Teachers attending this year's Handheld Learning Conference in October will receive free Nintendo DS systems, with a copy of Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training.

The conference, now in its fourth year, explores how technologies that are becoming common place in the lives of young people are also being used to aid learning experiences both in and out of the school.

Graham Brown-Martin, founder of Handheld Learning, said, "Providing teachers with free Nintendo DS Lites is not intended to be a gimmick. We expect our delegates to use them during the conference and experience an environment that would typically not be allowed in a classroom".

The three-day event, running from Octpber 13th-15th, is the largest of its kind and brings together many of the world's leading education experts, school leaders and policy makers, as well as parents and children.

It will explore the convergence between consumer electronics, entertainment software, educational technology and learning.

The opening day of the conference is free to the general public and
features a range of activities including an exhibition, seminars, games and competitions followed by an awards party in the evening.

The event is supported by UK government agency, Becta, along with industry support from Nintendo and Apple.

Darren Gorton, business development director for Nintendo, said: "We are proud to be supporting this important event once again and look forward to hearing from the some of the world's leading thinkers in the field of learning.

"With over 70 million DS units in peoples hands we are
genuinely interested in the positive impact that they can have for
self-improvement and collaborative learning."