Fitness 2.0 - What Is It And What Does It Mean To You?

The following was written by Jeffrey Dammann from a company called Exergame Fitness. He explains what Fitness 2.0 is and the importance for fitness advocates to understand the concept:

Fitness 2.0 is an ideology, an ideology which has emerged out of the advancements we have made as a community, which is constantly working and creating one system that works, which leads to a new and improved system that works even better. This process in the health and wellness world has lead to something called Fitness 2.0.  But before I can explain it in more detail, it is important to frame what Fitness 1.0 is, or was, and how it differs from what Fitness 2.0 has become, and what it will be.

The fitness world has gone through many changes over the years, we can look back at the early days in the 1970’s when weightlifting was gaining popularity, where the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger entered the public spotlight, with his huge championship winning physique.  Back then the mentality in building muscles was eating raw eggs, and lifting weights everyday.   All they had primarily were dumbbells, bench presses, and a track to run around in circles.  These original pioneers were building themselves based upon trial and error, changing diets, routines, and implementing ideas which were shared from their counterparts. Did it work?  Yes. But did it work well and was it easy for the everyday person?  Probably not.  Which is why most people were left intimidated when they would go to the gym.  By the time the 1990s came around, the fitness world had taken what was learned from years past, and combined clinical research and nutritional information to provide people who wanted to attain health and wellness, with resources that would help them achieve their goals.  You could now go to a bookstore and find an array of books giving you a whole bunch of diet programs, and workout guides. These resources were helpful and helped many, with the motivation to do so, achieve their health and wellness goals.  Jump forward to the 2000’s, and you have huge health clubs going up, stacked with treadmills, ellipticals, weight rooms, and cardio classes.  There are personal trainers that help you create a nutritional plan, and help motivate you through a workout program.  This model is what we have seen for the last 10 years. It has worked for many, but still, not everyone finds it easy.  This is what Fitness 1.0 is. Fitness 1.0 is traditional, and static. Fitness 1.0 is all the past 30 years of the health and wellness world.   Well no longer is Fitness 1.0 going to rule the scene, because over the last couple years, technologies have advanced, and have begun to integrate with the fitness world. Enter Fitness 2.0.

Fitness 2.0 is here and it is giving people access to the very best in information from experts, and using the very best of science to create the ultimate health and wellness resource.   It comes through your mobile devices, such as your smartphone or tablet, or you can access it on your laptop or desktop.   It connects through the internet, into the cloud, where everyones information and data can be stored.   Fitness 2.0 reaches down into every piece of equipment within your health club, from the treadmills to the ellipticals, to the weight lifting machines.  Fitness 2.0 is Exergaming, where gamification and data collection built within the club equipment brings your individual scores, and assessments into a comprehensive, easy to understand dashboard.  This dashboard monitors your health, your calorie intake, and your fitness goals. It helps motivate you, and it also rewards you.   There are now virtual trainers, whom are real people who could be on the other side of the world, who monitor your progress, create workout programs tailored specifically for you, and motivate you, all through your mobile phone or tablet.  These were all things that were virtually unthought of when we entered the new millennium.

What is Fitness 2.0 in more detail?  It is web and mobile enabled which means you can access it anywhere.  It is geographically independent, allowing for virtual communities and support groups to emerge.  It is data driven, where now you can monitor and assess your progress individually, or as a group.  It is expert led, where you have access to the very latest in research, nutritional information, and workout programs. It is socially supportive, the latest research shows that people who are surrounded by people who are in the same like mind, are able to benefit more from their shared goals.   It is affordable, no longer will there be $200 dollar an hour trainers, everything will be low cost, or in some cases free.  Fitness 2.0 allows you to be anonymous, no longer will you be intimidated by the big bodybuilder in the corner. Companies such as ours brings this available to the world.  And finally Fitness 2.0 is fully integrated, everything from the workout machines to the activity monitors that you wear on your wrist, to the heart rate monitors that are around your chest.  All this data collects into one system, which takes care of you and everyone else.   This is what Fitness 2.0 is, and we hope that you becomes leaders of change to bring this new innovative way to health and wellness be brought to every single community across the world.

To find out more about Fitness 2.0 and Exergaming, please visit here goo.gl/Y5UDZ

A former student of mine, Zach Foder, has made a significant difference in student learning in his physical education program. Please read the following from Zach and I strongly encourage you to view his website and click on the active gaming link below!

This is what Zach wrote:

Simply put, I love my job. 

Every day I am able to show others what my students have accomplished and strive to plan more interactive and engaging lesson plans. Often times, more than I expected, simply telling others about what we have done at the Immokalee Community School does not provide justice for the dedication, hard work and commitment of my students to be healthy and physically active for a lifetime!

As a graduate of the University of South Florida (12') and a first year student at Boise State University (M.Educational Technology) I wanted to enter my profession with passion, excitement and experiences that many students and parents had never even dreamed of.  The opportunity to develop an Active Gaming Lab (AGL) was one of those such opportunities!  Video games and exercise?!  I was motivated to create developmentally appropriate experiences during physical education that could answer that such question...video games and active technologies CAN be used to teach students about the concepts state and national standards adhere to.

I was fortunate enough to transform my space into an active gaming, health and fitness educational learning center!  Students are given the opportunity to explore the various fitness concepts like muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and cardiovascular endurance by actively participating in games like Just Dance, Wii Jog, Gamercize, Dance Dance Revolution and Wii Cyberbike!  The level of student engagement and active participation has increased dramatically and the students are excited, motivated and eager to be physically active!

The AGL has provided my physical education program with a safe learning environment that fosters critical thinking, exploration of health and life science concepts, physical fitness concepts, S.M.A.R.T goal setting and an unmatched level of fun and excitement!

The ability to use the AGL as a supplementary tool during physical education has worked to increase student motivation in the classroom, provided opportunities for students to use various forms of appropriate technology like APPS and the iPad while simultaneously developing the passion and excitement for physical activity that the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NAPSE) strives for!

Working in accordance with my budget, I was dedicated to work, save and implement many active gaming technologies of my own...whatever is necessary to keep the AGL running.  With the ability to combine personal and work equipment, the opportunities are endless for the AGL!  In addition to applying for grants, many of the events held at the Immokalee Community School like the Annual Immokalee Fit Kids Marathon, etc are used to fundraise and maintain the AGL.  Sharing my excitement about the new active gaming educational center at the Immokalee Community School is a top priority in order to continue to grow, develop and explore the new and cutting edge tools that can be used to educate my students.  

Students are excited, more now than ever, to be a part of the Immokalee Community School physical education program and participate in the active gaming educational center!  It is my hope to continually fundraise and do everything necessary in order to provide the students with the tools they need to be physically educated individuals.  

If you would like to see the Immokalee Community School Active Gaming Lab in use please do not hesitate to visit my website @ http://www.coachzpe.com and click on the Active Gaming Link!

I am confident that we as physical educators, can and will, keep active gaming alive and thriving in our schools! In addition to regular physical education, active gaming has enriched my program and ensured that my students are prepared and willing to be physically active for a lifetime!  

Zach Fodor

Physical Eduator

Immokalee Community School

Immokalee, FL

zachary@rcma.org

http://www.coachzpe.com

Thank you Zach for sharing your experience with active gaming with us!

Active Christmas Gifts!!!

It is that time of year again - Christmas! Everyone knows this is the busiest time of the year to purchase gifts for family and loved ones. I posted a blog this time last year about healthy gift ideas. I feel like the topic is worthy to discuss again this year or anytime the Holidays surface. Children all over the country enjoy playing video games. We know that. We also know that spending over 40 hours a week infront of a screen is taking away from our children being physically active - leading to a rise in obesity levels. If parents can do anything for their children this year it is to replace sedentary gifts with active gifts. For example, purchase games compatible with Microsoft Kinect, Nintendo Wii, Xavix, or a variety of other residential games on the market. Teachers need to educate parents and try to infuence them to make healthier decisions when gift buying. If parents replaced some of the sedentary video games with active games they are already making a conscious, healthy decision for their children and family. We shouldn't let Christmas be a time to be unhealthy. Get up and move! Use this time to be active together as a family!

Fundraiser for Exergaming Research

A good friend of mine has decided to take a leap of faith, literally, by training to solo sky dive and then taking the big jump on Sunday, November 18th. He is not doing this just as a "bucket list" activity. Richard Coshott, CEO of Gamercize and founder of The Exergame Network (TEN), has decided to dedicate this jump to support quality research for Exergaming. Please read the following blog posted on TEN or visit the website here:

SPONSORED SKYDIVE FOR EXERGAME RESEARCH

The Exergame Network (TEN) is a not for profit advocacy group promoting exergaming that wishes to give students new opportunities to research this exciting new field. I am raising money by way of a sponsored skydive on November 18th 2012 to provide TEN with funds to support new generation researchers with their study costs into active gaming / exergaming. The skydive is a solo jump, which will take 2 days of training that I will pay for myself. All the monies raised will go directly to supporting TEN's aspirations towards quality research in exergaming. The Exergame Network (TEN) has been long aware that the limitations of exergaming are public knowledge, dissemination, application and study design rather than failings in the equipment and the excellent individuals who deliver the experience to the users. To that end TEN has collaborated to give the top questions, and therefore evidence, required to understand exergaming. We need studies to show positive results in the following studies;

1. Energy Expenditure (absolute or comparative) - DONE
2. Adherence of Exergaming - DONE
3. Positive Behaviour Effects
4. Gateway Effect
5. Comparative Enjoyment of PA
6. Health Benefits of Exergaming
7. Family health benefits of Exergaming
8. Cognitive benefits of exergaming
9. Improved social confidence from Exergaming

TEN will ask for study designs to be submitted for consideration and the best of these will be decided by a panel of experts for funding and support. As indicated above TEN thinks there is more to funding a study than most other foundations - TEN wants the right questions, right design and right approach, so the award to successful candidates will not only be money. TEN is providing the following;

1. Cash for research assistants / buy out from class
2. Exergaming equipment donation
3. Dissemination opportunities
4. Publication opportunities
5. Academic Support and Exergaming Expertise

 Way to go Richard and TEN! I will be posting results as well as pictures of the event soon!

Just Do It! It Is Really That Easy...

Often when I travel to conferences I have the opportunity to present on active gaming. My latest focus has been on helping teachers understand the most appropriate way to implement these activities into their curriculum. I have been positively surprised at the interest I receive from teachers that truly want to step out of the box and incorporate active gaming in their classes. What they do not understand, hence the purpose of this post, is how easy it is to make this step. The first major issue is always about the money. Teachers that do not have funding are discouraged as they think the activities are all incredibly expensive or they have to have a room full of the games. This is simply not the case. 1. The active gaming field has grown dramatically due to the popularity of the industry. Now there are a plethora of games such as the XBox Kinect and Nintendo Wii that are compatible with a lot of popular games. Some teachers have even stated they already have these video game consoles at home and could bring them to class for their students to enjoy. Also, some students have these games and enjoy being able to bring them in to share during class. The most important aspect is making sure they are not just playing the games, but basing the game play on learning objectives. 2. It is certainly not necessary to have a full room of active games. This actually concerns me as many teachers that do have access to a variety of active games do not appropriately implement them. For example, if I am working on a dance lesson, students should not be playing activities such as makoto, 3 kick, virtual bikes, or virtual boxing games. These activities are most appropriate for a different kind of skill development and/or fitness curriculum. Having just one or two active gaming activities is appropriate and provides the fun motivation for children to be exposed to a variety of physical activities. Once again, implementing active gaming into your curriculum can be EASY. You just have to make that step and Just Do It!!!

Active Gaming Going Mobile?

There are millions of apps available for smartphones today. So many we cannot keep up. Children are learning at an early age how to create/develop new apps - everything seems to be going mobile. Scan coupons, get directions, check the weather, watch television, exercise, or play video games...we are living by our mobile smartphones! There are already several active games created for mobile phones. However, I ran across a company called BitGym and found this idea for exercising using the active gaming concept neat. I encourage you to watch the introductory video (it is very brief). This application is making exercise fun wherever the participant chooses. Teachers, please realize the growing popularity of active gaming should be growing into your classrooms. Children now have opportunities to exercise at home that is fun and convenient. Quality physical education classrooms should be educating children on these types of opportunities to explore to encourage lifelong physical activity behaviors.

Active Gaming to Compliment Fitness Testing?

For years we have been trying to find a more desirable way to test fitness levels in children. When I was teaching in elementary school I can still remember the sighs' coming from the students when it was time to "run the mile". There is really not much teachers can do about this...cardiovascular efficiency must be tested, right? Finally, there is a study that has been conducted that has set the stage for further research and exploration of how teachers may finally have a way to make testing more fun and motivating. You can find the entire blog on the Exergame Fitness website here.

The objective of the study is as follows:

"Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine whether a correlation existed between the scores of the Jackie Chan Action Run active video game, the one-mile run/walk and Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) aerobic fitness tests of the FITNESSGRAM® in order to provide a potential alternative testing method for days that are not environmentally desirable for outdoor testing."

I think this study has many implications for physical education teachers. Not only may this active game be an appropriate method of testing students in the future; but, it may also serve as a great way to help students prepare for testing and improve fitness levels in and out of school. The Jackie Chan Action Run video game is feasible in cost and could serve as a great Christmas or birthday present and most teachers would have the funding to include this game in their curriculum!

National Public Health Week

I read a great blog today about National Public Health week (April 2-8). The article mentions active gaming/exergaming in what I believe is a positive and accurate manner. Here is part of the blog that discusses exergaming:

"Furthermore, the recent surge in "exergaming," a term used to describe video games that also serve as a type of exercise, is providing an innovative approach to promoting physical activity. Video games for interactive boxing and dancing get people up and moving, sometimes burning energy at levels comparable to moderate forms of exercise. Some schools have set up exergaming stations, and these interactive exercise sessions have been very popular among students, especially encouraging less athletic, often obese or overweight students to become more active. While these approaches do not solve the problem of physical inactivity for all Americans, they provide creative alternatives to traditional fitness activities and offer an exciting way to reduce sedentary time as well as promote physical activity."

You can read the entire blog here. It is wonderful that exergaming continues to grow in popularity and the physical activity benefits provided by participating in some of these activities are becoming more apparent.

Active Gaming at AAHPERD

Most of you have heard that the AAHPERD conference in Boston this year didn't turn out so well because of the power outage on Tuesday evening. Although many sessions were cancelled as well as the exhibit hall, active gaming sessions were still popular and in demand. There was a pre conference workshop on Tuesday that showcased a number of active gaming products and allowed teachers to be hands on with playing the games as well as developing lesson plan ideas. The workshop was a success thanks to Dr. Helena Baert, Stephen Yang, and undergraduate physical education majors from Suny Cortland. Konami was also able to showcase their new multiplayer Dance Dance Revolution product and discussed the benefits of the PE Classroom Edition with the audience.

What I found to be positive was the fact that there were more sessions scheduled this year to present on active gaming as well as the turnout of the attendees during the sessions. Quality physical education teachers are desiring to learn more about active gaming, how it can benefit the students, and how to implement these innovative activities in their classrooms.

Next year at the AAHPERD conference in Charlotte we can only hope to continue to see progress with an even better turnout of active gaming sessions and attendance.

Active Gaming Survey!

Thanks to the TEN (The Exergaming Network) for posting this great opportunity to assist researchers in learning more about your involvement with active gaming/exergaming:

Nationwide PE Exergaming Survey Open!

Jennifer Krause, Ph.D
I can effectively facilitate students’ safe and appropriate exergaming technology use in physical education. Do you agree? Do you disagree? The University of Texas at San Antonio is asking for the opinions of PE teachers in a nationwide PE Exergaming Survey into exergaming beliefs and behaviors in physical education.


"We want to learn how physical educators feel about and their experiences with exergaming in physical education. The knowledge gained from this study may contribute to our understanding of the current state of teachers’ beliefs and experiences with exergaming, which will allow professionals to make decisions regarding future training and implementation." says principal investigator Jennifer Krause, Ph.D.

Exergaming Technology is defined as a video game system that requires gross motor physical exercise or movement to play the game. Examples of exergames include, but are not limited to:
• Dance Pad Games (Dance step games or games that use a dance pad or similar pad for input, such as DDR)
• Controller tracking (people have to use a controller, such as Nintendo Wii or Playstation Move)
• Motion Tracking (people use their bodies, camera, such as Xbox Kinect)
• Bikes / Rowers / Steppers / Treadmill / Balance Boards as controllers


The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete and is confidential. If you include your email address you will be entered into a drawing for a Wii gaming system. In-service physical education teachers can start the survey by clicking on this link https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/M3D265W


Those also attending the AAHPERD convention in March 2012, that indicate a preference, can meet the research team and may be invited to participate in focus groups or interviews at the convention.

Is Active Gaming a Fad?

I read a blog today and felt like it was a very good read and worth sharing about active gaming and the potential benefits playing these games can have on individuals of all ages. The author does a great job discussing active gaming in regards to potential benefits and the outlook on the future. See the blog below:

Exergaming: A serious workout or just a fad?
by HEAD HEALTH NUTTER on FEBRUARY 24, 2012


Are you thinking of purchasing a Wii gaming system to get your exercise in and finally lose that weight you’ve been talking about shedding since New Year’s? Here’s a guest post that discusses the effectiveness of fitness games and whether they’re a wise investment or not.

With the invention of motion detection technology on new gaming systems such as the Nintendo Wii and the Xbox Kinect, games that include a high level of activity have become the latest thing. Perhaps you’ve been to a “Dance Central” party or played a vigorous game of virtual tennis with your kids.



If your video game experience left you sweaty and feeling like you just finished at the gym, congratulations! You’ve been exergaming.

The companies that create games are taking advantage of this trend and have put out games specifically designed to take advantage of this phenomenon. Some of the most famous include “Wii Fit,” “EA Sports Active” and “Your Shape: Fitness Evolved.” Big name franchises are also getting in on gaming as a fitness format, such as “The Biggest Loser” and even “Zumba.”

But is exergaming a legitimate way to get in a workout? Or are you just playing a game?

It depends. How dedicated is the person playing the game? How challenging is the game? How much time does the person spend playing? How regularly do they play? Is the game part of an overall effort to eat right and get more exercise?

While exercises benefits overall health, it also contributes to cheap life insurance rates, something that benefits almost everyone.

The Flaw in “Wii Fit”



“Wii Fit” was one of the first exergames to hit the market back in 2008. Everyone who tried it loved it, and Wii systems flew off the shelves. People who had never thought they would ever own a gaming system were purchasing a Wii and “Wii Fit.” But according to the game developers, people weren’t playing the game consistently. Many systems and fitness boards were collecting dust.

Why? If the dedication and drive to lose weight aren’t there, a balance board and video game system aren’t likely to change that.

So why hasn’t exergaming faded into the sunset? Looking at all the new releases over the past few years, the market appears to be growing. Sequels are out for popular dance games and updates to games designed specifically to be workout programs continue to come out.

Additionally, new technology like the Kinect is solving one of the primary problems people had with “Wii Fit.” No controller to hold and leg strap to fiddle with means a simpler overall gaming experience. People like simple.

Why is Exergaming Still Around?

Perhaps this can be explained by the hopefulness that most people have when it comes to losing weight and getting in shape. “This year I’ll finally lose that weight.” The games are purchased in a burst of optimism and show good sales numbers. Why wouldn’t game companies continue to produce games in franchises that are retail successes?

As long as a person keeps that dedication, these games are a perfectly valid form of exercise. While you probably aren’t going to get fit playing virtual golf, playing “Just Dance” can give you a great cardio workout, to the tune of about 300 calories an hour. Boxing strengthens and tones the arms, back and core, and can burn about 400 calories an hour.

One of the most common pieces of advice given to those who are looking to lose weight but don’t like to exercise is to find a form of exercise that you love. For a number of dedicated people, these games are that form of exercise. And anything that gets people up and moving should be taken seriously.

About the Author

TermLifeInsuranceNews.com tries to provide individuals with useful health and lifestyle tips to help them get the best life insurance rates possible.

Do you own any fitness games? How often do you play them? After reading this post, are you planning to fit exercising into your weekly routine to get more fit?

New Active Game Targeting Physical Education!

Konami is the reason the Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) craze was born. They initially released DDR and have continued to work on making the activity more desirable and effective. Recently, Konami released news of a new DDR product targeted directly towards physical education classrooms. From what I can recall, this is the only product that was designed specifically for the physical education classroom. The new product is multiplayer, meaning an entire class could potentially play at one time. The features are attractive to teachers because they have a built in "playlist" and "roster" for teachers to use to assist with saving play time. In addition, there is a data card for every participant that stores information such as step count, scores, other personal information, etc. In between games, students are able to read quick facts and suggestions for attaining and/or maintaing a healthy lifestyle.

This is merely a few cool features of this new DDR system. Konami will have this product at CAHPERD and again at AAHPERD as a sneak peak but is not planning to fully launch the release until the Summer 2012 or the Fall of 2012.

If you are attending one of these conferences you would definitely take a look!

Wii in Adapted PE?? Wii in Adapted PE!!

I am thankful to adapted physical education teacher Amy Wellik from Mounds View Pubic Schools for being a guest blogger this week! Amy brings to our attention the important subject regarding how active gaming can be beneficial when teaching adapted physical education. As she makes clear, children with disabilities not only enjoy and desire active gaming, but are capable of finding great success at the activies. Here is what Amy has shared:

Teaching students with disabilities in an Adapted Physical Education (Adapted PE) setting has many similarities to teaching Physical Education to students in the general setting. Students with disabilities are more like their non-disabled peers than not. They like pizza, Disney channel, pop music and technology. They recognize and have the ability to use iPads, iPhones, Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii.
And just like their peers, keeping motivated, interested and MOVING is a challenge.
Adapted PE teachers and PE teachers need to be creative and innovative about using technology in their gyms.
When I first introduced Nintendo Wii into my Adapted PE classes, it was an “experiment”.
I was not sure how my students would respond and how successful they would be. I quickly discovered that the majority of my students were familiar with the Nintendo Wii and they were thrilled to use it in school.
Two years later, I have successfully incorporated a variety of games, activities and exercises into my Adapted PE curriculum.
If the goal is participation, movement and improved fitness levels, Nintendo Wii is an excellent solution.
Nintendo Wii Activities I have used in Adapted PE:
• Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD):Wii Fit (Basic run) Wii Sports (Bowling, Boxing training) Just Dance, Just Dance Kids
• Students with Physical Disabilities: Wii Fit, Wii Sports, Just Dance
• Students with Visual Impairments: Wii Fit (Basic run) Wii Sports (Bowling, Boxing training)
• Students with Cognitive Disabilities: Just Dance, Just Dance Kids, Wii Sports , Wii Fit
Technology is in our schools, classrooms and in our gyms. This generation of students understands how to interact with technology and they are motivated by technology. Incorporating technology into any Physical Education class will enhance learning, increase fitness levels and improve participation.

Thank you Amy!

Active Gaming Workshop: Fun and Educational!

Active gaming (Exergaming) continues to grow in popularity and more and more schools are beginning to implement these modern physical activities. It is essential that teachers educate themselves on how to appropriately use active gaming in their physical education classroom to maximize learning. There is finally a hands on, education workshop all about active gaming. The workshop will take place on March 1st, 2012 at the Chicago Bulls Sox training academy in Illinois.

Here is a brief description:

This Professional Development / Exergame Education Workshop shows you the exciting possibilities of how using technology, combined with games and physical activity, can enhance and enrich the lives of generations.

Teachers who attend the pre-conference will hear information from leaders in the field about how exergaming can help educators to be even more effective in reaching our youth. Participants will find this full-day ExerGaming pre-conference fun, educational, and invaluable in helping to promote high-quality physical education and physical activity to maximize the educational experience.

Topics include:

Medical view on how a sedentary lifestyle is impacting our children with life-long disease.

A successful School and Community Model overview, showing results of improved academics, improved disciplinary incidents, and improved health and fitness scores.

Implementing Technology and Exergaming in your facility. Putting knowledge into practice.

How do we prove it is working? Using technology to revolutionize physical education.

Time in vs. Time Out. Help students with ADHD and other behavior issues decrease impulsivity and improve learning. Explains the physiology of the attention system.

Quality teaching in a Physical Education setting, which meets the NASP standards and promotes lifelong fitness.

You can find more information about the workshop including registration at http://www.motionfitness.com/Articles.asp?ID=269

So You Think You Can Dance?

I often find that dance is one content area that many teachers do not enjoy teaching for a variety of reasons. Dance is an essential part of the physical education curriculum, but what are you doing to make it fun and interesting? Why not consider implementing dance related active games such as Dance Dance Revolution or Just Dance (1, 2, or 3) that is compatible with the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Kinect. These active games are appropriate tools that can assist physical educators in teaching rhythmic, folk, creative, etc., dance concepts. These games offer various genres of music from reggae to hip hop which provides the teacher with numerous opportunities to create diverse dance lessons for students. Additionally, students are exposed to different forms of music and are able to learn the history as well as different forms of rhythm in the music.

Implementing technology driven games (active games) is a desirable solution for children to be motivated to engage in exercise. These activities are also affordable and user-friendly. Teaching dance in physical education can be enhanced by using what this generation of students finds appealing and fun. So, do you think you can dance? Try it and let the game be the test!

Active Gaming: Making Exercise a New Year's Resolution?

It's that time of the year - the beginning! Where we sit and think about what our New Year's resolution is going to be. For many, in the past few years a resolution has been to exercise more consistently or to simply begin to exercise. While I certainly appreciate adding more exercise to your daily life, I would also like to suggest we DECREASE sedentary screen time. Sitting in front of computers, televisions, cell phones, iPods, etc., has become a habit - one which is hard to break. The national recommendations suggest recreational screen time (RST) be less then two hours a day. On average RST in society today is over 40 hours a week! If we are going to using screens, at least reduce the sedentary behavior and suggest a more active approach such as active gaming.

Although the benefits of traditional exercise are well known, for some reason as adults we decrease our level of physical activity and then our children do not have role models at home to follow. Physical education teachers need to encourage children to get up and move and provide them with ways to do so at home. Discussing active gaming and implementing it in your curriculum is a great way to show children how exercise can be fun.

Do yourself and your children a favor this year and reduce the amount of sedentary time you spend in front of a screen. Get up and move - if you enjoy video games and technology, active gaming may be one great solution to help you keep your New Year's resolution!

Medical Doctors and Active Gaming – A Nice Surprise!

I recently was asked to present a workshop and a short presentation on active gaming and gamification at the 12th Annual Conference on Obesity titled “Practical Approaches and Guidelines to Treatment” in Orlando, FL by the University of South Florida Medical group. I have presented on active gaming at this conference for the past 3 years and have found the interest from the medical doctors that attended to be desirable. This year, I was able to have multiple conversations with the attendees regarding there thoughts about active gaming as a form of physical activity prescription.

To clarify, the conference was a 3 day event. My two presentations were the ONLY presentations that focused on physical activity in obesity treatment and prevention. Although I found this disappointing, especially as I listened to intense research presentations based on how surgery and pills were a safe way to control and/or prevent obesity, I took advantage of the opportunity and began each presentation with this comment:

“To date, there is not one pill I know of on the market that can provide the benefits that physical activity provides. We know how physical activity positively affects the mind and body in a variety of ways. I am not suggesting pills and surgery do not work, I am merely saying that prescribing physical activity should be something you consider with every case unless there are physical limitations with the patient.” Physical activity will never be a bandaid – are pills and surgery?”

To my happiness as I looked in the audience the majority of heads were shaking as if they were agreeing. BINGO! Now it was time to have these doctors really think I was strange by telling them they should prescribe screens as a source of physical activity! Needless to say, the understanding of how technology has caused an increase in sedentary behavior among adults and children was not difficult for them to comprehend. Allowing the attendees to actually play on Dance Dance Revolution, Gamercize Steppers, Microsoft Kinect, and the Xavix virtual boxing game was a great way for them to laugh at themselves, enjoy the activity, and learn how active gaming can be a great solution to motivating their patients to be more active. Additionally, they learned the cost of these particular games as well a many other active games is feasible!

One Doctor pulled me to the side after the first presentation and shared that after he heard the presentation on active gaming last year, he had completely removed all seats from his waiting room and added Dance Dance Revolution, the Game Bikes, and a Nintendo Wii system. He discussed how his patients would come early and stay later just to be able to play the games. This Doctor also believed that these activities created more interaction between the families when they were at his practice. What a wonderful story to share! Of course, I used this example in my second presentation to bring awareness to the attendees on how active gaming could serve as a fun, motivating way to be encourage more physical activity as well as how, as doctors, they could use this approach as a role model for their patients’ home environment.

There mindset of "just go outside and play" is still desired. Quite frankly, I still desire it as well; however, the fact that this is simply not happening as generations change is a reality and was understood. We need to strategies to help these adults and children be more active. Why not prescribe active gaming? It is appropriate, and not simply a bandaid!

Get Connected: Insight on Microsoft Kinect

Thank you to Natalie Hunter from Seattle who works with onlineschools.org for being our guest blogger and providing us with insight about the popular Microsoft Kinect active video game. Thank you Natalie!

In the past, playing video games was often a sedentary activity which involved little use of one’s body. Other than pressing keys or moving a controller, video games would rarely require one to exert any degree of physical effort. As we move into the modern age, society is choosing to spend ore time staring at screens at home and at work as well as moving toward to taking classes from onlineschools.org instead of being physically active. However, thanks to gaming developments like the Kinect, at least playing in our free time doesn't also have to be that way. The Kinect requires no controller other than the player's body, and precisely tracks body movements as one plays. Today, P.E. teachers can incorporate video games into their classes through the use of the many games for the Kinect designed for exercise.

One Kinect game that is excellent for P.E. teachers who wish to use video games for exercise is Your Shape Fitness Evolved. The game begins by determining one’s goals and selecting a corresponding virtual personal trainer who can help reach these goals. Your Shape Fitness Evolved includes yoga, martial arts classes, and many other various games that can effectively burn calories while providing fun.

Another fun, highly active Kinect game is called Dance Central. Dance Central is a sort of evolved version of the ever-popular Dance Dance Revolution that incorporates the movements of the entire body, coordinating dance moves to classic songs like Jungle Boogie or modern pop music like Lady Gaga. Although this game does not provide the in-depth, detailed workout programs that are found in Your Shape Fitness Evolved, many students may find the dancing aspect of the game to be more appealing than yoga or martial arts classes.

These are just a few examples of active games that can be played on the Kinect, but there are dozens more. With the ability to keep track of the whole body, there are so many possibilities to keep kids active with their entire bodies and with their minds as well. With so many options available, meeting one’s daily exercise requirements can be as fun and simple as loading up a
video game.

Technology: Part of the Wellness Revolution in Schools?

The article below has been circulating and came across my computer multiple times via google alerts and social networking posts. I find it interesting that someone with traditional beliefs speaks openly about the importance of using technology, including active gaming in phyiscal education classes. See the article below or here:


Champaign, IL (PRWEB) August 18, 2011


The 10 Ways to Start a Wellness Revolution in American Schools

According to the late Phil Lawler, fitness-based physical education focusing on health and wellness has been proven to make students healthier, smarter, and better behaved. Unfortunately, the man deemed the "Father of the New PE" by Dr. Kenneth Cooper thought the majority of American educators, school board members, and parents were still unaware of the research regarding the positive impact of exercise on the brain. In an age where physical education programs continue to be cut or deemphasized, Lawler believed that awareness and understanding levels must increase dramatically, as detailed in the forthcoming book "Game Changer: Phil Lawler's Crusade to Help Children by Improving Physical Education" (Human Kinetics, September 2011).

“The research on exercise’s positive impact not only on health—which is big enough in this era of childhood obesity—but on learning readiness, as well as behavior and mood, means PE needs to be the foundation of the whole education process,” said Lawler, who passed away in 2010. "Game Changer," written by the nonprofit organization PE4life, pays tribute to his wellness-based approach to PE that energized a revolution in the world of education. To advance this movement faster, the book pinpoints 10 key factors that represent Lawler’s approach to transforming education through fitness-based PE and movement-based learning:

1. Create awareness in your community and beyond. “It’s simply a shame that more people—educators, parents, the media—don’t know about the powerful research supporting exercise as a learning-readiness tool,” said Lawler. He believed a large-scale campaign of education and communication was needed.

2. Target school boards, administrators, and parents. Principals, superintendents, school board members, and parents all have to buy in to the exercise-for-learning message. According to Lawler, “They need to fully understand and accept that kids that are more fit not only are healthier but also more ready to learn. They also behave better in the classroom.”

3. Make technology a cornerstone of physical education. Lawler thought that exergaming was the future of PE and, to a larger degree, the future of education in general. Exergaming combines the latest technological advances with state-of-the-art exercise equipment to provide students with a practical and enjoyable way to increase their fitness levels and cognitive functioning.

4. Continually strive to be innovative. School administrators need to keep finding new ways to keep children engaged and active. “Bottom line, we need to constantly be rewriting the book on PE,” Lawler stressed. “It needs to be Real World PE 101, PE that makes sense to students, parents, and the public for a lifetime.”

5. Incorporate more movement in the classroom. Integrating movement into the education process, throughout the day and in the classroom, is the cornerstone of changing the way education is done. Conducting lessons while standing up or moving around the classroom is a step in the right direction because neuroscience has shown that movement facilitates cognition and that knowledge needs to be translated to the classroom.

6. Make physical education part of the scoreboard. In most situations, PE is not part of a student’s grade point average (GPA). With the new PE, there’s no logical reason for physical education not to be part of students’ GPA. “A student’s PE grade—if the PE program is health and wellness based—needs to be part of the GPA,” Lawler emphasized. “If not, you’re sending the message to students and parents that PE isn’t important.”

7. Constantly emphasize the link between the body and the brain. Enhancing the learning process must always be the major reason that physical education and exercise should be part of every curriculum. Lawler credited the growing mound of research on the positive impact of exercise on the brain for his belief that physical education will ultimately be the hub of the education wheel.

8. Get the community involved. Since this is a challenge in education and funding, more and more people are needed to spread the message about how fit children are smarter, better behaved, and healthier. Corporate America also needs to fully understand what this all means for their own future and the future of this country.

9. Revamp college programs for physical education teachers. In an environment where childhood obesity rates are increasing and overall fitness levels are declining, a health and wellness model must be the focus of PE training programs in order for physical education to meet the needs of 21st-century students.

10. Research to drive the revolution. Without research supporting the new PE philosophy and highlighting the benefits of exercise for academic performance, there will never be enough momentum to result in a paradigm shift in the world of education.

If these 10 factors are undertaken in earnest as Lawler suggested, this revolution can be expedited and begin enhancing the lives of more children. “I would bet that 97 percent of the country is still closer to the old PE than they are the new PE,” he admitted. “That’s completely unacceptable given the powerful research demonstrating the benefits of exercise in a learning environment.”



Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/395753#ixzz1VfpX6Ule

Active Gaming's Global Appeal

We are lucky to have a guest blogger, Richard Coshott of Gamercize, provide us a look at how active gaming is growing in popularity in the UK. What he has written below demonstrates the global attention active gaming is receiving in physical education classes. Thank you for sharing Richard:


When you think about Active Gaming (AG) you may be thinking about images of Wii Bowling in retirement accommodations, or maybe mom’s keeping up with a Jillian Micheal's fitness regime after the kids have left for school. Another perception you may have comes from the “gaming” aspect of AG, which gives the impression that it’s more of a “boy’s” activity. In my experience with my company Gamercize, I’ve found this is far from the case. Active Gaming is much more than this, and has a much wider appeal, global appeal in fact.

My company, Gamercize, works with many different types of active gaming users, including teachers and schools, and providers products and services to help every person be more active by changing sedentary screen time into active screen time.

One service we provide is a PE Teacher familiarization and training day, to bring PE and technology together, almost like a hands-on “Show and Tell”. These days are a great way to give us a chance to test out the reactions to different types of games, reaching out to new demographics, and acquire useful feedback from students. One event that appeared to offer different challenges was for a girl’s school. We took along a good selection of games, finding the Xbox 360 offered more variety than the PlayStation 3, that has predominately shooting or racing games. The fun part about the equipment we used was any game would work, the active part of the active gaming being to keep stepping to play.

The XBox 360 video game console supports 4 players, although most readily available and popular games available for them support two players per console. There are options for up to 16 players “linked” and countless social interactions available with online play. The cost per station is far more attractive for multiple players per console and the offline play mode makes it much easier for the teacher to be in control of the session without outside influence.

In the UK the adherence for girls in PE is generally lower than for boys, especially at the age range we had at this school, the teens. Some problems have been recognised and addressed, for example not mandating gym skirts and allowing sweat pants or shorts not appropriate for PE wear, but this group remains the most difficult to keep engaged in class. It’s difficult for teachers to keep to curriculum and progress the children if they only sporadically attend class; I was given the job of working out how to engage them more.

The easiest games to engage boys with are sports games, would the same be true for girls? Sports worked well, but it was clear the girls wanted more variety, so to engage the whole class we had to do a lot more. After changing games on the consoles a couple of times we settled into three different genres on all three consoles. Sports was still popular, fantasy racing won out over pure racing simulation and the last genre turned out best; fantasy adventure. This kept the whole class active and happy, and pleasantly surprised as they were expecting traditional gym work for the lesson, not active gaming!

What surprised me was about half the 16 year old’s in class had arrived not intending to take part in the expected gym class, with parental notes and the old “forgotten kit” excuses. I did wonder how many would have skipped PE had they known Gamercize would be there? From the feedback we had, the girls who were not planning to engage in the class appeared more keen on the active gaming class, with many asking if the equipment would be available next week.

One group that knew active gaming was coming to school was the teachers. After running the classes it is normal to use the equipment as an “ice-breaker” with the teachers and to wind down before reflecting on the lessons learned from the day’s classes. It was long past time to pack up and get on the road, but the competitive nature of PE teachers was overriding the message from the school clock. Of course do-overs were the order of the day as we battled it out with Super Monkey Ball Grand Prix.

The only other time you will see engagement over such wide demographics is with traditional sedentary video games. Although technology is not normally associated with the Physical Education department, the active version of video games looks very promising for attendance rates. The teachers certainly saw the appeal, which is always more conducive in a hands-on environment when the reactions of students can be seen first hand and the equipment tried out by all ages.