Scottish youngsters are being told to play with their Nintendo DS’s in class in a cunning plan to make them think a bit better.

While most of us would get our electronic gizmos confiscated if we played them while the teacher was banging on about war poetry, some lucky Scottish kids are being encouraged to do so to improve their cognitive skills. A program being tested on 900 pupils in 16 primary schools in Scotland is using the DS's to wake kid's brains up in the morning.

Nintendo’s More Brain Training from Dr. Kawashima found that an early morning 20-minute daily session involving reading, problem solving and memory puzzles, could boost math attainment, as well as improving concentration and behavior levels. So far, the brain training system has improved kids' test scores by 10 percent.

Nintendo DS consoles are already used in Japan as an aid to teach children the “alphabet” of more than 2,000 Kanji characters.

More here.