What is Digg?Warning: The Content in this Article May be Inaccurate
Readers have reported that this story contains information that may not be accurate.42 Comments
- Slickjim, on 10/12/2007, -1/+32Cool teachers will give kids sticks and tell them to go at it. Talk about interactive! The graphics are amazing, and the screams are suprisingly lifelike.
- wonderboy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+25Nintendo is no where in the article, but it's in the title anyway.
- vogelzang, on 10/12/2007, -3/+23The cool teachers will use Red Steel.
- elnerdo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19What's better is that it has REAL force feedback! Not that lame rumble pack.
- richardiscool, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17How about they stop eating SO MANY ***** CAKES AND BISUITS
- SIDSI, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15West Virginia has electricity?
- dkordik, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Someone tell me I'm not the only one whose eye jumped to the word "Nintendo" and automatically assumed the word before it was "Wii" instead of "Will". They are in our brains already.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11A phys ed teacher at my school in PA thought it'd be a bright idea to try out DDR after he realized how fat and lazy most of his students were. My younger brother, who is one of his students and also an athlete, brought in his PS2 and the teacher bought DDR and a pair of industrial strength dance pads. We hooked up the stuff to a crappy TV on a cart that was in a closet. Voila! Instant success.
From a personal standpoint, I will expound on how and why this is successful. First I must say that I am the most non-athletic person you'll meet. While I'm not fat, there's no way I am remotely in shape. Despite this, I still have a highly competitive spirit. So while I struggle to run a mile faster, do more pushups, etc, I am able to keep up in most competitive activities. I suppose I may be a special case, as I am renowned for my hustle that makes up for my lack of talent and athleticism.
What head to head DDR does for some people is gives them a competitive environment to thrive in. Geeky, unathletic kids can do it, be good at it, get in shape while doing it, and most importantly, not be embarrased when they do it. It's embarassing to only be able to do a few chinups. DDR is cool because it helps connect geek to athlete in a subtle way. While you won't lose 100lbs doing DDR, it's inspiring and will certainly benefit today's youth who rarely get exercise.
On a side note, I personally suck at DDR and I don't like it very much. I lost to a girl. I don't like to lose video games to women. I'm not coordinated with my feet at all - I'm a hands guy. I play counter-strike. I throw things. Hard. So I stopped playing and went back to sweating my ass off in a game of knockout basketball. - targetOO, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12Agreed.
TheWalkingDude should have bloged his thoughts then posted. - TheWalkingDude, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12Agreed.
This is pure sensationalism. Reported as inaccurate. - stevester, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8There are very few things more disgusting in this world than an obese couple driving their Excursion out of the McDonald's drive-thru.
- smartpatrol, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7You'd be amazed at how intense a workout DDR can be once you make your way up to the harder difficulty levels. It gets to the point where the limiting factor many times isn't your ability to interpret the steps, it's your ability to physically move your feet that fast. I know a few people who have lost a good bit of weight playing DDR. Also, after a few months your legs will be rock solid.
- SpeedyG, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Right. Let's give $XX dollar Wii controllers to students. There's NO chance whatsoever that they'll end up broken or will end up out of power by the end of the school day because they didn't ALL get charged the day before. Good idea. Electronics can take a beating and still be in use for years just like tennis rackets and various types of balls, right?
Why do people think that those who are already feeling out of place in gym class because they're not in any decent shape, are going to feel anything less like a social outcast by playing something like DDR in gym class? - 13tongimp, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Like most public schools have the budgets to spend on this kind of stuff!!!!
Not gonna happen... - Agret, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4You had to scroll to read the title bar in your browser? I think you should decrease your screen resolution.
- zetsurin, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8Stupid fanboy post and typically innacurate. How about SPORT?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Way to read my comment :)
- shawngoat23, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7How about they get off their fat asses and run a few miles, hit the weight room, shoot some hoops? An hour a day of intense exercise at this age is not too much to ask.
Sure, there are many DDR'ers who are in great shape physically, and with their conditioning, their DDR activity level is legitimate exercise. There are also some people who really need to get in shape, and DDR is just a pure excuse for real exercise. - Ryuuzaki, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Why DDR and not stepmania?
What a waste of money in a privative, inferior solution. - bryant, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Actually, it's already been done in alot of schools...
- Cyborg771, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I admit that it is sad but I will also be the first to admit that it's also the truth. Kids today, including myself, are much more inclined to do something in a virtual world over the real one. I don't pretend to understand the psychology behind it but it is true and with technological advancements it is becoming more affordable for schools to use these ideas. Gaming doesn't FEEL like work, even if it really is, and work is the last thing that kids want to do.
- gunmod, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Here is what is really funny.. The picture, on the right in the article, shows an XBOX console.
LOLOLOL @ Nintendo Fanboys. - Narpas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I get this mental image of what the writer's notepad must have looked like.
Rashaun. Played two songs. screen says perfect. "Hopefully, I'll do better this time." - aoifecmcc, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3i had to scroll back up to check it said Will! i only noticed it says will because you pointed it out!
- Juano11, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3How about they actually GO PLAY TENNIS!!!!!!!!!!!! Best graphics ever and the most realistic force feedback you can get.
It's not the school's job to make every class "easy" for every student. If you're not the most mathematically inclined student, you probably don't like your math or physics classes. Well, then you have to work a little (or maybe a lot) harder in those classes to learn and get by.
If you are a fat, soft, flabby bag of flesh, then you probably don't like your gym class...Too bad! Get up off your big ass and get some exercise. You don't have to be the best in the class, you just have to get up and participate. Maybe that kid who seems to finish first every day in gym class hates it that you do better than him in your History class every day. Should they dumb that class down so he doesn't feel bad about himself?
Go outside and get a little exercise. Who knows, you might actually find that you enjoy some of it... - RabbidSquirrel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I know in my school district (Fairfax, VA) dodgeball isn't played any more for fear of injury / liability. Lame, but true.
- exoendo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Since the dawn of man, those of us who despised phys ed have looked forward to the day, when videogames may be played instead. From the lonley caveman child, to the modern day, have we awaited the prophecy that were told to our forefathers, and their forefathers before them.
And so, it seems, that this day, may not be so far away anymore.
Rejoice gamers, rejoice, for the time of our triumph, is at hand! - Dan™, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1That has to be the saddest thing I have ever heard. What happened to dodgeball?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1You're foolish.
Despite my lack of athleticism, I am the first one on the track doing my warmups and subsequently the first one to finish. When we did tennis, by the time I did two laps around the courts and came back to the gate people were still coming in. I didn't sprint either, probably because I can't :)
Honestly, I don't think the kids you propose finish first in gym class actually care about their grades in History class. Regardless, they shouldn't dumb down academic classes, but I've got four letters for you:
N
C
L
B - Murdats, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4I think you are missing the point, its meant to motivate geeks to excersise, why give them ddr when they can just run around the oval 20 times, cause its not as fun
also with all the damage done to physical sports equipment they need constant replacement, without phyiscal contact with balls or such the long term cost of the wii will probably be a lot cheaper (being pretty cheap in the first place) - irwhiteboi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0What do you propose running stepmania on? A 400 PC? Versus a $150 PS2?
Plus its a pain in the ass to lug around. Back in my school me and my friend started a DDR club, we just used a PS2 with DDR MAX and got a large amount of people hooked on it. We wouldnt have been able to do the same with a PC since A its more expensive, B you need a good graphics card with SVIDEO OUT, C its not as portable as a PS2 in a backpack :P - Shinryu, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2If you're going to make disparaging remarks, at least try to be original. I know you're a stupid *****, but that is no reason to go all generic on us.
- Agret, on 10/12/2007, -6/+6Reported as inaccurate
- irwhiteboi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Yah. Once you get upto the heavy level in DDR or the Expert/Hard level in ITG, you really start to sweat out. The limiting factor isn't how much money you have, but how tired you are. I can easily say that I burn more calories playing an 11 footer in ITG then I do in a 6mph jog.
- irwhiteboi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Yah then you hit ITG 11-13 footers and reading the screen is no problem, trying to make sure your legs don't fall off is :P
- zaphod06, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@ SIDSI:
Yes, we do have electricity, we also have some of the greatest minds anyone's ever seen. For example: Pearl S. Buck, Booker T. Washington, and Don Knotts. Next time, think before you speak. - sirmithras, on 10/12/2007, -7/+7also reported as innacurate
- Philodox, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1The difference being you don't need phys. ed. to get into university, you do need math and science. So people can easily drop phys. ed. in high school (I know I did) and it won't affect their future goals one bit. The goal of bringing athletic video games like DDR (I doubt Wii tennis would be much more of a workout than eating dinner) into the classroom is to make exercise fun.
- munchini, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5you'd think it'd be cheaper to just use a video tape of someone moving - maybe like an aerobic video. same principal yea? kids could follow them.
wouldn't it also be cheaper to just use tennis rackets?
and cheaper to maintain? - Agret, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Dude, DDR has been around for ages....
- PeaceHope, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2LOL, I am pretty sure that schools will not put this into their gym classes. What a stupid article.
- smartpatrol, on 10/12/2007, -15/+4The worst part is, Wii Tennis (and all Wii games if I'm not mistaken) doesn't require you to move your body around, just your hands. Also, there is no REAL DDR game on a Nintendo console anyway (crappy DDR Mario Mix doesn't count). TheWalkingDude, you're a dumbass.
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