“The Crucial Role of Animated Children’s Educational Games” by McCue

The role of animated children’s educational games can not be understated. With the abundance of television programming that is purely entertainment, children are idling away alarming amounts of time watching television programs that have no educational substance. Their formative years are hampered by the lack of cognitive stimuli that educational programming can provide. Because it has been historically difficult to attract sponsors, and therefore funding, to educational programming, another avenue must be sought. Based on research of the current television watching habits, programming trends, successful educational television shows, and sound educational principles, I maintain that educational games will be a strong component in alleviating the excessive amount of time that children spend with pure entertainment television. Research of current popular educational games has led me to develop a basic set of criteria that would provide the most effective educational games. Companies can capitalize on the proliferation of computers in homes and schools, and elevate engaging educational games to a level of prominence among current media outlets, such that children will turn to the educational games for entertainment and still receive an education at the same time.