Ed Tech Crew

Tony
Fellow PE Geek Ben (aka benpaddlejones) here just letting you know the Wii-Ball & direct response system already exist.

Wiiball
1x Wiimote
1x Foam ball (dig out guts)
1x Mobile BT enabled laptop
1x Wiimote Analyser (FOSS) – http://www.wiimoteproject.com/wiimote-accelerometer-and-motions-detecting-projects/wii_analyzer

Wiimote Analyzer feeds out 5 streams of data bfrom wiimote (3x triaxel acceleremeter data + pitch + roll). The data is presented as a live graph with easy export to excel for post performance analysis.

I used to analyse the forces in running and high jump. The data is very interesting when comparing different running techniques and linking the forces to injury histories. Class quickly found a relationship between short pitch and high amplitude on the X axis with shin splints and knee injuries.

I used used in the Wii-Ball for unacheiving athletic populations as instant feedback for catching technique. Students would try to catch whilst keeping the graph as smooth as possible. It was amazing how quickly students shift from catching with locked out stretch arms to using there whole body to absorbe the force of the ball.

http://studentresponsenetwork.com/ in a 1:1 laptop learning environment is perfect to hold indepth classroom discussion on sensitive topics anonymously.

Ben
p.s. join the Wiimote discussion at http://www.wiimoteproject.com, you’ll find me as adminstrator benpaddlejones

Hi Ben,

Thanks for the details – very excited at the prospect of playing with this. We will have a look at the site – it would be good to get you on to have a chat about what you have been doing.

Thanks again.

Tony