There was some concern that the schools were in essence collaborating with video game manufacturers in accepting the handheld consoles into the classroom, but the Board of Education has decided that there are no conflicts of interest. The control of what software students use is clearly in the hands of each individual school.
This isn't close to being the first time the Nintendo DS has made it into the classroom for educational reasons. Last year, NWR reported on Tokyo's Joshi Gakuen all-girls junior high school involvement in a test involving using the DS to teach English. In Japan, there are scores more educational and non-game titles than in other regions. Many have been top 10 sellers, like Nintendo's own Kanji training.
In fact, using commercial products in classrooms is not actually a new idea, character themed school books have been used before. Pingu, Doraemon and Pokemon branded educational material are among some of the most popular.
I've actually heard of American charter schools and private schools where kids actually get laptops to use and curriculum's based around it.
This is why I'm excited about the OLPC intiative. If you can make a laptop that costs $100 to make ($200 to sell and pack and ship and etc. I guess), AND that's sturdy enough to work in third world countries, that improves the feasibility of technology in the classroom leaps and bounds.
BTW, anyone try that SAT prep game for the DS?
I think the key is "third-world countries," those that don't have the resources to have collections of books, supplies, knowledge, or the ability to keep any of that up to date. The OLPC removes the need for the givens in first-world education systems, and assuming their other basic needs are met, provides a window to possibilities they've simply never considered.
For first-world countries, I don't think the software/interface is quite there yet for replacing traditional school work, but it's getting closer by the day.
