ising to hear that the Wii was being integrated into the classroom as part of a physical education program in the United Kingdom. However, that integration has come under fire by education campaigners who claim that the Wii is merely a “gimmick” that is “pandering to the physically idle.”
Late last year, five schools in Worcestershire, England began to integrate an award-winning program that used the Nintendo Wii “to improve attitude, behavior and attendance in schools across the partnership.” The program specifically targeted children who missed out on physical education, as well as those who opted out of participating in after-school clubs.
“School Sport Partnerships across the country are doing some ground-breaking work to increase participation levels amongst young people which is vital as we work towards our target of offering all young people five hours of sport a week. We’re proud of the way Droitwich and Worcester City School Sport Partnership are engaging young people to do more sport,” Steve Grainger, chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust, told the Worcester News last December.
However, the chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, Nick Seaton, has openly criticized the plan to Channel 4 News. “It looks like another gimmick. It’s pandering to the views of the physically idle,” he said. “Pupils would be far better doing serious competitive sports and games than this sort of thing.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health responded, saying that the government “welcomes the positive impact that innovations like these can have as a first step towards getting people to participate in a broader range of physical activities and to enjoy the many benefits of a physically active lifestyle.”
A recent study out of Nintendo’s United Kingdom marketing arm Cake suggests that although there is a slight increase in energy spent during a game of Wii Sports, the increase is not significant to “contribute towards the recommended daily amount of exercise.”
Nevertheless, the thought of video games during gym class is one that many young students could get excited over. Previous integration of games like Dance Dance Revolution in physical education programs has had positive results, and the flexibility of the Wii as a platform could lend itself to further opportunities—especially when used in tandem with software like Nintendo’s upcoming Wii Fit, which includes exercises that run the gamut from old classics like push-ups to modern yoga and dance.
While active video gaming may not be the ultimate solution to physical activity for youngsters, it’s certainly a way to get them started.
