Wii and Weather

wii
The Wii now uses current weather conditions for regions to control the weather in certain games. I’m just thinking of all the cool things that you could do with games that incorporate real data on the fly. Want to create virtual labs that use real data being generated in space?
Makes you wonder how long education can continue to ignore the power and possibilities inherent in these gaming platforms. My goal is to never again complain about education.  It’s up to me to change things.  What I should have asked is how am I going to start using gaming platforms?  How am I go to convince teachers around me to start using them?  It’s also a pretty powerful argument for focusing on creating data that can easily be reused by multiple applications.
via Digg

2 thoughts on “Wii and Weather

  1. I made similar comments on Bud’s blog the other day about using the Wii in class. Specifically using the Wii in Physical Education classes at schools were funding or resources for equipment is limited. Using the Wii and a digital projector (or just a TV) students without courts or access to bowling alleys could play tennis or bowl. All of the movements used in the game would be the same they use in real life, and developing the hand-eye coordination is really what it’s all about.

    My guess is in the coming years we’ll see much more true to life simulation games hitting the Wii; fishing, baseball, pool (this one will be out next year from Nintendo), etc. All of which would be great to use in an alternate physical education setting, or for students that are disabled and unable to participate in a regular gym setting.

  2. I’ve been thinking the same thing ever since I read Everything Bad Is Good For You this summer. Actually, I’ve been thinking it ever since I played Myst a long time ago. How can we use video games to encourage critical thinking, increase reading comprehension, and produce good writing? Is it all about encouraging students to create walkthroughs or is there something in the game play? We played Oregon Trail back in junior high. Is there a modern equivalent?

    Can there be games where a bit of research is involved to solve puzzles? So students play the game, then have to take a break to do some reading in order to go to the next step? That would be a nice feature of games, for teachers to be able to insert specific bits of information or require certain knowledge before the characters can move on.

    Would using video games in classrooms require the creation of brand new video games or are there existing games teachers can put to good use right away? If students are passionate about video games, that passion should be used to make them better thinkers, readers, and writers.

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