From Game Boy to Teachboy.

Mobile gaming consoles such as stationary parents were once seen as devices with which children just fritter their time. Today also play the parents - and discover the apparatuses as a handy training and learning aids. Nintendo has ambitions, now the education sector to conquer.
  Previously, the Game Boy among parents is not particularly popular. Mothers and fathers simply could not understand why her offspring for hours fascinated by buttons and pad kneads to his Pokémon to train. But at least since the Nintendo DS appeared, now include children and adults target. Diligently to train their brains, practice mental arithmetic and timpani English vocabulary.
The world should be over 80 million devices sold, and now appear even more learning and training programs for children. The advantages are obvious: The exercise units are also suitable for fast times in between, the children move back and thus absolve so voluntarily to one or another Lesson, there's no keyboard tray as a major barrier, a cumbersome installation as the PC comes anyway away - and the batteries hold forever.

No utopia: mobile games
"Children have their DS always there," says Axel Ruske of the firm Brain Game, with the "English buddy" (50,000 copies sold in the German speaking area alone, 100,000 in Europe) hit a veritable have landed. Ruske: "Playful learning in the back in the car, in school, under the blanket or together with friends on the lawn or at home? All that goes with a PC is not. The DS has already playful component alone by his handling incorporated. "
This is not marketing talk, but describes the situation: software, based on the PC always been popular among parents than with the target audience seems to portable consoles actually work. News is already sold two years since English-learning program still ranks 12 of the most popular DS games at Amazon - for an educational software is remarkable.
Once again demonstrates the versatility vision in the development of the game: This includes the built-in microphone and with the stylus writable touchscreen. An argument that the Klett Verlag convinced. "From didactic perspective, I think that the handwriting recognition in Nintendo DS profitable for the languages to learn," says Elizabeth Webster, managing director of Velcro languages, the title plans. "Through the combination of hand movement and the brain is quite obviously learning and learning reinforced."
Now come the textbook publishers
FOUND IN ... Familie.deDie family Internetwww.familie.deBerührungsängste side in a game with as Lernvermittler Webster knows not. "By leisure equipment such as Nintendo DS for educational use, we get the kids there, where they are: fun and motivation needed to be connected to learning."
On the whole home Velcro products are languages, English and mathematics are planned. Even the Berlin Cornelsen is in the design phase for English and math titles. Carsten Kindermann, where business development department manager Digital Media, is enthusiastic: "Nintendo has with the DS creates a platform for the first time on a portable console for high-quality educational software necessary forms of interaction possible. And, with its own titles still equally demonstrated that with the NDS also practically trained and learned. When the high penetration of the NDS in children and adolescents is for us a new and promising platform for our digital learning. "
If textbook publishers now engage in a game, but the idea is obvious that the NDS, with its high penetration figures soon his triumphant in the schools could muster.
DS in the classroom?
"On the afternoon market, we aim naturally anyway," says Sebastian Weber, head of publishing for self-learning PONS, also on "English buddy" was involved, "but the withdrawal of the DS in schools is anything but utopian. We are working with out these doors to open. "
First approaches to schools worldwide, there are already. In Tokyo, the use of the DS in mathematics teaching with great success tested in westjapanischen Yawata practice so that the children every morning for ten minutes vocabulary. A study from Scotland certifies 600 primary school pupils, very good learning experience with the pocket console to have made.
Also in Vienna, there are already model experiments, and even in Germany preliminary discussions with schools and teachers instead. Although Nintendo would never announced officially, with their consoles, the school already difficult market to conquer want, but something about the Japanese certainly have not.
Nintendo, there are modest
"The Nintendo DS is not primarily for use in schools designed," says Lea Trees of Nintendo. "Through its technical facilities? The touch screen, built-in microphone? But he is very good for adapting school content, such as mathematics and language learning. Our experience in dealing with schools is that teachers much better than we can estimate How the Nintendo DS or Wii in the classroom can be integrated. Here they are clearly the experts, not us. "
There is no doubt that Nintendo's console as a pedagogical knowledge broker wants to establish. Only thus can the presence of the Japanese group at the Frankfurt Book Fair explained. Even an appearance at the next Education Fair is planned. For one so obviously increases the acceptance of the device, on the other hand, come more and more learning and reference provider to the idea that their content for the DS aufzubreiten. Nintendo has in any case something like this, finally, this is primarily a platform for profitable licensing business.
BTW: With the Nintendo DS in the school would also cheat and spiking on a new dimension. Because the students can easily via Wi-Fi exchange.