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10 Reasons Why Your Library Needs a Wii (Part 2)
April 25, 2008
Read the more obvious reasons why your library needs a Wii, but still not convinced? Let's dig a bit deeper and see what we can come up with as the super-challenge bonus reasons for taking a hard look at a Nintendo Wii in your library.
6) The physical nature of the Wii's interactivity makes it a great candidate for PE classes. Like libraries who work towards crafting lifelong learners and readers, PE programs are working to motivate students to be active throughout their lives. The Wii, while certainly not a replacement for real physical activity or involvement in sports, does provide a nice gateway for getting students interested. And what was our collection development policy again? Oh yeah...to provide resources in a variety of media to promote curriculum standards.
7) Video games are moving beyond shoot 'em ups and sports. New interactive technologies have led to video games like Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, and now Rock Band. Rock Band - combines guitar playing, drumming, and singing - provides nice links to music classes. A console version of Civilization, that great social studies game, will be out soon as well. As with graphic novels, the time has come to see video games as another format and not a genre.
8) There is a great deal of research connecting video games to learning. Some of the most prominent books on the subject include James Paul Gee's What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy and David Williamson Shaffer's How Computer Games Help Children Learn. For a more accessible starting point, however, I highly recommend Steven Johnson's Everything Bad is Good For You. The real point is, like them or not, our students are playing video games. First, find out what it is doing to them. Second, grab a Wiimote and teach them a thing or two about bowling a strike!
9) Video games are a big market. How big, you ask? Well, think back to last year. What was the biggest first day release of an YA focused entertainment item? I seem to recall some hoopla over a little book called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. But it wasn't the top seller of the year. The biggest opening day sales went to the video game Halo 3 ($170 million for Halo compared to $166 million opening day for Harry Potter according to the ESA). Computer and video gaming as a whole was up to an $18.8 billion industry last year. Not something we should be ignoring, in my opinion.
10) Libraries are about resources, but also about much more than the things they collect. Libraries are social institutions. The Wii is a very social gaming system. While some may think that gaming involves sitting alone in a room in front of a computer or TV, the Wii completely demolishes that perception. With four players involved in a tennis match or taking turns at the bowling lane, the Wii provides a great deal of interaction and socialization. It fits into the broader idea of a library as a place for social interaction around resources.
BONUS: Don't forget that games of all types align quite nicely with the new AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner.
So please consider acquiring a Wii as part of your library's regular collection development process. It is a resource that aligns to multiple curriculum areas, supports learning, promotes collaboration, and (this isn't a bad thing) is just plain fun!
Posted by Chris Harris on April 25, 2008 | Comments (0)
