Professor Uses Wii™ To Teach Lessons

Filed in archive Game Application , Uses of Gaming Technology on May 11, 2010

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Tom Daniels, after taking a shift pedaling an old bike propped up in the corner of an Iowa State University computer lab, joined a few of his freshmen students back at a computer.

The aspiring computer engineers were huddled over the monitor, tapping away at the keyboard, trying to use a Wii Remote™ to collect data from that bike.

They were using one of Nintendo's handy controllers for Wii video games to track infrared lights attached to one of the bike's pedals. Their project for Computer Engineering 186 ("Introduction to Computer Engineering and Problem Solving II") was to write a program that would use the Wii Remote to collect data about the spinning pedals and turn that into useful information about cadence and maybe even information about a rider's movement and efficiency.

The assignment was all about figuring out how to collect, process and use data, said Daniels, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering. And it was about solving the problems that inevitably crop up when working with data as it comes in.

The students were having a hard time making it all work during a recent lab. Try as they might, their data wasn't showing up on the computer screen. But, they weren't frowning about it.

"It's really interesting," said Andria Osborne from Ely. "Most people in computer engineering want to work with numbers and stuff. I want to work with biology and other stuff. And so to work with this is exciting."

The Technology Association of Iowa recently honored Daniels with a 2010 Prometheus Award for Best Innovation in Teaching. The association says the award "recognizes a teacher's use of technology to create exciting learning opportunities."

Daniels said using a Wii Remote as a teaching tool is part of a new take on the department's two introductory, problem-solving classes. The idea was to find new ways to boost student interest and retention in computer engineering. A lot of students are attracted to computers because they like video games and game technology.

"We want these projects to be reasonable, but challenging," Daniels said. "I also want to give students a reason to care about the math and physics."