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Nintendo Developing DS Apps For School Systems
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."
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.
Normally, I laugh off reports like this. But if Miyamoto says he's doing it, I give it a high probability of working. The guy is a damn genius. And seeing he did the impossible and brought old people into gaming with titles like Wii Sports, I think he may even actually pull off an educational game that's worth a damn.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
It helps Nintendo because every school-age kid has a DS. They're familiar with the system and interface, so basic typing and computer skills aren't a prerequisite for the software. The platform seems perfect for class use, and it's low cost and easy to support. Like you said, every kid has one. A model for schools would open a whole new market for the DS.
From what I remember of the "old days" dealing with my high school's foray into teaching basic computing... excuse me... BASIC computing.
They planned on getting a full class of 30 or so students instead of the 6 or so that were supported by a TRS-80 model III and an apple II and an Apple II+.
The school got a shipment of 20+ Atari 800's with floppy drives. They sat in a closet for an entire year because the district refused to let the school use them. Why? When they heard "Atari" they thought 2600 VCS and videogames and could not comprehend that Atari also made computers.
This kind of closed-minded thinking will also kill off any idea of using the DS as an educational tool in the school districts.
I tried every decent and legal way I could think of to resolve the issue w/the business before I rented the chicken suit
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."
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).