Can Wii Come into the Classroom?

Wii. Wii. Wii. Quite the buzzword these days. But, what exactly is the “Wii” and how can we utilize it for learning? Both are very important questions and imagination has lead the way in providing the answers. According to the official Nintendo site, the Wii is a social gaming experience. That is a pretty high level description when you compare it to “regular” old school games like Frogger, Pac Man and anything Atari provided in the 80’s!

So far, the offerings from Wii are extremely impressive and are mainly geared towards just having a fun time. But, there is one new gaming experience, Wii Music, that may find a niche within music classrooms across the globe. It allows you to play (experience) over 60 different musical instruments.

Want to see it in action? Watch this video of a kindergarten class being officially introduced to Wii Music at school. Be sure to take note of how many kindergarteners were already very aware of what the Wii does... even before they began to interact! Further along in the video, the teachers even got a chance to play. Or, should we say learn?

You may click the image below to view the video. Image/Video from the Nintendo and Wii websites.