Inspired by this post on the Microsoft in Education blog, I decided to blow the remaining £200 in my budget on an Xbox 360 and Kinect. We have a couple of games - the bundled Kinect Adventures, along with Kinect Sports. I’ve written before about the system. It’s a motion sensing device that allows you to control video games and Xbox 360 menus with your body instead of a peripheral controller. Kinect gives you voice and full-body motion control over your on-screen avatar using an RGB camera, depth sensor and multi-array microphone.
The more able students have found the system really engaging. It facilitates communication and body awareness, is highly immersive and gives the kids a really good workout at the same time!
I’ve been wondering what the system could do for our students with more profound needs, and have been looking around for simpler cause and effect type software for the Kinect. A colleague at RM put me in contact with Marvin Thomas at the Vale School. He is working with Kinect for Windows. Following this guide he has created a number educational applications that have been very successful in the classroom.
I can see the possibility for a whole host of applications that would be invaluble to ASD, PMLD/SLD and dyspraxic students - such as simple cause-and-effect, communication, recognition of letters/numbers/faces/symbols. Ray Chambers has developed Unfortunately I don’t have the time or the programming skills neccessary to create the resources. I know that there are technically minded educationalists out there working on educational applications and I look forward to finding some applicable to my ASD, SLD and PMLD students.
The future is exciting!
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