We all know the Nintendo DS as a gaming system but it has been put to educational use Tokyo’s Joshi Gakuen all-girls junior high school. The DS is being used as an electronic device that helps the students learn the English language. There are different levels in the program, where words of varying difficulty are played for the student to hear, and then the child uses a plastic pen to write it on the screen. If they spell it correctly, the word ‘Good’ appears on the screen and the ‘game’ moves to a higher level. This idea has really revolutionized the whole concept of learning. It’s more about doing away with text books and introducing technology into the classroom.
Some of the girls actually liked the whole idea of learning on a system they play games with. One of them said, ‘You can study while you have fun’. She also went on the say that she plays games such as Mario Kart and Animal Crossing on it. When I first heard about this idea, I was a bit against it, mainly because I think that some students attribute learning school work as boring. Now if they think learning may be boring, won’t they assume the DS is now a boring tool, because it’s used to teach? I disproved myself though, because I thought the problem lay more in the medium in which information was communicated. Children and teenagers these days like technology and would actually prefer learning via a computerized system, which I believe makes the DS tool a good and alternative approach to teaching. It might also be the start of a new concept of teaching.
The DS game includes numerous challenges such as puzzle and brain-teaser games aimed at improving math, speech and other skills. Nintendo’s idea behind the system is to help educate young and old people alike, with a device that is fun and interactive to use. Nintendo has really be revolutionizing the gaming and technological field recently, their Wii products are just one of the examples of creative and fun ideas. At the moment, the English DS course is being run on a trial basis.
Via: Physorg
