Science Question

[tasch.dunwell]

i am researching whether the xbox 360's kinect will be beneficial in education. In particular the physics discipline. I need some help in answering a few simple questions to see your opinions on whether it would be effective...

 

Background Information:

 

One of the most important attributes that adds value to the Kinect is the quality (functionality) of the product that differs from competitors. Through 3D depth sensors and RGB camera, the product enables customers to play controller-free and transform the body to be the controller. These highly developed sensors help identify and track the user’s body motion inside the play area. (Xbox support) Further, Kinect sensors can automatically turn up and down when necessary. It turns down to find the floor, and then up to see the user in the play area (Xbox support).

 

From this and what you know about the Kinect could you answer the following questions...

 

Would you find it useful?

Who would you use it for?

Do you find students don’t engage in certain areas of science?

What areas of learning in science are difficult for students to grasp, and the Kinect technology would help in?

Are you a parent?

Would you find using the Kinect-education useful to use at home?

Any other areas of study that it would be useful for?

In your opinion what would be the most appropriate age group to target for the Kinect-education?

 

i would really appreciate any help!

[belovelife]

i would think that high school would be the best target teaching area,

 

the best way to teach is fun

 

if you have ever played "prey" the video game, it is a first person shooter, but the concept of gravity is there

from gravitational bodies to artificial gravity

 

this can be appiled to chemestry also,

 

imagin in the game you have to use a machine to create a nano-key

 

every time you walk up to the machine it presents an object similar to a periodic table

 

then as you play the game ( it being a major part ) you learn how to read the periodic table, and the electron shell idea

 

each individual key is printed on your id card, etc. ( so you could literally have millions of keys )

 

then the card reader is called the electron microscope card reader or something

 

 

( see final fantasy series for more details )

 

i have a few other ideas also

 

but it would involve making a class for 6th grade and the whole class playing a video game similar to civilization 3 ( or 4 )

 

but that would be complicated, involving voting for a leader , having groups, where the leader makes the decisions, and it takes a vote to change leaders

 

( as the civilization votes on each plan of action, the leader makes the choice, team game in an educatioinal atmoshere, with networked teams, each team one computer, ( i.e. hacked kinnect adapted for class )

 

 

the team makes a flag or symbol that is scanned into the computer, and is the team flag

[tasch.dunwell]

thank you so much for your answers they were really interesting

[CraigD]

Welcome to hypography, Tasch. :) Though I get the impression you are visiting us in the course of visiting many science sites to collect customer information about your proposed system, I hope you’ll revisit us personally.

 

i am researching whether the xbox 360's kinect will be beneficial in education. In particular the physics discipline. I need some help in answering a few simple questions to see your opinions on whether it would be effective...

Would you find it useful?

Yes. To what extent, obviously, would depend on the available software. A programming language would be wonderful, but AFAIK, are rare to non-existent on Xbox or other game consoles.

 

Who would you use it for?

As I’m not likely to have more than an informal relationship with any school, I’d use it only to familiarize myself with it so that I could advise my IT customers of its usefulness. In the best case, this would result in the system being used by health education performers (actors in cartoon animal costumes) in presentation in K-9 schools, clinics, and hospitals.

 

Do you find students don’t engage in certain areas of science?

Yes. In my experience, the more mathematical the science, the fewer students engage well with it.

 

What areas of learning in science are difficult for students to grasp, and the Kinect technology would help in?

Introductory physics, physical and biological chemistry

 

Are you a parent?

Yes, but of adult children with school-age children (grandchildren).

 

Would you find using the Kinect-education useful to use at home?

Yes, but see above.

 

Any other areas of study that it would be useful for?

 

 

In your opinion what would be the most appropriate age group to target for the Kinect-education?

Grades K-9 / ages 4-15.

 

My main misgiving with your idea is the XBox and Kinnect are proprietary hardware requiring EULAs that may preclude development of software by educators and students. I believe it would be better if you used open-source hardware and software.