For Wii lovers, the University of Houston is officially the coolest school on the planet. And, no, it’s not because faculty member C. W. Chu won a national medal of science, though that is indeed a high honor. As a point of fact, the University of Houston has a class called PEB 4197. The nondescript title of the class is “online aerobics.” The actual content of the class is Wii Fit exercise for an hour or so a week.

The university renovated an unused racquetball court in order to host the new class. They installed 10 Wii stations, equipped with Wii Fit platforms and accessories. The class, part of the school’s PE program, is intended to enhance fitness and encourage aerobic exercise among the students. The class doesn’t actually have an instructor, tests, or papers. All that students have to do is exercise on the Wii Fit for two 20-30 minute sessions.

Charles Layne is the chairman of the department of health and human performance at the University of Houston. He explained that PEB 4197 was the brainchild of him and the health and human performance program director, Randi Weintraub. Months before the semester began, the launch of the Wii Fit got them thinking. In order to encourage students to take a physical education course, why not use an extra incentive? Use video enhancement like the Wii Fit. As Layne remarked, “The goal here is that there are people who may be interested in physical activity, but maybe they’re not confident enough to join a regular yoga class … and what we’re hoping through the Wii is that this can serve as sort of a gateway class.” Hopefully, the students will like it so much that “maybe next semester they’ll join the face-to-face class.”

In trying to broaden the appeal of physical fitness, Layne has chosen an effective medium. Although some question the effectiveness of the Wii in helping people become fit, it should have some benefits, specifically in this type of setting. After all, the students are not playing Super Smash Bros. or The Beatles: Rock Band. It’s Wii Fit, the whole way.

The class offers more advantages than just drawing students in to the Physical education department. Layne explains, “What we like about the Wii is that we…have a permanent record of what people have done in terms of their physical activity, and also while you’re working with the Wii, it’s giving you immediate feedback.”