that major studies showed Baby Einstein and similar products, at best, didn’t do much to help stimulate cognitive development and, at worst, had a causal negative effect on language development.
This was both confusing and frustrating for parents. Dr. Andrew Meltzoff of the University of Washington, and one of the authors of the report criticizing the Little Einstein DVD claims said “We had parents with kids in front of the TV for as many as twenty hours a week ‘for their brain development’.” He added “Parents told us that they couldn’t provide much for their children, and that troubled them, so they had saved up and bought the (Baby Einstein) videos hoping that would make make up for everything else.”(1)
And these parents aren’t alone. The children’s educational product market is a multi-billion dollar a year industry that only continues to expand. And as with most markets, some products are good while others are just after your money.
But how do you tell the good from the bad?
What to Look for in Educational Games
With so many options available, I have put together a list of standards that I apply for when evaluating educational games. I created this list based on a combination of my own research, talking with experts and playing these games.
Good Educational Games Consider a Child’s Cognitive and Physical Development
In previous articles I have talked about how the term “child” is extremely broad when it comes to media. Human cognitive and physical growth is rapid from birth to teenage years. This means that a product that is designed for a eight year old is most likely not ideal for a five year old.
Look for games aimed at your child’s cognitive and physical development. This will provide your child a game that is easy to interact with physically, while also cognitively inline with their brain development.
Good Educational Games Consider a Child’s Knowledge Level
Just as the term “child” is broad, so is the range of a child’s expected knowledge.
Good educational apps should…
Understand your child’s proficiency with a subject.
Adjust the level of difficulty based on their performance.
If a game is too easy for too long, the child is likely to quit from boredom.
If a game is too challenging for too long, the child is likely to quit from frustration.
You want a game that meets your child where they are in terms of knowledge.
Good Educational Games Give Content Control
If you are looking at a game that promises to help your child in multiple subjects, look for parental control of how those subjects are presented and prioritized.
Ideally, an educational game will understand the parent’s learning priorities and present the appropriate content. Otherwise, children and parents will end up wading through large amounts of information that is not appropriate or wanted.
Good Educational Games Follow a Natural Progression of Learning
Once you are in the game, be sure that the educational content is being presented in an ordered manner. Educational concepts often build on each other, so your child should be experiencing this content in a similar building way.
Additionally, content should be presented with an increase in the level of difficulty (difficulty progression). Increases in difficulty should be, mostly, linear.
Good Educational Games Give Valuable Feedback
Educational games need to provide feedback to the player. This feedback should be two-fold.
First, educational games need to provide feedback regarding educational concepts. When a player gets something wrong, the game needs to not only indicate that they are wrong but WHY they are wrong. Without the “why”, the player may be left guessing and learn nothing.
The second form of feedback must show performance at a higher level. This feedback informs the player (and parents) of overall strengths and areas for improvement. Without this feedback, the player and parents are unable to understand their progression.
An example: “You’re the Multiplication Master! But you need to visit Division Town for some more exploration!”
Good Educational Games Embrace Repetition
Children thrive on repetition.
Children thrive on repetition.
Children thrive on repetition.
Children thrive on repetition.
Children thrive on repetition.
If you have ever watched a children’s educational television show, you will notice that they are built on repetition. Repeating concepts. Repeating phrases. Networks even repeat the same episodes multiple times in a week. This is done for a good reason.
In a study conducted by Harvard’s Center for the Developing Child, “In the first few years of life, seven hundred new neural connections are formed every second. The more frequently information is repeated, the better the brain recognizes it, the thicker the associated neural pathways become, and more powerfully a concept or learning is reinforced and retained.(2)
So children love to repeat. They love to re-watch. They love to reread. They love to replay. They can do all of these to almost to an obsessive degree because their brains are absorbing each and every detail they can about every facet of the experience.
With this in mind educational children’s games can and should repeat concepts and experiences at a higher rate than an adult-centered games. By repeating levels, mechanics and concepts the game is helping children to fully grasp what is being conveyed.
Good Educational Games Are Transparent
There are a lot of games out there claiming to be educational. To find the best games you will need to be a bit of an internet sleuth.
Start with the claims being made. If a game is making claims that seem outrageous or impossible (“Turn your baby into the next Van Gogh!” or “Turn your moody teen into your best friend!”), you should probably avoid that game.
Next, understand who made the game. Do they have a background in educational games or products? Do they state their credentials? Or is the game making it difficult for you to understand who made it? If a game developer is trying to prevent you from learning about their process and guiding principles, it is probably for a good reason. Avoid these games.
Finally, look to see if the game’s educational effectiveness has been reviewed or studied. A potential sign of a good educational game is to see actual research behind the claims. And it is not enough to see that a game has been studied, but who conducted the study is important as well. Not all research groups or universities are created equal.
Good Educational Games Are Elastic
Look for games that have an elastic quality to their gameplay: they can be played for a short period (a few minutes) or a long period (30 minutes+).
Games that require a set time investment create a barrier to play. When you pick a game with an elastic quality you are allowing your child to have a meaningful experience whether they have one minute or one hour.
This elastic quality also makes it easier to end play sessions. There are less excuses before bedtime with elastic games. No more “Daaaaaaad! I can’t go to bed. I just started a game.”
Good Educational Games are Fun!
An educational game can have solid academic credentials.
An educational game can understand its players.
An educational game can fit perfectly into your schedule.
But if your educational game is not fun, no one will play it.
Choosing games that your child finds fun and engaging is vitally important. I’ve seen many educational games make the mistake of leaning too much on academics and not enough on fun-factor. It doesn’t matter how academically perfect a game is if it is not any fun. Players will learn nothing from a game that they never play.
Good Educational Games Get Parents Involved
One of the biggest indicators of academic success is parental involvement. When a parent actively encourages learning and places value on education, a child is more likely to succeed.
Educational games are far more likely to be effective when a parent is involved. Look for games that provide parents with tools and opportunities to interact with their child’s learning. I look specifically for in-game reporting systems that tell me:
“This is what your child has played.”
“This is your child’s strength.”
“This is where your child could use some practice.”
With this information I can reinforce my sons learning and help to better understand what he has experienced.
A Game is only Part of the Solution
An educational game is a tool. It can be part of a broader learning strategy, but it is not in and of itself a strategy.
As with educational television, books, visits to the museum and even school - learning is a process that is best achieved with reflection, repetition and conversation.
Find great games to play with your kids and use that experience as a jumping off point for more learning.
So many options. How do you choose?