Can my brain be trained - Dr Kawashima seems to think so !

I think I mentioned in a previous posting that we have invested recently in a few mobile technologies here at the RSC, with a view to developing our work in using mobile technologies. So, on my recommendation (having taking advice from The Gadget Show) we now have and Nintendo DS to get to grips with. These seem to be the mobile gaming gadget of choice and indeed both my daughters - who are not teenagers anymore, seem to me to spend hours using them. So, I thought, let's have a go.

I decided to go for some brain training - following in the footsteps of Nicole Kidman and Captain Jean-Luc Picard - and discovered my Brain was 68 years old. Time to retire perhaps - but remarkably after religiously doing a couple of activities each day for 10 days my brain age is now 47 - that'll do thanks very much. Perhaps there is something to Dr Kawashima theories after all. Activities are designed around numbers, words and memory and because of the high profile advertising, I guess it's quite easy to see some educational value. It would be interesting to see if learners might benefit from some exposure to the bold Dr's brain exercises and if indeed they would find them at all engaging.

I also invested in a game which can best be described as a simulated world in which you are the central character. This is popular with my two who, when connected to the same WIFI network can play together.  I though I could join them! It's actually more fun that I thought it might be and I can see how it might be used in an educational sense. I have to budget, earn money and decide how to spend it, interact with others, remember friends details, turn up to events that I've been invited to. I understand that it's also possible to use it for web browsing although I haven't got that far yet. Sounds crazy I know - I'm a grown woman - but nevertheless having a go really opens your mind a bit and I'm certainly less dismissive of this type of gadget than I was before.

I'll keep you posted and you can be sure I'll be posting more when Dr Kawashima says I'm 35.