Debra A. Lieberman

The Power of Play: Innovations in Getting Active Summit 2011 A Science Panel Proceedings Report From the American Heart Association

Background— To examine the influence active-play video gaming (also referred to as exergaming, exertainment, and active gaming) might have on improving health-related skills, enhancing self-esteem and self-efficacy, promoting social support, and ultimately motivating positive changes in health behaviors, the American Heart Association convened The Power of Play: Innovations in Getting Active Summit. The summit, as well as a follow-up science panel, was hosted by the American Heart Association and Nintendo of America. Methods and Results— The science panel discussed the current state of research on active-play video gaming and its potential to serve as a gateway experience that might motivate players to increase the amount and intensity of physical activity in their daily lives. The panel identified the need for continued research on the gateway concept and on other behavioral health outcomes that could result from active-play video games and considered how these games could potentially affect disparate populations. Conclusions— The summit represented an exciting first step in convening healthcare providers, behavioral researchers, and professionals from the active-play video game industry to discuss the potential health benefits of active-play video games. Research is needed to improve understanding of processes of behavior change with active games. Future games and technologies may be designed with the goal to optimize physical activity participation, increase energy expenditure, and effectively address the abilities and interests of diverse and targeted populations. The summit helped the participants gain an understanding of what is known, identified gaps in current research, and supported a dialogue for continued collaboration.

Computers and Learning: A Review of Recent Research

This literature review examines recent research on computers and learning. It covers investigations of the computer in relation to: 1) effects on learning, 2) development of cognitive skills, 3) academic motivation, 4) learning environments, and 5) methodological issues. It notes three emerging trends; though these trends do not characterize the field as a whole, they set new and rigorous standards for research in the field. They include the integration of educational and psychological theory into research, precision in concept specification, and improvements in research design. The review notes the predominance of quantitative methods for hypothesis testing, with new interest emerging in the application of qualitative approaches for hypothesis formation. In addition, several new directions for research are proposed.

Young Children's Learning with Digital Media.

This article reviews a selection of studies on digital media and learning for young children ages 3 to 6. The range of digital media for this age group is growing and includes computer-delivered and online activities; console video games; handheld media, occasionally with GPS or an accelerometer, in cell phones and other wireless mobile devices; electronic toys and learning systems; dolls and robots that move and talk; physically active games using dance pads, sports equipment, or stationary bikes as the interface to the game; and online communities and social networks; among others. Research has tested the effectiveness of several digital media products for young childrens learning and has found, for example, improvements in childrens knowledge and skills for thinking, planning, observing, problem-solving, reading, language, mathematics, hypothesis formation and testing, creativity, and collaborative learning. However, many of the most popular commercially available digital media products for young children have never been studied or tested, and so there is no definitive evidence of their benefits or drawbacks. The article concludes with a discussion of research approaches that could be used to investigate young childrens processing of digital media in order to improve the design and effectiveness of future media products intended for this age group.

Digital Games for Young Children Ages Three to Six: From Research to Design

Young children ages 3 to 6 play a wide range of digital games, which are now available on large screens, handheld screens, electronic learning systems, and electronic toys, and their time spent with games is growing. This article examines effects of digital games and how they could be designed to best serve childrens needs. A small body of research has found that games—when well designed—can provide rich, fun, interactive experiences that can foster young childrens learning, cognitive development, skill building, social interactions, physical activity, and healthy behaviors. Research on games that are not well designed has found that violent content can lead to fear, hostility, desensitization, and aggressive behavior; stereotyped portrayals of characters can lead to stereotyped beliefs about others and oneself; and game playing can consume valuable time that could have been better spent in exploratory play, direct manipulation of objects in the environment, physical activity, and social interaction. More research is needed to discover the potential strengths and drawbacks of games for this age group to improve game design and guide decision-making about game purchases and implementation. Since young children are especially vulnerable to media messages, it is important that their media match their developmental needs, interests, and abilities. New data collection methods are enabling researchers to investigate childrens responses to digital games with greater depth and accuracy and to discover how those responses are associated with outcomes. For example, software can record the time spent playing a game, time spent on specific game challenges, errors made, use of help and remediation, amount of exposure to educational content, and areas of success in the game. Data can also be collected with systems that record eye movements, technologies that recognize emotional responses to games by recording subtle shifts in facial expression, and functional magnetic resonance imaging of brain activity during game play, all of which can contribute to our understanding of processes and effects of young childrens game playing. The results of research using these new methods and more traditional methods will help to discover principles of game design that can help make games more developmentally appropriate and beneficial, building on the ways young children naturally play and learn.

Health Games Come of Age: An Expert Panel Discussion

Bill Ferguson: I am the Editor-in-Chief of the new Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.’s Games for Health Journal: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications, and I’m pleased to have assembled a very impressive group of health game experts for a roundtable discussion with the theme of ‘‘Why a games for health journal now?’’ What has gone on in the field in the past and is currently going on that demonstrates games for health do in fact have a positive impact on the well-being of people and have broad enough applications that there would be demand and interest in a journal? Are there a large number of people who are curious about health games and see them as a resource? The first question I have for the group has to do with the efficacy of games: Have videogames been shown to affect change in health-related behaviors? If your answer is in the positive, please give us an example.

Impacts of media violence on children and youth

Does violent media content harm young people? This concern is nothing new, but lately the debate has heated up as our media have become more graphic and interactive, and as portrayals of violent acts have become more horrific and more easily accessible by children. Often these days we see news coverage on the issue of media violence, with reports about crimes such as the Columbine shootings, congressional debates about regulating content, and ratings systems and technologies that would give parents tools to evaluate and control what their children see.