W. Virginia to put DDR in all 765 public schools
by Dan Choi 
{ Jan 25th 2006 at 12:00PM }
DDR is going to the next level: getting
placed in every public school in an entire state.West Virginia is the first state in the U.S. to officially adopt Konami's dancing simulator in all of its 765 public schools. According to SFGate: "The games, which will run on Microsoft Xboxes, will be incorporated into physical education curricula and after-school programs" in an effort to motivate kids to exercise and to fight childhood obesity, an acute problem in the state. Adult supervision will be required to prevent hacking (read: game swapping) and unforeseen health complications, of course.
At any rate, buying even one TV-Xbox-dance-pad combo for each school will cost over $550,000 total (and what gym class could go without at least a second pad or system?), though the program's cost is being sponsored by no fewer than one other local group or agency. We hope the investment's worth it (dancing for your
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kyra @ Mar 28th 2006 5:34PM
While the intention of putting DDR games in our elementary school's curriculum is to be beneficial health wise, I feel there are better ways to implement health and exercise through dancing. Whatever happened to good old fashioned dancing? I for one would prefer to square dance rather than stepping front, back, right, and left. You can't take DDR steps home with you to show off to your parents; it would look absolutely ridiculous. We don't have enough culture these days. What's wrong with tap, ballet, and jazz? Those are great ways to be fit and learn something at the same time. I loved the dance section we had in our P.E. class back in my high school at Naperville North in Illinois. We did tap, hip hop, square dancing, and also had students contribute to the class what types of dance they knew. I, for example, received intense training in ballet so I had the chance to teach ballet to my fellow classmates. (Believe it or not they cooperated) It may not have been their favorite type of class, but they were being educated in what is lost to many today. In Europe ballet is a prestigious art that everyone is educated in. In the states we frown upon boys and belittle them for taking dance lessons. We are ignorant in the U.S. to how difficult, beautiful, and precise of an art dance is. What kind of society is that? What's wrong with being cultured?
truplaya @ Oct 2nd 2006 4:00PM
I betcha my school's gonna be to cheap to do this....
Darn my country Virginian school!
But That sounds awesome: I would ace PE no problem.
and Kyra, yes, DDR is not really dancing; it pretty much gives the illusion that you are even though it's only a series of arrows. But the thing is, you don't have to use that much disciple and/or time to really learn to play it. It'll be easier for those that can't handle intense dance routines. At least that's what I think. Seriously, a lot more people can have the time to play DDR than learn ballet.
Besides, America IS losing its structured disciplinary education it once had. There are no more paddle boards being used. It's illegal for a teacher to give a student a beating. And you'll notice how being really smart isn't looked up at anymore either. Everything is "on the go" now as well. Do we not have time to actually sit and eat something? I guess not, seeing that drive-thru windows and go-gurts have taken over. Times are changing, which mean s each generation will grow up differently. You grew up with structure. My generation grew up on video games and fast food.
If video games are the only way to reach Generation Y...I say let us have 'em!
Brandon @ Oct 15th 2006 9:32PM
Lucky bastards >_O My cousins just got back from living in Japan for 6 years(Okinawa, which is => the beauty of Hawaii), and guess where they lives now? West Virginia. Goddammit.
Ann @ Apr 30th 2007 8:34PM
Hi - I'm Maureen Byrne's sister Ann Knipfer. I noticed that in the NY Times story about DDR today that they failed to mention that Maureen was the one to come up with the idea for the play mats so that the whole class could participate. She has been working on this for years with Konami. She has a web site about this with instructions for schools on how to set it up. Look for Maureen Byrne and DDR in public schools. This game really does work by the way. I tried it and it doesn't take long to get worked into a sweat. There is no way that you can get hurt doing it and kids love it even though some can't do it well. Like Mikayla said in the NY Times, "..you don't have to be good at it to get a good workout."
chlo @ May 2nd 2007 4:11PM
omg, this is so unfair. why can't i live in wv? and i agree with ann, u don't have to be good at ddr to get a good workout. Many ppl actually get more of a workout if they play the same level as someone a lot better cause they try to get all the moves and it's harder.
White Rose Duelist @ Jan 25th 2006 12:09PM
So would a AA then count as 4.5 and a AAA 5.0 towards the GPA? Suddenly, the jocks are valedictorians as well!
Martin @ Jan 25th 2006 12:12PM
"At any rate, buying even one TV-Xbox-dance-pad combo for each school will cost over $550,000 total"
$718 per school ain't bad if it rids of Jared Fogle's in the future.
dsub @ Jan 25th 2006 12:15PM
this is awesome. I wish my schools had that when I lived there...I was born in Charleston, W.Va. I moved away when I was 6, but still...would have been cool if they had powerpads and world class track meet running on an NES, since it was in 1987...lol...
Jeremy Wright @ Jan 25th 2006 12:22PM
Very cool.
Nathaniel Guy @ Jan 25th 2006 1:11PM
That kid in the picture seriously needs to take off his shoes.
BlingBlong @ Jan 25th 2006 2:04PM
I hope they included money in their budget for replacing those miserable soft dance pads on a daily basis.
Awesome idea though; DDR is an incredibly fun work out.
GTgamer @ Jan 25th 2006 2:24PM
Governmment. With. A. Good. Idea... OMG!
...I think my head just asploded.
Jon @ Jan 25th 2006 2:51PM
wow, i would certainly hope that it's not mandatory. I can just see it now, the entire gym class watching as the teacher makes you into a fool. gosh, i hate that game. reminds me of when our gym class had to do tae bo, i felt like i was dishonoring my tae kwon do tradition, while feeling like a total ass. we also had to do square dancing at one point too. i've been watching freaks and geeks a lot this past week, and i could totally see that happening.
rip @ Jan 25th 2006 5:13PM
makes sense considering wva is the fattest state in the country.
Its the only place where I saw a whole pig for sale in a supermarket.
KingBigos @ Jan 25th 2006 7:24PM
$550,000 a school? More like $550 or $5,000???
jopojelly @ Jan 25th 2006 10:28PM
dude, for all 765 schools
Oniel @ Jan 25th 2006 11:33PM
I want happened to simple running and strecthing and buying equipment that necessary for learning like books and computers. Fat kids don't want to run they sure as hell don't wanna dance they want to eat and maybe should start small by promoting a healthier lifestyle by changing lunch menus to much healthier food encourage kids to exercise. This is only corporate promotion for somebody.
Deb @ Jan 26th 2006 1:51AM
I am a lifelong resident of WV. (Please take note of the correct 2 letter postal code, which every state has. The aforementioned referrals given as W. Virginia, wva, and W.Va. are quite outdated.) As a parent of 3 children, I can testify to the fact that some of the Physical Education programs offered here are sadly without structure and variety, which unfortunately can result in a student's lack of interest and desire to participate. Any additional activity introduced that will encourage students to be more involved in their P.E. class can only be viewed as something positive! As for the comments made by "Rip"...perhaps you should concentrate on self improvement instead of directing unjustified generalized insults toward the entire population of one geographical area...that you apparently know very little about.
Branewalker @ Jan 26th 2006 3:20AM
Let's just hope that they get the metal pads. RedOctane would love to have *that* order. However, I heard that the metal pads need maintenance after a month or so--after that they're usually good for a while. Looks like they haven't thought out the repecussions of maintenance on controllers that overweight kids stomp on all day.
Not to make any generalizations, merely tying it back to their purpose for this whole endeavor. Sounds like a fine idea to me, though you'll always have the people who will love the program and those who will hate it.
Dan Choi @ Jan 26th 2006 5:24AM
Jon: Freaks and Geeks... awesome series. =) I believe I did a little school-mandated square dancing for P.E. in my time as well.
All who've done the math: here's a quote from the article to clarify the numbers used. "Together with a video game console, a television and rugged dance pad, the Dance Dance Revolution unit being purchased by West Virginia costs $740 each. Konami will take in about $30 for each game."
Branewalker: what "rugged" will mean in terms of dance pad used will be a very good question for future costs of the program, but a metal pad in every school would indeed be "the awesome."
Deb: W. Virginia may be an outdated way to refer to the state for residents there, but any further shortening of the name in the headline would've been a bit confusing to non-residents and those from countries other than the U.S. I hope the full use of West Virginia's name in the body of the post was sufficient to describe the state properly (in conjunction with the headline abbreviation). Didn't mean any offense by it!
Don Jose @ Jan 26th 2006 6:35AM
Is that picture photoshopped? I ask because the kid on the DDR pad appears to be the originator of a certain "Truffle Shuffle" circa 1985. Maybe I've just been checking out too many Revolution "screenshots" lately.
Dan Choi @ Jan 26th 2006 7:06AM
Don Jose, that picture was taken from the original article linked at SFGate.com (the online portal for the San Francisco Chronicle), so if any Photoshopping to manipulate the person in the image was done, it was done by the original source, and not by me.
Kcobrasvt777 @ Jan 26th 2006 1:42PM
Uhhh isnt that CHUNK from the GOONIES!! LOL
Johnna @ Jan 29th 2006 11:43AM
Wow! Some people can be so cruel! I think this is a great idea. I am trying to bring DDR to our local YMCA because I think it would be a great help for kids and adults. It is quite a workout. Read or listen to some of the testimony about it not only helping people loose weight....but it helps out with fine motor skills...kids in sports use it for helping with footwork. Not to mention is helps out with increasing brain function. Some school have children use them before a test....and they are finding they are getting higher test scores. Another benefit is that some schools are using them to help out with self-esteem...using the children who are less likely to raise their hands...those children are group "leaders" teaching other kids. I think there are many benefits to this program....and I am thankful to finally see an active use for video game systems.
TJ @ Jan 30th 2006 11:58AM
"Governmment. With. A. Good. Idea... OMG!
...I think my head just asploded"
West Virginia's Government. Not america's