Dante Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 Virtual PE’ lessons given thumbs up by Department of Health The Government has endorsed proposals to use Nintendo’s Wii as part of its curriculum for PE lesson in schools. The Independent On Sunday reports that the console has succesfully been used in trials in five schools in Worcestershire to tempt pupils into ‘virtual PE’ – and could now be taken nationwide. The move following a report in the British Medical Journal which found active video games ‘significantly increased participants’ energy expenditure’ compared to other systems. The IoS reports that the departments responsible for improving fitness among the nation's young, including the Department of Health, have backed the project – with a possible pilot scheme in the pipeline. A DoH spokesman said: "We welcome the positive impact that innovations like these can have as a first step towards getting people to participate in a range of physical activities and to enjoy the many benefits of an active lifestyle. www.mcvuk.com Daily Mail concerned about Wiis in P.E. Five schools in Worcestershire have been using the Wii in physical education classes to encourage youngsters to get active. The initiative is being lead by the Droitwich and Worcester City School Partnership, which boasted positive heart rate-quickening results to UK newspaper the The Daily Mail. "The use of computer games to increase physical activity levels and raise attainment to some would seem contradictory, but with rigid structures in place and by using specific games students soon found themselves being active and engaged almost without realising it," enthused a spokesperson for the Partnership. But not everyone sees the benefit. The Mail claims a recent study proved playing a game on Wii only expends 2 per cent more energy than playing on traditional consoles. And Nick Seaton from the Campaign for Real Education is worried it will encourage children to play videogames instead of doing conventional exercise. "I think most sensible parents will think this is surrendering to the laziest pupils, it cannot possibly be any replacement for serious games and competition between peer group," said Seaton. As we all know videogames are often cast as villainous in the mainstream media, blamed for causing children to eat less healthily and burn less calories and attack old ladies and play quiz games. Slightly ironic that Nintendo should come under fire for moving away from a seated gaming environment then, particularly as its new Wii Fit product quite literally tells you how fat you are before making you bob around and head footballs. "We now want to turn the living room into a fitness centre for the whole family," said Nintendo UK marketing mouth Dawn Paine. "Perish the thought, but video games can now make you fit." Apparently as many as one in five boys and girls will be obese by 2020. Hover boards to follow.
david.dakota Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 With UK children's belt sizes increasing, i'm not convinced that this is the way to go - surely, there are better ways to get kids eating right, taking good exercise and ultimately being repsonsible for their own health.
flameboy Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 This doesn't surprise me. At work we are getting one to aid the visual impaired students who wouldn't overwise be able to play the sports in Wii Sports etc...
Petey Piranah Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 Sex education with Wii in schools would be an ideal learning environment. Sex Mii Up would be the name of the Wii exclusive education title. Mii integration would make it "friendly" for the classroom and not too explicit. The title would detail the various elements/processes of love making with gentle mini games to interactively simulate the art of sex through the wand of pleasure that is the Wii remote...
blender Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 Since they removed the bullys, kids have started to think it is ok to be a video games nerd and grow fat. Bring back bullies! They make sports the cool thiing to do and if you are not in with them, you are a target.
ShadowV7 Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 It's not gonna make people skinny all that fast, but least it's some sort of exercise...
gaggle64 Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 As much as I love the Wii, I really think we should get our kids into the habit of enjoying physical activity without having to dress the whole thing up with a big screen TV and graphics just to make it seem acceptable. You may as well set them on a treadmill and dangle some cake in front of them.
ShadowV7 Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 Yea physical activity is a must, it can be really fun playing the likes of football, baseball and basket ball with a bunch of friends. And those can't be replaced with the Wii or games anytime soon.
flameboy Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 well I see it as great aid for some things. It can encourage kids to play sports more...the trouble is if the kid is too stubborn to be wiined off it... I work for a college for the visually impaired teenager (some are blind some partially sighted) with learning difficulties and each student has a strict health and fitness programme, but we see bringing the Wii into the gym enviroment as a way of offering them the change to play sports they may otherwise not get a chance to... But then there is another way to look at things. The innovative nature of the controls could lend to some interesting uses, through the PC...such as sound, much like WiiDJ's technology to provide audio responses to blind students and then there are other more simple perhaps even flash games that could be created to allow education and other types of sensory inputs.... If only I could program stuff I could be on to a winner...
Mike Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 I know it's not Wii, but the children in my class at school get at least one go on the Calculations x20 exercise on Brain Training each week.
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