Wii

So I've had a Wii for a week and a half. It seems like a lot longer than that. I love the Wii-- it's a lot of fun and I think it has a lot of educational implications. I've played tennis everyday since I got the game. I set a goal to 1) beat a fellow Wii tennis player and 2) reach pro status. I did very well at first, but as my level gets higher, I'm realizing that I need to play the game a little differently than I was before. Interestingly enough, some of the players in the middle levels seem to be stronger players than the ones at the higher end.

What's interesting to me is that I get frustrated when I lose, go do something else, but keep coming back to it. I think part of the reason is that I have a goal. I wonder if more learning in the classroom could be goal oriented, where the students set their own goals for what they want to learn. Of course, for it to be genuine, students would need to have some choice in their learning. The other reason I think I keep coming back to it is that I want the payoff of seeing myself get better at the game. The results are obvious--if I've done well I win (most of the time.) If I haven't, I need to keep working and learning the skills necessary to win the next time.