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Nintendo Developing DS Apps For School Systems

Posted by timothy on from the not-quite-swords-into-ploughshares dept.

MojoKid writes "Shigeru Miyamoto, who has had a hand in some of Nintendo's most popular titles, recently offered that he is working hard to turn Nintendo's DS line of handheld gaming machines into tools for schools. The DS already has a nice line of educational software titles that help users learn, and he thinks that this could really be a huge benefit to schools looking for alternative ways to educate students of a new generation. The company has already managed to get them into Japanese elementary schools."

5 of 40 comments (clear)

  1. I'm surprised it took this long by Judinous · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The fact that this hasn't been pushed for before is rather surprising. The DS has been one of the most cost-effective digital kanji dictionaries for years. It costs about half as much as most comparable touch-screen devices and, obviously, it has other uses as well. It's right at the top of the list of tools for non-native speakers trying to learn Japanese, so it seems only natural that it would be at home in Japanese classrooms as well.

    1. Re:I'm surprised it took this long by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      This is true. Honestly, the only thing holding me back from supporting this is the same thing that has irritated me about the use of Windows and Macintosh computers in schools for ages now - schools are supposed to be places of learning. Having something in them which you're legally forbidden to learn about is... contradictory.

    2. Re:I'm surprised it took this long by sourcerror · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think the bigger problem was that digital tools weren't integrated in the curriculum, they were always kind of gimmick.

  2. More cuddly, but still proprietary by Statecraftsman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Nintendo is a company dear to many of our hearts since many of us are nostalgic for their early games. They've continued to innovate in game play and still provide a lot of pleasure in leisure time. That being said, they are only rivaled by Apple in their record of locking down their proprietary systems. In gaming, it's not a big deal but in education, it's another story.

    In education, we need to avoid putting up artificial walls where they needn't exist. Children should be free to explore as long as they're not a danger to themselves or others. That's why free software is essential in education. It encourages cooperation, learning, and exploration. I fear that Nintendo is going to continue to lock down their systems when they're used in an educational setting and if that's the case, we should skip it. There's nothing worse than a teacher having to answer a question with, "That's just the way Nintendo made it I guess."

  3. Nintendo is much more proprietary than Apple by tepples · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That being said, they are only rivaled by Apple in their record of locking down their proprietary systems

    Not even Apple is a rival. Apple compares more to Microsoft; in fact, the iPhone developer program was a dead ringer for XNA Creators Club on the Xbox 360. Nintendo won't let you in unless you're an established company with a "secure business location" (specifically not a home office) and a published commercial title on another platform (citation).