Topic: School Uses Wiis for P.E. Program

[Kairon]

"How can Mario be mean?" says gym teacher whose school bought seven Nintendo Wiis.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=15169

 Physical education teacher Don Prorok has decided that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em: "They're going to play video games anyway, we might as well steer them to the right ones."    

The "right ones" in this case would be Wii Sports, which is controlled by motions instead of buttons and comes included with the Nintendo Wii game system. Prorok and other P.E. teachers convinced the administration at Chelsea Intermediate School in Frankfort, Ill. to use a grant to buy seven of the perennially sold-out game consoles, along with a total of 28 controllers. The school's Wiis are available for the entire school to play, but the P.E. classes have priority. Students can choose from any of five sports included in the game –  tennis, boxing, baseball, golf, and bowling – each one controlled by swinging the Wii Remote in a life-like motion instead of merely pressing a couple of buttons.    

The idea of active video games to motivate school children to exercise is certainly novel, and schools have also experimented with using Konami's Dance Dance Revolution dancing game in P.E. programs. But it doesn't hurt that Wii Sports is also completely nonviolent. "That's why I love Nintendo games, there[sic] not like shooting games," says Prorok, "I mean how can Mario be mean?"

[Kairon]

As a bonus to our readers, I present this alternate title also considered for the above newspiece (not really):

School contributes to Wii shortage, buys SEVEN
Also buys 21 additional Wiimotes, soccer moms am cry.

[oohhboy]

What? Outdoors no good anymore? 200lb kids?

[NWR_insanolord]

It's in Illinois, if they had them go outdoors in the current conditions they'd all get hypothermia and die.

[KDR_11k]

This is a bad idea, supposedly playing Wii only requires an insignificant amount of additional energy over just sitting around, PE is about physical movement and a Wii won't provide enough of that.

[UncleBob]

Quote
Originally posted by: insanolord
It's in Illinois, if they had them go outdoors in the current conditions they'd all get hypothermia and die.

QFT

[Louieturkey]

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"I mean how can Mario be mean?"

This person has obviously never played Smash Brothers... or any Mario game for that matter.  Mario absolutely loves to jump on others and flatten them, then in 1996 he added punching to his regime. Now in 2007, he added spinning them into the depths of space.

[Morari]

THIS POST HAS BEEN CENSORED FOR YOUR PROTECTION

--Bureau of Internet Morality

[nickmitch]

What ever happened to dodgeball?

[Ian Sane]

Since, as this teacher points out, kids are going to play videogames anyway I would suggest that PE be used as a way for kids to have fun doing something different, especially active.  Now not all kids like PE.  I didn't.  I have asthma and sucked at sports and wasn't interested in them.  But I did like it in high school as I matured and started liking sports.  The non-athletic kids who don't like PE are going to play videogames ANYWAY but you can get the rest of them interested in active activities.  By putting Wii Sports in gym class you're kind of saying that playing videogames that require a bit of physical effort is good enough.  It isn't.

"Instead of playing dodgeball or taking tests on the rules of football, you'd be stretching, doing light yoga, and maybe some simple aerobics"

Excercise is lame, sports are fun.  As a kid I HATED when PE class focused on fitness.  Now I didn't like it when I had to take a test on football rules either but I did enjoy just playing football.  Remember PE class isn't for adults.  Hiding excercise within a game or sport is a good way to "trick" youth into doing it.

[Jonnyboy117]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
Remember PE class isn't for adults.  Hiding excercise within a game or sport is a good way to "trick" youth into doing it.

That's exactly what the school is trying to do with Wii.  However, I don't think it's going to be very effective in terms of exercise.  DDR is much, much more active than playing Wii.

[wandering]

Somebody should point the PE teacher to this article.

[DAaaMan64]

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Originally posted by: TVman
What ever happened to dodgeball?

The extreme left and stupid mothers happened.

*ducks*

P.S. That was aimed at the extremes, not the general.  

[Smash_Brother]

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Originally posted by: oohhboy 200lb kids?

200lbs...OF BICEPS!!!

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Originally posted by: wandering
Somebody should point the PE teacher to this article.

I'm sorry, but boxing is PLENTY of exercise if you put your all into it.

A lot of kickboxing classes consist of punching the air repeatedly for long periods of time. You're doing the same thing with Wii boxing, especially if you do it for an hour straight.

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Originally posted by: Louieturkey

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"I mean how can Mario be mean?"

This person has obviously never played Smash Brothers... or any Mario game for that matter.  Mario absolutely loves to jump on others and flatten them, then in 1996 he added punching to his regime. Now in 2007, he added spinning them into the depths of space.

It's true.

Mario crushes the spines of his enemies and lights them on fire.

[Ceric]

You know now that I think about it which enemies of Mario does he actually squish who have spines?  Also I don't think he ever actually sets anyone on fire they just poof out...

[Morari]

THIS POST HAS BEEN CENSORED FOR YOUR PROTECTION

--Bureau of Internet Morality

[ShyGuy]

...Wow. SOMEBODY had a bad experience in their educational past.

On the subject, I can break a sweat if I play Wii Boxing for about 20 minutes. HOW MANY TIMES PSTRIPLE MAKE YOU SWEAT UK SCIENCE?

[Kairon]

When I was in Canada, they actually graded you on P.E. It, along with art, was one of my most challenging subjects.

Then I moved to San Francisco, CA, and haven't had difficulty with P.E. grades ever since.

[Nick DiMola]

Quote
Originally posted by: Morari

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
SExcercise is lame, sports are fun.  As a kid I HATED when PE class focused on fitness.  Now I didn't like it when I had to take a test on football rules either but I did enjoy just playing football.  Remember PE class isn't for adults.  Hiding excercise within a game or sport is a good way to "trick" youth into doing it.

I'd argue the exact opposite. Sports are lame. Furthermore, team sports never even have the possibility of being fun. Unlike, say, tennis. Even during my school years, I would have preferred real fitness as opposed force-feeding jock morality. I don't even suffer from anything akin to asthma, I was in fact usually one of the top players among my classes. Now as an adult however, it's an even sadder state because I realize that my taxes go to teach children things that they should not be taught. Football and basketball are hardly important curriculum. Proper diet and a realistic view of exercise is. Tricking children does nothing to teach them.



Then again, school isn't exactly about teaching, now is it? It's about making you fit into the perfect little mold that society expects. It's about washing away individuality at any cost through condescending teachers and artificial social niches. Dumbed down, yet evermore standardized testing only furthers to reinforce those concepts. The only teachers I ever had that made an effort to create an exciting learning experience were either old (really old!) enough to remember when they were given some lead way in their method or young enough to have fresh ideas. Usually the young ones were broken and/or fired after a few years. The olds ones were generally the only competent teachers in the district however, so they were generally left alone.

I don't really want to tread on the grounds of political discussion, but I really couldn't agree more with you. Our schooling system in America, not good.

[Ian Sane]

"Then again, school isn't exactly about teaching, now is it? It's about making you fit into the perfect little mold that society expects. It's about washing away individuality at any cost through condescending teachers and artificial social niches. Dumbed down, yet evermore standardized testing only furthers to reinforce those concepts."

Now I don't really fit into society that well but I'm smart enough to blend in in such a way that few notice that.  I did very well in school and it wasn't because I was smart or had good teachers or anything like that.  It was because I knew how to manipulate the system.  I knew how to work tests.  I knew how to work teachers to tell them what they wanted to hear in my assignments.  I used to be more defiant and draw more attention to myself but that didn't get me anywhere.  The anti-social "non-conformist" just makes enemies and becomes an outcast.  You always have to play ball a little bit and that's fine provided you don't compromise on what you feel is really important.

Conformity is only bad in extremes.  You have to conform a little bit if you ever want to have any sort of close relationship with another human being.  Individuality is also bad in extremes.  Never compromising makes you a jerk.

Plus what makes your suggestion of what schools should teach any more valid?  So instead of kids being molded according to society's desire it's your desire?  School is bullsh!t but it's always going to be because you just can't get something that works for everyone.  So you can be smart and work the system to your benefit or allow it to ruin your life.

"When I was in Canada, they actually graded you on P.E."

I was unaware they didn't do this elsewhere.  I did always get f*cked on fitness testing.  In high school people are at different levels of physical development.  My best friend was practically a full grown adult in grade 8 so he did really well.  Meanwhile I didn't start putting on muscle until grade 11, which coincidentally was when I stopped taking PE because it didn't fit in my schedule.  "Sorry Ian you fail in the flexed arm hang because your upper body hasn't developed at the same pace of the average 13 year old.  Maybe next time you'll think twice about not growing according to our specifications."

[Kairon]

The worst experience I ever had in P.E. was actually in the states. It was when they tried to teach us golf. Sure, I still got an A in the class, but those were the most soul-crushing 2 weeks of my P.E. life.

[NWR_insanolord]

Well, to bring this all back around to the topic at hand, if you were going to this school you could learn golf in Wii Sports, that would probably be better.

[ShyGuy]

Iwata says he's not interested in doing a Wii Sports 2, but I wish an heir apparent would arise. I'm hoping for Wii Fit.

[Kairon]

Quote
Originally posted by: insanolord
Well, to bring this all back around to the topic at hand, if you were going to this school you could learn golf in Wii Sports, that would probably be better.

Wii Sports has done wonders for my self-esteem in relation to certain sports. And this is from someone who took umpteen years of little league, a season of very enjoyable soccer, and swam in his school's varsity swim team. Oh, I'm not athletic by any means though, far from it. But Wii Sports has made me feel a lot more positive about certain things like Bowling and Golf that scare the crap out of me in real life.

Quote
Originally posted by: ShyGuy

Iwata says he's not interested in doing a Wii Sports 2, but I wish an heir apparent would arise. I'm hoping for Wii Fit.

Seeing as Wii Fit just soared easily past 1 million in Japan in little over a month and at $80, I think that's a very strong possibility.

[ShyGuy]

Quote
certain things like Bowling and Golf that scare the crap out of me in real life.

The bowling ball is much heavier IRL

[Kairon]

My knuckles get STUCK in real life.

Think about that. Think about a bowling ball that refuses to release from your ARM.

[that Baby guy]

I like bowling in real life, but I'm terrible at it.

[UltimatePartyBear]

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
My knuckles get STUCK in real life.



Think about that. Think about a bowling ball that refuses to release from your ARM.

That's why there are different size holes in different bowling balls.  It's pretty hard to find a good fit among all the bowling balls available at a bowling alley, I admit.  Personally, I usually have to use a 15 or 16 pounder, when I'd prefer an 11 pound one, because they're the only ones made for such Xbox sized hands as mine.  That much mass makes it hard to use spin, and it has a tendency to just smash through the pins without deflecting.  If I ever went bowling anymore, I'd probably buy my own bowling ball again (I've outgrown my old one).  It's not very expensive.

Regarding Wii Sports in P.E., I think physical education should really be more about teaching the importance of staying physically fit and how to do so.  Video games just seem like a distraction in that context unless there's somebody out there making physical edutainment software.  I don't think Wii Sports really counts.  Sure, you can exhaust yourself with it, but that's not the same thing as a responsible exercise regimen.

Heh, like I have any right to talk about exercise.

[Ian Sane]

"My knuckles get STUCK in real life.  Think about that. Think about a bowling ball that refuses to release from your ARM."

My brother has the same concern so he REALLY sucks at ten-pin bowling.  I used to have that concern so I, get this, used bigger balls with bigger holes.  In fact I love using the heaviest ball I can find because the momentum of hucking the heavier object forces it to go straight.

Here in Canada though we have five-pin bowling that uses a smaller ball with no finger holes.  In fact that's pretty much what we mean when we say "bowling".  If we're playing at an American style alley we specify it as "ten-pin".  I don't know if five-pin bowling is found anywhere else but that's a good alternative for anyone scared of the holes.  That is one thing that is awesome about Canada.  We have our own culture but we also absorb most of American culture so we get BOTH.  Two types of bowling!  It's like being able to watch NFL and CFL.  Sometimes it's like being USA: Champion Edition.

[Kairon]

Sorta counter-intuitive isn't it? The bowling ball is threatening to tear your arm off, so use a heavier one! Your problem will be solved one way or another!

[ShyGuy]

Fear of a bowling ball? This is not rational.

[oohhboy]

LOL, education in P.E? It was all about the indoor soccer and a blood sport known as DODGE BALL. A most excellent way to vent aggression as long as you don't play the "Victim" game.

As for those non-sport people here. MAN UP.

BBBBLLLLOOOODDDD!!!!!!

[Mario]

Quote
Originally posted by: KDR_11k
This is a bad idea, supposedly playing Wii only requires an insignificant amount of additional energy over just sitting around, PE is about physical movement and a Wii won't provide enough of that.

Supposedly? You make it sound like you've never played a Wii.

Mario & Sonic is a MUCH better game than Wii Sports for fitness, the 10 second 100m sprint is more of a workout than an hour of Wii Sports. When I show the game to new people, some can't even FINISH some of the events like 4x100 relay and swimming relay, let alone keep playing over and over. It's insane exercise. That's basically what the game ends up being after a few hours, seeing who can last the longest making competitive times / scores. And it works different areas than what would be worked while doing pushups or whatever, makes you sweat a lot too which is even more healthy for you. What is up with America ignoring this game? (compared to Europe) Is it sold out everywhere or something? I heard undershipping rumors. (anyway that's for another thread)

I'll never understand kids who hate fitness, it's good for you both physically and mentally and makes you feel good, and its usually lots of fun if you're playing a sport or something. If some of you got off your chairs more often you;d stop bitching.

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But Wii Sports has made me feel a lot more positive about certain things like Bowling and Golf that scare the crap out of me in real life.

WHAT? That's the weakest filth i've ever heard! SWING A CLUB. ROLL A BALL. Whats so hard?

[IceCold]

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When I was in Canada, they actually graded you on P.E.

Tell me about it.. in Junior High we had these "30 Minute Runs" which was exactly that - everyone had to run (no walking!) for 30 minutes straight.

3 times a year.

Quote
Here in Canada though we have five-pin bowling that uses a smaller ball with no finger holes.

Wait a second, they don't have that in the US? Wow..

Also, all of you should play squash. Best sport ever.

[KDR_11k]

Quote
Originally posted by: Mario
Supposedly? You make it sound like you've never played a Wii.

I'm not sure I'm qualified to judge energy use from how I feel when playing. I do know that I sweat more from regular walking than playing Wii, my guess is the legs need a lot more energy than the arms.

[Ian Sane]

"Sorta counter-intuitive isn't it? The bowling ball is threatening to tear your arm off, so use a heavier one!"

The heavy balls have huge finger holes though so there's no risk in getting it caught on your hand.  But this advice doesn't convince my brother either so I guess I shouldn't expect it to convince anyone else.

[18 Days]

Quote
Originally posted by: KaironWii Sports has done wonders for my self-esteem in relation to certain sports. And this is from someone who took umpteen years of little league, a season of very enjoyable soccer, and swam in his school's varsity swim team. Oh, I'm not athletic by any means though, far from it. But Wii Sports has made me feel a lot more positive about certain things like Bowling and Golf that scare the crap out of me in real life.

WHAT THE? Is your mind backwards or soemthing? Are you afraid of projectiles going away from you or something? I men I can understand people who are afraid to play cricket or whatever, where I abll can hit you and hurt a lot (don't get me wrong, those people are still wusses)  but a ball LEAVING you? WHAT THE HELL?

[Kairon]

I have no problem with projectiles. But 40 minutes spent chipping Chipping CHIPPING a golf ball EVERYWHERE but into the hula hoop it's supposed to land is enough to crush a man's ego. Forty minutes. A chip every friggin' 10 friggin' seconds. Crushed I tell you. Absolutely CRUSHED.

And as for bowling... well... have you ever swung the bowling ball and had your knuckles get stuck in it so that as the ball keeps going so does your arm? I'm fine with real-life bowling now, but the first couple times were nightmares...

It's like... learning to ride a bike on a broken bicycle and not knowing it. No matter how hard you work, everything inexplicably works, and when you're a kid, you end up thinking that something is wrong with you instead of the bike.