Samba de Amigo!!

  Today we were exploring games based learning using Wii's. My group played the dancing games "Samba de Amigo" and "Dance on Broadway" while the other group played the "Beatles" game. We had to move around a lot due to sharing rooms and rooms being booked. We therefore experienced plugging the Wii into Smart boards, projectors and DVD Players. I now know how to plug the Wii into a variety of devices.

  "Dance on Broadway" allows up to 4 players. We decided this game could link into Health and Well being. An example of this link within the first level is "I am developing skills and techniques and improving my level of performance and fitness. HWB 1-22a" This could be incorporate into a PE lesson whereby a couple of children dance at the front of the class with the Wii remotes while the rest of the class copy the actions behind them. They will all take it in turns dancing with the remotes to ensure it is fair. This lesson would require a lot of space and a projector so the whole class can see the routines. A cross curricular link would be with Music as this would help them with rhythm and timings.

Advantages

It is active, engaging and fun. There are a variety of songs the children can choose from so they do not always have to dance to the same music. If the whole class are participating, some children who usually feel embarrassed to dance in the class may feel less embarrassed because everyone is taking part.

Disadvantages

The characters on the screen are quite small so children at the back may struggle to follow the actions. The oncoming actions are unclear because we found it would tell you to raise your right hand when it actually meant for you raise your left hand. It may be difficult to get boys involved because they may feel dancing is just for girls. A teacher would over come this by firstly introducing a more male orientated dance game such as "Just Dance". This game has male and female characters and there are more modern and well known songs to choose from. 

  "Samba de Amigo" is another dance game which requires you to shake your maracas in time to the music. This game is fun because it not only involves dancing but also has the added exciting element of the maracas. The children would need more space around them because they might accidentally hit each other with the maracas. The teacher could ensure the whole classes participation by providing the children who do not have remotes with real maracas or bells which they will have to shake in time to the music. This game incorporates Music because the children need to develop rhythm in order to be able to shake their maracas at the correct time. "I can use my voice, musical instruments and music technology to discover and enjoy playing with sound, rhythm, pitch and dynamics. EXA 1-17a" Another cross curricular link could be with Art and Design as the children could design their own maracas. We stumbled upon this idea when we tried to fix the Wii Maracas because there was no hole in the top of them to transmit the sensor from the remotes to the Wii.

Before

After

Advantages

More children will want to participate because the game does not solely focus on dancing. The children will feel more motivated and engaged if they have their own maracas or bells therefore it is a really good idea to get the children to design and make their own. The music is quite fun and they may recognise some of the tunes.

Disadvantages

This game would require a lot of space to ensure the children do not hit each other with their musical instruments.


Reference

Scottish Government (2009, p9) Learning, Teaching and Assessment. Curriculum areas. Expressive Arts. Experiences and outcomes. Word file: Expressive arts: Experiences and outcomes (421 KB). Available http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/learningteachingandassessment/curriculumareas/expressivearts/eandos/index.asp [accessed 21/3/11]

Scottish Government (2009, p5) Learning, Teaching and Assessment. Curriculum areas. Health and Wellbeing. Experiences and outcomes.
Word file: Health and wellbeing: Experiences and outcomes (680 KB). Available http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/learningteachingandassessment/curriculumareas/healthandwellbeing/eandos/index.asp [accessed 21/3/11]