West Virginia adds DDR to physical education curriculum

wschmrdr · Trick Member Joined: 30 Jun 2005 Location: Central NY

I think this is a pretty good idea, especially the point of the kids that don't want to play organized sports. I never played an organized sport during high school, only did stats for them. I then started playing when I went to college, and it's definitely a great thing for the kids to do. Heck, it's the reason I introduced the game to a teen center back home over the summer. I like the idea.

Though I don't necessarily agree with the stuff they're using, I think it will be a good experience for those kids. They'll enjoy it. And then, maybe the geek ones will fill in some new membership here!

RTP! · Trick Member Joined: 25 Nov 2004 Location: Grayslake, IL

I wish it was part of the PE here in IL...

That way I could show off and kill all those pesky standard players at my school.
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Larrikin · Contributor Joined: 17 Feb 2002 Location: Illadelphia

I think its a pretty good and can easily see how it could be implemented. In my school we used to have stretching and exercising time before the daily activity. I could easily see DDR be accommadated in a time frame like that.

Most people don't remember but I know when I first started light and standard I didn't realize how easy most of the songs could be done and got a pretty good work out just trying to figure out the game and not fall off the pad.

Also I know of a number of people who really don't get any other exercise but jump at the oppurtunity to play DDR. I mean really who hasn't seen the sweaty fat guy at their local arcade. DDR implemented with PE seems like the perfect idea.
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daniel00001234 · Basic Member Joined: 24 Jan 2006

man, i wish they could start something like that in indiana

auron570 · Basic Member Joined: 29 Dec 2005

ddr in schools....hmm...that'd be awsome! but then we'd hav to wait turns to use it...still an awsome idea!!! XD
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chain runer · Basic Member Joined: 27 Dec 2005 Location: tn

ddr in schools is a good idea if you keep the ps2/xbox were people cant steal it

and they will buy the cheapest dam mats they can find and all the jack buttocks kids that have never played befor will try to put on heavy on captin jack at 5x and suden arrows .

and some kids wont get the frick off.

but it is good exersize ive lost 20 pounds in 7 mounths and havent changed my diet any
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lotryankees314 · Basic Member Joined: 25 Jan 2006

I have been waiting for a school to finally use DDR in a gym class. It is the perfect way to get kids who do not like to play b-ball, tennis, baseball/softball or any of the other organized sports.

Administrators need to understand that a "video game" like DDR is fun, helps children move around and gives kids confidence.

On a side note...my sister is using DDR in her gym class right now instead of gymnastics. The teacher is having the kids set up a routine using what ever they want or teach the rest of the class yoga etc. I wish the gym teacher had used this idea when i was in school. I would have been more interested in the class as a whole if i could teach the rest of my class DDR. Also using either the aerobic or even metal ones would prolong the life and usage of the mats. I know they are not cheap, but it is just a thought.

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BrandonMills · Trick Member Joined: 24 Aug 2002 Location: Allston, MA

* I believe they got a metal pads, which is a good thing, because some of the kids here are REALLY obese! ( Seriously. There is a reason why WV is so aggressive in its physical education program. Just go to the local Wal-mart and take a look around. People around here are gigantic! )

* Shame that, commercially, there are only 3 DDR machines in the entire state. 1 of which is in terrible, unplayworthy condition.

* I think the point is to encourage use of it outside the classroom as well as inside the classroom. Because its a game, maybe its assumed that kids will buy the home version and play it at home, and thus keep fit that way as well.

As for being a collossal waste of your tax dollars, keep in mind Charleston, WV and Huntington, WV are the fastest shrinking cities +50,000 population for 2000-2002 census data. Given those are two of the major cities for WV anyhow, I think you have more to worry about than waste of tax dollars.

Our state is still in the poopy. Without decent wages and jobs, we're pretty much going to always remain poor as ****.

ancsik · Trick Member Joined: 17 Oct 2004 Location: Burien, WA

Given the $740 budget proposed, the implementation won't be that great. Either you get a really nice 2 player setup and you need about 40 minutes for a normal PE class to play one song (assuming 2 minutes total between playing the song, messing around in menus, and switching people out, it'd probably be closer to 50 minutes), or you get a fairly nice (ignition style pads) 4 person setup and you can get 2 songs in 40 minutes. My PE classes in high school were 55 minute periods, with the first and last 5 for put aside for changing in and of suitable clothes, which fits fairly well with the two situations above. 2 songs is not a workout.

It's an interesting idea, but the only way to make it work out (and have any actual health benefit) is literally to seperate out the kids who don't excel at normal PE stuff (essentially the fat and asthma kids, even the typical gamer anymore is fine with a little running) and have them in smaller, seperate classes (you'd then need someone to monitor the normal and DDR groups, so staffing will be a killer).

Let's also not forget that theft and vandalism will be an issue. My school had to take out the payphones for 2 years (if you needed to call home, you had to use a cell, they wouldn't let you use the office phones, either) because of vandalism. The real fun was when the computer projector from my freshman infotech class disappeared and the teacher had to try to demonstrate something when no one could see it. 2 of my teachers had their keys stolen during senior year alone (one had a master key for the school the other was a set of car keys). Cars were broken into all the time for much less than what an xbox would pawn for (which still isn't all that much). I'm in WA, not WV, but this wasn't even close to the worst school in the area, so I wouldn't expect that everywhere else you go is filled with law-abiding teens.

It could be a good idea, if the nature of using videogames to promote fitness in schools wasn't such a bad idea in the first place.
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Z.ack · Trick Member Joined: 17 Jan 2006 Location: Michigan

man I want that to be in Michigan!!!

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Tomo_kun · Trick Member Joined: 26 Oct 2003 Location: SE-WI.

I could see this going both ways...
1. Bad idea. Your putting videogames in the classroom (Although some of my schools Teacher Advisor rooms have PS2's in them). Kids are going to get a hold of the machines. Also if a kid HATES exersise anyway, why would they bother with this crap?

2. Good idea. My highschool has our fieldhouse, in the basement we have our fitness and weightroom. As part of our cycle for PhyEd, we have to meet twice a week for regular gym class and once a week for fitness. I could see DDR being implemented into the fitness center, if controlled properly. Otherwise, its just plain ol stupid to make this part of GYM class.
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Synaesthesia · Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 7:05 pm Post subject:

I hear Morgantown is on this.... they could make the slogan "Burn calories, not couches." I guess DDR in schools might be good for some people, but I wonder whatever happened to "Oh, you're fat? Well, you run a couple extra laps then so you don't always finish last."
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NightTimeX3 · Basic Member Joined: 21 Jan 2006

Haha, this is sweet. I live in Wheeling, WV so hopefully they'll implement it into the public schools here. I go to public school, however so that kind of sucks.

but yeah there are a lot of fat people round these parts.

DDR_KiD_1 · Trick Member Joined: 30 Jul 2005

Larrikin · Contributor Joined: 17 Feb 2002 Location: Illadelphia

I just think WV in general is worse
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Fred 00 · Trick Member Joined: 02 May 2005 Location: offline

jpoppyz · Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 1:18 pm Post subject:

i happen to be from michigan, and us being that fat state we are, im suprised we aren't getting this DDR program soon. Ok, so i live in grand rapids, and we FINALLY got a ddr extreme arcade machine about a month ago, and i have to say, gym class is sorely lacking. Lets see, no one participates, no one cares, and no one even tries. Not because they are unable to, but because the activities suck. I actually am going to get a petition up and get some people to sign it, because i think this is a great idea. And if they did do it, i would make it more as an alternative. The problem with our gym program is the lack of choice. We have to do whatever is assigned, we can't choose. Some people just can't stand doing some of the stuff we do, and isn't the point of gym class to teach people that athletics can be fun? I just hope I can get somewhere with this, I think that this is a great idea to have DDR sort of as a choice for those who dont want to go play basketball or soccer.

Synaesthesia · Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 3:11 pm Post subject:

jpoppyz · Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:40 pm Post subject:

i think it's time for a change. You can't help but notice america is becoming fat. And with kids being more obese than ever now, we need to change this. You see kids being glued to the TV for hours and hours with a controller at hand and yet people wonder why kids are getting so fat. I know this because i used to do the same thing. Before DDR, i was overweight by over 10 lbs. So then I tried working out but hated it so i got DDR. I want people to realize DDR can change your life. I haven't changed my diet one bit and yet i've lost almost 15 lbs in the past year. If anyone asks my why i'm so skinny, i say DDR and i say it with pride. I want people to realize how much of an impact DDR made on my life and how much I think it could make on theres. I think that kids think theyre getting physical excersize during PE and yet thats not 1/100th as physically demanding as completing Endless Mode on Heavy in DDR Extreme 2(without Sakura, Paranoia Survivor and Survivor Max, may i add). Yea America really doesn't know what hard work is anymore. And that's is why i think ddr can, well, start a PE revolution![/quote]
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