Consolarium

February 17th, 2011

Just Dance at Doon Academy: Getting the whole school dancing

Derek Robertson

Comments: 3 Comments » Tags: Tags: east ayrshire, edutalk, exergaming, games based learning, gametolearn, Just Dance, Wii
 : Categories East Ayrshire, exergaming

In 2008 the Chief Executive of McDonalds UK argued that ‘Computer games were to blame for childhood obesity’. More recently a research study carried out by the World Health Organisation that was featured in the Journal of Paediatrics has named computer games, along with TV, as a main cause of childhood obesity - reporting:

“…over 70,000 teenagers from 34 different nations are overweight or obese. It called a sedentary lifestyle - ‘spending three hours or more per day watching TV, playing computer games, or chatting with friends’ - is the main reason behind the figure.”

The folk devil image that has been associated with computer games is one that the team at the Consolarium have always been aware of and keen to explore and possibly deconstruct in a sensitive and honest fashion. We argue that games should play a part of a rounded and varied range of experiences for young children’s development and that a diet solely of sedentary game-play is possibly not the best way for young people to spend their time. To this end we have been keen to explore how the increasing active physical participation offered by technologies and games consoles might be used in an appropriate and realistic way to impact in a positive fashion on levels of children’s physical activity.

Having previously been unsuccessful in our efforts to explore dance mat technology our imagination and ideas were pricked when we heard about the Just Dance title for the Wii. The actual experience offered by this game coupled with the contemporary music (as well as some 70’s classics) was such that we were of the opinion that this game might just be something that would work in schools…

At SLF10 the Consolarium team’s area at the LTS stand proved to be very busy with a lot of interest in the games. The team whole-heartedly threw themselves into demonstrating the games that we were promoting as appropriate and successful learning resources, one of which was Just Dance. Have a look at some of the Consolarium team in action playing this game alongside the BrainPop robot and a very talented young dancer:

Our intention was to identify and work with interested school partners who would be keen to explore just how this resource might be of use in relation to engaging teenage girls with physical exercise. Having spoken with many PE teachers over the past few years about the use of GBL in their domain they often talked about the promise of using a dance related game linked to a game console as something that they thought might encourage teenage girls to become more interested in and motivated to participate with physical exercise. Also, we were encouraged by initiatives such as Girls on the Move and by the many references to Dance and girls uptake with PE that were made in a recent HMIE publication about PE in schools.

Sometimes serendipitous moments lead to great things and as it so happened a group of girls from Doon Academy came along to the Consolarium stand at SLF10 and took over! Four girls used the Wii controller whilst the other eight stood behind, without controllers and danced and danced and danced. In that moment our Just dance in schools initiative was born. Discussions with Fiona Ferrie, the PE teacher from Doon Academy and Alison Crawford from East Ayrshire Council led to a number of Nintendo Wiis and Just Dance games being loaned to the Secondary schools in that authority. The focus would be on the resources use with girls in PE. Post SLF10, the resources were despatched and the project was underway…

A couple of weeks ago I made my way down to Doon Academy to see just how Just Dance had impacted in the life of the school. I was full of hope that this resource would be a great success but as with all things the idea and the practical application in reality do not always match up! This was not the case here. What I witnessed at Doon Academy was up there with the very best successes that the LTS Consolarium team and their school partners have ever had.

I was met by the class teacher Fiona Ferrie and taken to the PE department to see S.1 girls using Just Dance in their PE Lesson. Have a look at the girls in action with the resource:

The PE teachers at the school remarked on the remarkable impact that this game was having teenage girls’ attitudes to physical activity. What they were seeing included:

• At least a 50% increase in girls from 3rd and 4th year taking part in PE
• A decrease in notes from parents asking for their daughters to be excused from PE
• A decrease in instances of girls not bringing their kit for PE
• A collegiate group of learners engaging with the PE in a supportive fashion with no real interest in high scores or competition

It seems that the positive impact of this resource and its practical application also seemed to have worked on the boys in the school too! Their involvement in any Just Dance related activity seems to be just as, (if not more in some cases) wholehearted and committed than that of some of the girls! This is quite evident in the following videos that show a Just Dance event that took place in the school library. Have a look at the dance crazy pupils of Doon Academy dancing to Eye of the Tiger:

Here they are dancing to a Katy Perry number:

I had a brief discussion with Fiona Ferrie at the end of my visit to try to encapsulate just what had been happening in her school. Have a listen to what Fiona has to say about her experience with Just Dance in her school:

(Transcript to follow)

It seems that this resource has helped encourage a whole school approach to activity through dance. It seems that even the school dinner ladies are using the resource and want activity as part of their daily working lives!

At the Consolarium we are always trying to explore ways in which technologies and games can impact favourably of learning. An awareness of issues of concern about games and technologies are always part of what we do but our job is to see how we can enhance the learning experiences and opportunities of our pupils. Our experience continually shows that thoughtful and realistic application of games by class teachers working in schools throughout Scotland can help enhance teaching and learning. The Doon Academy example is just another example in a long line of work that we have done that shows just how technologies can enhance learning.

Fiona Ferrie and Alison Crawford will be sharing their experience at the Game to Learn: Take2! Conference in Dundee on Saturday 19th March.

Thank you to everyone at Doon Academy and East Ayrshire Council for their support commitment to and with this project.

November 22nd, 2010

Microsoft Kinect in Education (first thoughts)

obray

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: Kinect, xbox
 : Categories Consolarium, exergaming, game based learning

Unless you have been asleep for the last few weeks you will have heard that the latest development to the Microsoft xBox platform has been released. Its called Microsoft Kinect (code named Project Natal until fairly recently).

Kinect is a webcam-style add-on peripheral for the Xbox 360 console (in fact it contains three cameras!). It enables users to control and interact with their Xbox 360 without the need to touch a game controller.

Instead your entire body is scanned and digitized in real time by the camera in the Kinect sensor, and whatever movements you make, your on-screen character can mimic. You can also control your xBox by speaking to it or holding up objects that the sensor recognizes. It is surprisingly accurate and actually quite magical.

I was lucky enough to pick up a Kinect on launch day and after a quick go in the shop I was convinced that I just had to have one. We have also now received our delivery for the Consolarium and we hope to have a few of these devices out in schools soon.

I love some of the little features that are built into game play. For example I like it that you can collect accessories for your xBox Live avatar (I have a sweat band and a baseball cap already!) and that the Kinect camera takes pictures of you at different times.

Games for Kinect are a little bit limited at the moment but the ones suitable for education include:

Kinect Adventures (comes with Kinect)

Kinect Adventures uses full body motion to allow you to play a variety of minigames, all of which feature jump-in / jump-out multiplayer play.

Each minigame lasts about three minutes and titles include 20,000 Leaks, River Rush, Rally Ball, Reflex Ridge and Space Pop.

Kinectimals

In Kinectimals you can interact with virtual wild cat cubs after you adopt one in fur town. Once you have adopted your cub you can do a variety of things with it including teaching it tricks, guiding the animal around an obstacle course, feeding and caring for your animal.

I really can’t wait to explore this game more and I’m also interested in how it utilizes Microsoft Tag as an additional game play feature.

Kinect Dance Central

Dance Central comes from the creators of Guitar Hero (so it was always going to be a hit with the Consolarium Team) and considering our recent efforts on Just Dance for the Wii we have all be practicing hard!

In Dance Central gameplay involves performing set dance moves which are tracked by Kinect and represented on the screen by one of eight game characters. The game features over 650 different dance moves spanning over 90 dance routines.

I love the fact that it tracks your feet and hands and not just your legs (dance mats) and hands (wii).

Kinect Sports

Kinect Sports allows multiple players to engage in six different motion-controlled sports. The sports included are Bowling, Boxing, Track and field (Includes Hurdles, Sprint, Javelin, Discus Throw and Long Jump), Table Tennis, Football (Soccer) and Beach Volleyball.

As well as competing against a partner you can also play the game in ‘Sports Party’ mode and this allows you to rally a whole room (or class!) full of players into teams.

I’ve had an opportunity to spend a little bit of time with all of these titles now and they are great fun with loads of potential. I also think that one of the interesting things that the Kinect will do is change the location of the xBox in the home by bringing it from the bedroom into the family room. In the same way that you find Nintendo Wii’s in many people’s living rooms.

One of the reasons for this is space - you do need a lot of space to use Kinect. But the other reason is that lots of the games are really playful and will encourage inter-generation gaming and good honest family fun!

Really can’t wait to get this into a few classrooms.


January 12th, 2010

Consolarium Podcast no.2: Wii Fit weight loss challenge

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags: Tags: Consolarium, game based learning, games based learning, GBL, wii fit, wiifitweightlosschallenge
 : Categories Consolarium, exergaming, exertainment, game based learning, podcast

Isn’t the Christmas and New Year break just great. However, getting back to work and attempting to fit in to the work clothes can bring one back down to earth with a bump as the two weeks of festive excess appears to still be with you! Fully in-keeping with our Health and Well-Being agenda the team at the Consolarium has resolved to try to shift from their expanded wasit lines the trifle, turkey, mince pies, Black Bun and possibly the occasional beer that they had consumed over the festive break.

The Wii Fit Weight Loss Challenge

We are quite lucky at the Consolarium as we do have access to a variety of exergaming titles. Dance mats have always been popular but we have decided to focus on looking at how the Wii Fit can help us lose weight. The Wii Fit Weight Loss Challenge is now underway! We all weighed ourselves on Wednesday 6th January 2010 and we plan to undertake our exergaming exercise programme over the next 8 weeks with a finish date of Wednesday 3rd March 2010. Here are our initial weights in kilogrammes:

If you would like to participate in the Consolarium’s efforts at getting the weight off then feel free to join us. We are posting our weekly weigh-ins on Twitter with the hashtag of #wiifitweightlosschallenge. Have a go and let’s see if we can make those work-shirts a little less tight fitting!

Stirling Council visits the Consolarium

A recording of us using the Wii Fit board to record our initial weights is part of our second podcast. You can access/subscribe to the podcast via this link. This podcast also contains an interview with our colleagues from Stirling Council, Margaret Cassidy and Joe Shaw. Margaret and Joe have been great partners of the Consolarium and have been involved in quite a few projects with us for example Moshi Monsters, Endless Ocean and Crazy Talk.

AOCBGBL

Our AOCBGBL (any other competent business games based learning) section sees us talking about these resources:

Blue Murder Mystery Files: A narrative driven puzle packed murder mystery game for the PS3. Beautiful graphics, an engaging narrative and real challenge in those puzzles.

Light-bot: Control a robot by giving it commands. Use programmer-style logic for more complex levels that include functions to re-use.

Yudu: A lovely little tool that allows texts to be converted to page turning digital books.

Let us know what you think of the podcast. Your feedback would be appreciated and do feel free to join us in our #wiifitweightlosschallenge!

January 30th, 2008

Exploring exergaming with Heriot Watt University

Derek Robertson

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: exergaming
 : Categories exergaming, exertainment

Some time ago I had the pleasure of welcoming Dr Sam Fawkner and Dr Ailsa Niven to the Consolarium. They are both lecturers/researchers from Heriot Watt University and they were keen to find out more about ‘exergaming‘ software. We spent an afternoon working out on the DDR dance mat attached to the PS2 and engaging with he PS2 Eye-Toy and playing Wii Sports. As a result of our discussions it transpired that we both shared an interest in using wireless dance mats as a motivational tool and appropriate context for adolescent girls, who may be tuned off by ‘traditional PE’. Our intention to embark on a joint project was somewhat inhibited due to the cost of the resource that we aimed to use. This resource enables up to 32 class sets of industry standard dance mats to wirelessly connect to a Linux PC that logs, in real time, each player/dancer’s performance … but the cost was always out of our reach.

Today I attended a meeting at Heriot Watt University where a working group met to support and offer advice at an early stage to a PhD student Called Joan Henretty. Joan intends to explore the range of exergaming applications that are currently available (and what will be coming) in order to see how appropriate and relevant exergaming resources can impact in a positive fashion the attitudes of adolescent girls’ towards exercise. Representatives from Sportscotland, Scottish Health Promoting Schools Unit and East Lothian Active Schools were also in attendance.

The Consolarium’s remit was always to encourage, nurture and promote games based learning in Scottish schools but it also aims to forge links with industry and academic partners to explore and make sense of the practice that happens in schools. Today’s meeting proved to be very fruitful and the work that will develop through this group and via Joan’s work will no doubt help us identify how schools can resource and manage exergaming in classrooms but with an underpinning evidence base that will help inform our practice….