WE ARE NOT MEANT TO BE SITTING ALL DAY

The more I think about the Kinect and other interactive technologies, the more I think about how it is human nature to move. Yes, as mentioned in a previous post, there is evidence that some people have a prefered kinesthetic approach to learning, but I the idea of having kinesthetic activies in the classroom goes beyond addressing a student's learning style.
Dr. John Medina in Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School makes an excellent argument about how our current educational environment does not address the essential human need to move! He references evolution to understand this perspective:

Recall that our evolutionary ancestors were used to walking up to 12 miles per day. This means that our brains were supported for most of our evolutionary history by Olympic-caliber bodies. We were not used to sitting in a classroom for 8 hours at a stretch. We were not used to sitting in a cubicle for 8 hours at a stretch. If we sat around the Serengeti for 8 hours ––heck, for 8 minutes––we were usually somebody's lunch"

It is evident that the Microsoft Kinect can alleviate the sedentary nature of the classroom. As Medina explains, our bodies are not made to be sitting in class 8 hours a day. I think the cognitive benefits of physical activity are well established; studies show that students perform better in "long-term memory, attention, problem-solving, even so-called fluid intelligence tasks" by being physically active. However, because of increased reliance on test scores for school survival, many districts across the nation are getting rid of physical education. Given the powerful cognitive effects of physical activity, this is not the best for students. Integrating the Kinect into the classroom, teachers will be addressing two things at once: their student's learning and their need for physical activity.

This is one reason why the Kinect can be beneficial for all students. When I was first an intern at my current job, I worked with elementary schools who did not had physical education in their curriculum and we implemented a program called IMPACT, which was a series of activities that will give students the opportunity to be physically active throughout the day. For example, games known as "mind breaks" were performed using a stack of "power cards" in where the teacher takes a card, reads the exercise and the student does it. The implementation of the program was a success. I went back to the schools to document and interview teachers and they all expressed the great outcomes of having students being physically active during the day; they said students appeared more energized and alert during the day! Along with scientific and this practical experience I had with elementary school teachers, it makes a lot of sense to me that movement into in classroom brings a lot of benefits.

As seen in the image above the kin ext works with a computer or 

game console.

Of course technology has its drawbacks and one big one in this case is a school's ability to afford a Microsoft Kinect. It is not simply the Kinect, but is multiple devices working together which include a computer or game console that connects to the Kinect camera and then a projector to display the game or application. Therefore, the cost of using the Kinect can be quite expensive.







References
Medina, J. (2008) Brain rules: 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home, and school. Seattle, WA: Pear Press.