Video Games Enter Japanese Classrooms in a Big Way

Handheld game consoles are great to pass the time, but in Japan, teachers use them in the classroom. According to a report by the AFP, several instructors have launched pilot school programs that involve handheld gaming devices like the Nintendo DS and the Playstation Portable. It seems teachers feel gaming is a good way to engage children born in the fast-moving digital age. Kids love learning through games so much that they even started attending Saturday morning classes for extra credit.

My fellow blogger Christopher Null wrote that according to research, the Nintendo DS could become the best-selling game system of all time. You know why? Because they're being used for education in Japan. According to Newsweek's International Edition, one in seven Japanese own a Nintendo DS, with the top selling games in Japan concentrating on cultural literacy, vocabulary building, math drills, and English-language instruction. Combined, educational games have sold nearly 20 million copies. One particular game that teaches people to learn English has sold over 2.4 million copies in Japan alone. This is big business for video game companies.

In America, we've seen how teachers adopted technology in the classroom, then banned it because it was a distraction—iPods and laptops come to mind. Some have successfully integrated video blogging, podcasting, and even blogging into their everyday curriculum, but I haven't heard of anything taking off like gaming has in Japan. That may be something to think about.

Related:
Blogs, Video, and Podcasting in Classrooms
Tech Banned in the Classroom