What is it? A DVD-based educational program for improving memory and math skills (plus a few card tricks!).

DISCLAIMER: ASOTVI has not evaluated the long-term benefits of this program, as is the case with any educational program, which is contingent upon the self-discipline and extent of use by a student. We have evaluated the course materials, and below provided independent data on the effectiveness of the program itself.

According to the Vendor: “Consisting of a workbook, DVD set, flash cards and a website, Brainetics opens up new worlds of learning possibilities for children. It teaches them to use two parts of their brain at the same time, with one part of the brain processing information and the other storing that information. This efficiency leads to skills such as being able to solve complex math problems quickly, without the use of a calculator, and sponge-like memorization skills. When they finish, kids approach their education with sky-high levels of confidence.”

This program has been featured on ABC’s 20/20. A detailed write up on this program can also be found here. Brainetics won Parent’s Choice Gold Award.

For the purposes of our evaluation we watched the DVDs and looked at the accompanying flash cards and workbook. The first observation we made was the sheer depth and extensiveness of the program. The centerpiece is five (5) DVDs, which are produced in a “game show” type format with teams of children as contestants. What the kids learn quickly is nothing short of amazing.

In the first “warm up” lesson, the author and host, Mike Byster, teaches the kids how to do a “Magic Square.” This is a empty matrix that is to be filled out with numbers such that the numbers in all the columns and rows, as well as diagonally, all add up to the same sum. We included a sample of that exercise in our video, where Mike demonstrates the ability to do this on a 5 x 5 matrix, getting all rows, columns, and diagonals to add up to a three digit number. And he does it all in his head! He then proceeds to teach the children how to do it themselves, and shows them how easy it really is – if you know how. There is a trick. In fact, there’s a trick to just about everything involving match and patterns.

That’s the key of this program – i.e. teaching the logic and patterns behind that math that make it easy and fun. In another warm up lesson he shows the kids how you know what exact day of the week of any date you might select, going back a hundred years or a hundred years in the future. Other lessons teach how to do complex math problems in your head, like multiplying two four-digit numbers together. Imagine the advantage your child might have in school to be able to do this.

But it isn’t all math. There are word anagrams, puzzles, and even card tricks. The product also comes with a standard deck of playing cards. So there’s an entertainment (magic tricks) element as well as education benefit to this program.

According to the documentation provided by the vendor, we observe this product to work as advertised. We even tried several of the exercises ourselves. They work! And it is fun.