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A study of nearly 500 12-year-olds found that the more kids played video games, the more creative they were in tasks such as drawing pictures and writing stories. In contrast, use of cell phones, the Internet and computers (other than for video games) was unrelated to creativity, the study found.

You see that old photo on the wall there behind you, kid? That little boy shaking that old man’s hand is me. That’s right. I was first in line when Ralph, the original owner, first opened up this little outdoor arcade of his. First to pick a lane, first to insert a coin, first to roll one of those wooden balls into the 50 point hole, first skee-ball champion of this great state, that’s me. Since then, I’ve seen this place trade hands more times than I care to count, but I’ve always been here, rollin’ away and rackin’ up the points.

Think threefold. Group tasks that produce the best results often have three defining characteristics: 1) they are novel, something students have not done before, 2) they feature a visual component, something that can be represented in nonverbal forms, and 3) they are relational, meaning they require the combining of ideas or components to be accomplished.