West Virginia just mandated that DDR systems will be available in every public school in the state. In an effort to stop childhood obesity, a study was conducted and it was “suggested that it [DDR] helped put a halt to weight gain.” Read the whole article here.

I am delighted to announce that CMRLS now has video game systems for loan to member libraries to use for programming! (Central Region libraries only!) We have purchased the following equipment: 

Two Playstation2 consolesDance Dance Revolution Supernova gameTwo dance padsGuitar Hero 2 gameTwo guitar controllers 

You can see pictures of them on our new Equipment Loans page at this address: 

http://www.cmrls.org/services/equipment.html 

and the request form is at: 

http://www.cmrls.org/forms/equipmentrequestform.htm 

You can borrow one or both consoles for a game program, and one or both dance pads (if you use both pads, players can compete head to head). 

I’ll be happy to give you an orientation on how to set them up if you need it. Have fun!

~Maureen at CMRLS

I have to admit, when I first heard about the idea of using video games in classrooms (and libraries!) I was a bit skeptical. Weren’t they, after all, just entertainment? What value could they possibly have? Well, since reading (a lot) about gaming and literacy, and hearing experts like Beth Gallaway talk about the topic, I now understand a lot more about the way kids learn these days. I saw a story on the news about games in the classroom, and found an article on today’s Reuters news wire that you should read. Here’s a quote:

“David Williamson Shaffer, an education science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says schools should use games to prepare children to compete in the work force, where juggling technology is a daily requirement.

“People think that the way we teach kids in schools is the natural way we should learn,” said Shaffer, author of the book “How Computer Games Help Children Learn.”

“But young people in the United States today are being prepared for standardized jobs in a world that will, very soon, punish those who can’t innovate. We simply can’t ’skill and drill’ our way to innovation.”

Wow, that’s powerful! Read the complete article on the Reuters website.

There’s an article on the YPulse blog about Guitar Hero, a game that many of our teen patrons are playing. It’s described as a cross between Simon (remember that game? It was round, with flashing lights that you had to press in a pattern.) and Dance Dance Revolution, but you use a controller that looks like a guitar. MTV has just purchased it, so expect some cool uses of it in the coming days! You can read about it here.

Next week, November 19-25 is National Games Week. While it might be too late to plan a program (and our libraries will be closed part of the week anyway) check out the official website! My favorite part of the site is their Top Games of 2005, a list of the top 100 games as determined by members of their organization. It would be a great resource for libraries looking to start a video game collection or add to an existing one. Board games are included too! So if you need some ideas of what to do with all those relatives over the holiday weekend, go play a game!