HighSchool
Latest
High School Musical brings karaoke, microphone to Wii
The first Wii game likely to ship with a peripheral in the US (not counting foam doodads) is not a Nintendo first party game. It is a licensed game. From Disney. Based on a made-for-TV movie. Disney Interactive is bringing an adaptation of their hit movie High School Musical to the Wii as a karaoke game. The story of the game will follow the first movie, while also affording players the chance to sing the songs from the second. We weren't really aware karaoke games needed or could support stories, but we'll accept it. High School Musical is set to ship this August with an included microphone.High School Musical is facing competition only from Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party in the race to be the first US-released Wii game with a special controller as well as the first full music game for the system. That's pretty progressive for Disney!
High School Musical: from the Disney Channel to your DS
We aren't sure how to feel about the announcement of DS and Wii games based on the Disney TV-movie High School Musical. On the one hand, it they're music games, and we categorically get very, very excited about all music games. On the other hand, it's based on a made-for-television movie, which, despite High School Musical's popularity, still makes a negative statement about the quality of the property. The DS game involves dancing competitively, and creating and sharing videos of those dance performances-- it sounds kind of like Unison. We're going to have to go watch the movie now and try to sort out our feelings.
Two teens assault teacher after he confiscates one's iPod
Sure, rag on NY iPod wearers all you want, but apparently there's no getting in between this Germantown PA highschooler and his iPod. Two students were arrested on Friday for assaulting their 60-year-old teacher Frank Burd, who confiscated it from a 14-year-old who was using it in his class. The kid returned later with an 11th grader, and they pushed Burd up against a locker, breaking his neck in two places. The good news is that Frank Burd's condition is stable and spirits are high. Unfortunately for the two students, their assault was caught on video, and they're going to be charged as adults. Frank Burd happens to be quite popular with the staff and students, which leads us to believe he doesn't make iPod confiscation a regular practice.
iPod deemed a "criminal tool" in high school security breach
It was essentially inevitible that Nintendo's Wiimote was destined to become a weapon of mass destruction, and while we've seen folks jailed and even killed over an iPod, even we're a bit hesitant to call the blunt object a "criminal tool." Still, that's precisely what a former Clay High School junior was purportedly using when he "hacked into school personnel and student files" and transferred sensitive information to his dubious Pod. After threatening to "open up a credit card in someone's name and ruin their credit," school officials began to investigate the situation, and were quite relieved when they discovered the breach before any of the data was used with ill intentions. Currently, no court date has been set for the youngster's criminal case, but considering all the grief being endured in order to keep those files from leaving school grounds, one just has to wonder what secrets could possibly be held in those potentially steamy "personnel files."[Thanks, Ray]
Casio electronic dictionary / translator talks back, recognizes handwriting
While we English speaking folk may prefer our pocket translators to start in English and convert to some other foreign tongue, Casio's latest rendition helps those fluent in Japanese order tickets to the Space Needle, haggle at the Chevrolet dealership, and of course, pick up the correct ingredients for warm apple pie. Aimed at middle / high school students, the XD-SW4800 lineup of handheld dictionaries reportedly house the denotation and correct pronunciation for over "85,000 languages," which ironically enough, probably translates to "85,000 words" when not read through a broken translator. Nevertheless, these handy gizmos come in a variety of colors, and aside from supporting keyboard input, it can recognize stylus-written characters and toss back definitions while pronouncing the word to you via headphones. If America isn't your final destination, it also comes with five other major languages on CD that can be loaded on the 50MB of internal space or on your SD card if necessary, and while these things won't last forever, the approximate 60 to 130 hours of battery life should be more than enough to get you acclimated. So while you're waiting for your passport to show up, make sure you pick up Casio's latest travel necessity -- if you can manage the admittedly steep ¥47,250 ($394) to ¥52,500 ($437) price points, that is.[Via Impress]
NYC mulling pay-per-use phone lockers for students
In our formative years we were kept on the straight and narrow with wireless leashes, and we got in touch with our folks the old-fashioned way -- two cans and a string -- and that's the way we liked it. Modern high school students, though, have a decidedly different take on the best way to drop a line, ditching pay phones (or, heaven forbid, the principal's office) in favor of trusty cellphones. Yipes, seems we've got a little hiccup: New York City's public schools have recently started clamping down on its longstanding ban on wireless goodies on school grounds, leaving a healthy percentage of tech-savvy pupils in the lurch. Parents aren't too happy, either, noting that it's the most effective way to keep tabs on lil' Johnny and Susie from afar in the event of an emergency. School officials are responding with the standard arguments, distraction and the threat of cheating, and are coming to the table with a proposal to install lockers outside schools for the sole purpose of housing phones during the school day. Sounds to good to be true, right? A rare case of taxpayer dollars being put to exactly the right use at exactly the right time, you say? Well, there's a catch: thanks to the crushing cost of said lockers, students would likely pay 25-50 cents a day for the privilege of being separated from their technology for a few hours. Needless to say a legal fight seems inevitable, though parents, teachers, and the school board will try to iron things out on the 18th of this month with a little face-to-face time. Of course, they could just give in and make texting a school subject, but we're not really seeing that happen.
New Zealand high-schoolers to use "text-speak" on national exams
While Aussies are still debating whether or not texting should be a recognized subject in school, New Zealanders apparently have no qualms with the so-called "extension of the English language." High school students in New Zealand will be able to use "text-speak" on this year's written national examinations if they so desire, which should send old-fashioned scorers into fits of rage while trying to wade through a myriad of words lacking vowels. New Zealand's Qualifications Authority said that it still strongly discourages students from using anything other than "full English," but that credit will be given if the answer "clearly shows the required understanding," even if the students uses "lol" and "CU" to get there. It was noted that grammar-based sections would require actual words to be spelled out, removing that competitive advantage where it probably matters most. Nevertheless, it's yet another small step for texting, and a giant leap for the English language -- right?[Via Textually]
High school urges students to play and design video games
In your internal list of things that are unlikely to happen in the current span of civilization, it's entirely possible that "educational institutions urge students to play video games" is pretty high up, nestled snugly between "cactus and balloon become best friends" and "Duke Nukem Forever comes out." Well, with colleges lobbing gaming degrees left and right already, perhaps it's time to update the list. A new high school in Dayton, Ohio has decided to embrace gaming and use it as a teaching tool -- apparently, they have this crazy idea that games can teach you more than just how to slaugher prostitutes and decapitate aliens. The basic gist should be easy to grasp if you boast any familiarity with games or school. Preferably both. Many find traditional school work to be considerably less pleasant than the average video game (with some exceptions) and so Dayton Technology Design High School deemed it a good idea to incorporate games directly into the curriculum, tasking students with designing an educational game of their own and learning at every step of the way. It's an interesting idea, to be sure, though it likely has plenty of risks associated with it. A passion for games may very well enable more focused learning, but it could just as easily lead to distraction if it's not finely controlled. Just ask anyone who failed an exam because they simply had to take down that last colossus before they could go to bed.[Note: A golden star goes to the first commenter to politely raise his hand and identify the game the screenshot is taken from.]
