Below is a letter I received from a parent (published here with permission) whose child found it cool again to play educational games online, such as math and reading, using the Wii Opera browser. Previously he would play those educational games on the browser from a laptop computer, but that got too boring.

Now, however, with the cool Wii-mote, it’s a new ballgame. “On the Wii with the wireless [connection] all he has to do is point the [Wii-mote] controller to the right answer and click while watching his whole body move to get the right answer before the time runs out”, his father writes.

Dear Nintendo,

I am writing this letter to tell you about how the Wii is helping my son with math and reading. When we first got the Wii we were happy that this was a video gaming device that the whole family could use. As we became more skilled we learned that there were many other benefits including, cooperative playing, team building, practice with coordination and timing. Most recently we noticed on one of your channels was an option for internet service. We installed the channel as a novelty not thinking that we would use it regularly. As we explored the internet we decided to look up my son’s (ages 8 and 4) school and see my older sons (Boone) classroom page. His classroom page came up clear with all the pictures of the students. He was very excited to see this. At the bottom of the page are weblinks to help students study. My sons and I clicked on one to see what the site would look like. The sites came up with no problem and the math games could be used with the wireless controller.

We tried several games and all worked very well in both response to the wireless connection and the speed of the connection. What amazed me was how much my son was into the game. On my laptop computer he plays the games but quickly becomes bored and wishes to quit. On the Wii with the wireless [connection] all he has to do is point the [Wii-mote] controller to the right answer and click while watching his whole body move to get the right answer before the time runs out. Last night I challenged him to try and get 10 answers correct in the time offered. He tried over and over getting 4 then 6 right but time running out. Usually at this stage he is frustrated and either quits or answers any question just to be over. This time he kept trying. Even when I offered for him to try another night he did not want to stop. It took him a while but he did it. He got 11 correct. He was so proud of himself and I was proud of him continuing. Later he went back to the game and this time got 10 correct.

I think that there is a lot of potential in the Wii that parents can use if we are creative and have your help. For my sons this can be a motivation device to study and practice. After telling a teacher of how I was using the Wii she stated that it would be great to have [the Wii] in her classroom. I plan to keep using the Wii for educational games that as they reach certain goals they will have some time to play their other games. The daily logs on the Wii are great for a parent to monitor how much time a student has placed into studying or playing a game. I see parents potentially using this as a tool to aid students academically, and physically. I would encourage you to consider looking at the education aspect of your system. It is a great system and we are very grateful to have one.

Websites my son uses:

Math Games
http://www.gamequarium.com/multiplication.html

Meteor Multiplication
http://arcademic.altec.org/games/meteor/meteor.html

Weekly reader games
http://weeklyreader.com/kids/games/

Respectfully yours,
Robert “David” Dawson, Ph.D., CRC.
Rehabilitation Studies Program
Dept of Human Performance and Sports Sciences
Winston-Salem State University