Microsoft Kinect Helps Bring Technology To Chinese Classrooms

NuiStar, a software development company in China is using Kinect sensor and SDK o bring cutting-edge technology to China’s schools and community centers. Its Joystar Preschool Game Series, a collection of 20 game-like apps that encourage youngsters to use intuitive body movements to “play” their way through the content, thereby engaging the students in an immersive and enjoyable learning process. The value of natural human-computer interactions is illustrated dramatically in NuiStar’s educational products, which provide digital content for preschool and elementary school levels.

The body-controlled interactions come naturally to the children, thus reducing the time they spend learning how to play the game and providing educators with a robust and easy-to-implement teaching tool. Moreover, the interface is innately engaging and satisfying to young students, who enjoy being active in the classroom. And Joystar’s games support multiple players, a feature that not only boosts participation rates but also builds cooperative and team-based skills.

In addition, since these Kinect-based, gamified apps get students up and moving, they help to meet China’s requirement that physical activity be integrated into the curriculum. The whole-body engagement inherent in NuiStar’s educational content keeps students physically active even when weather or time constraints preclude traditional outdoor exercises. In initial assessments, a group of 300 preschoolers using NuiStar’s software showed a 33% increase in average exercise time. NuiStar is now working with teachers to implement more robust methodologies to evaluate the efficacy of the games’ educational content.

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