The Nintendo DSis were initially requested by our school ICT Committee, which is a group of about 50 pupils from P1 to P7 which meets once a month. One of the aims of the ICT Committee is to increase the use and variety of ICT to support learning and pupils felt that using the equipment could help them to improve their learning, particularly their mental maths agility. The ICT committee trained each other and staff on how to use the nintendo DSis and discussed ways that they could be used in class. The equipment was then timetabled for each class in the school. These are just a couple of examples of how the DSis were used to engage learners and enhance the teaching and learning experience.

Primary 1 used the DSis to practise their addition facts to 10.

Primary 6 and 7 worked collaboratively and used the DSis to improve their spelling skills.

‘We scrambled words and wrote a message to our partner on pictochat. Our partner unscrambled the word and sent it back.’ P6/7 pupil

To gauge the response of staff and pupils to the use of the Nintendo DSis and their  impact on teaching and learning the staff responsible for the ICT Committee issued evaluations. All evaluations were very positive and all staff commented on the positive impact using the equipment had on the learning experience and stated that it was a powerful tool in engaging all pupils actively in their learning. For example, “I used it during maths. It was good for quick practice addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. My support group enjoyed it and they were able to answer questions mentally which they wouldn’t normally answer orally.”P5 teacher.

“I liked braintraining because it is a fun way to learn lots of different things in different ways.” P4 pupil