Active Gaming: Research and Results!

My intention of this quick blog is not to bore you with a ton of recent research articles about active gaming. However, it is my intention to make you aware of the fact that active gaming has been in the media lately on multiple occasions - for the good! Below I have included links to several media stories that provide support for using active gaming as a form of beneficial physical activity. Let me say this - Active Gaming CAN be an appropriate tool to use in your physical education classroom. When implemented according to the national standards as well as following developmentally appropriate practices, these activities may certainly benefit your students:

http://consumerist.com/2011/03/video-games-are-good-for-kids.html

http://www.familypracticenews.com/news/more-top-news/single-view/exergames-players-expend-energy-at-real-life-play-levels/5a239edddd.html

http://children.webmd.com/news/20110307/active-video-games-help-kids-burn-calories

Addtionally, check out The Exergame Network blog where you can find more information about research research as well as additional resources that provide evidence supporting active gaming in the physical education classroom.

Exergaming Award Winners: TEN Network Reveals It ALL

In a previous blog, I discussed a survey released by the TEN Network awarding the top Exergames in various categories. Below are the results from the Survey as stated in the TEN Network blog post that you can find here:


The full results of The Exergame Network Awards 2010 are as follows;


- Best Children's Exergame - WINNER: Dance Dance Revolution Disney Grooves by Konami

- Best Physical Education Exergame - WINNER: Gamercize Pro-Sport for Wii

- Best Seniors Exergame - WINNER: Nintendo Wii Sports Bowling

- Best Accessibility Exergame - WINNER: Nintendo Wii Sports

- Best Home Dance Exergame - WINNER: Konami DDR

- Best Commercial Grade Dance Exergame - WINNER: Positive Gaming iDANCE2

- Best Exergame Fitness Avatar - WINNER: Wii Yoga

- Best Rehabilitation Exergame - WINNER: Nintendo Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus

- Best Group Exergame - WINNER: Positive Gaming iDANCE2

- Best Gateway Exergame - WINNER: Nintendo Wii Sports

- Best Competition Exergame - WINNER: Gamercize Pro-Sport for Xbox 360

- Best Brain Exergame - WINNER: NeuroActive BrainBike

- Best Music in an Exergame - WINNER: Positive Gaming iDANCE2

- Best Commercial Exergame 2010 - WINNER: Positive Gaming iDANCE2

- Best Home Exergame 2010 - WINNER: Microsoft Kinect Sports


”The inaugural TEN Awards is a significant initiative to raise public awareness of the commercial grade Exergaming solutions available world wide and to honour the key pioneering manufacturers in this exciting health and fitness genre” says Brett Young, founding member of The Exergame Network and CEO of Exergaming Australia.

”The first ever TEN Awards is a great step in helping both consumers and healthcare professionals know where to start when trying to select (or recommend) an exergame for their particular need. The voting was from a wide array of exergaming enthusiasts from around the globe. I believe this is a great start and hope that this will encourage game developers and exergaming manufacturers to continue to produce great products and raise the field of exergaming” says Dr. Ernie Medina, Jr., DrPH, founding member of The Exergame Network, CEO of MedPlay Technologies, and the “Exergaming Evangelist/Interventionist”.

I wanted to share this article...a good and easy read about active gaming with the exception of one paragraph that is a little vague:

"During one session run by Miller's research assistants last month, it was clear how four students felt about leaving a well-organized dodgeball game in the regular gym to go play video games in a smaller gym."

I am not sure if dodgeball will ever be a developmenally appropriate activity (I may get a few emails for this) yet the article demonstrates how video games may have a strong effect on children and their desire to be physically active. Another powerful statement in which I have observed and believe:

"If you're not an athlete, you generally are not going to have a good time in PE," said Todd Miller, who teaches exercise science at George Washington University. "But if you do something like Dance Dance Revolution, you can play the most athletic person in the class and still win."

In response to this statement, I have observed many unskilled, overweight children experience success with active gaming. There may be something to this generation - an open mind may serve well.

Vote for Your Favorite Exergame!

The Exergame Network (TEN)is a TEN is a not-for-profit and non-affiliated Games for Health advocacy promoting an active and healthy lifestyle by combining video games technologies and exercise, known as Exergaming. TEN is an international collaboration of dedicated health and fitness practitioners, exergame developers, researchers and clinicians, health and fitness entrepreneurs and passionate individuals devoted to highlighting the best solutions offered by exergaming. The network has put together a neat and fun survey to try and learn more about how people feel about active games (exergames). The survey is very short and easy to complete. The TEN Network would appreciate any input you may be able to provide. You can access the Survey here.

Christmas Time: Affordable Active Games!

I previously wrote a blog about physical education teachers promoting active games over sedentary video game play as potential Christmas presents for children. I would like to simply extend that post and suggest just a few specific active games that are affordable, feasible, and easy to use:

Dance Dance Revolution - Multiple webistes provide multiple a variety of games and pads to fit your financial desire.
Nintento Wii Games - Sports, Resorts, Fit, etc...
Microsoft Kinect
Gamercize Steppers - compatible with multiple video game consoles (PS3, XBox 360, Nintendo Wii)
Virtual Bikes - A variety of video game bikes that offer residential pricing.
Xavix games - boxing, jackie chan, tennis

As quality physical education teachers - we need to make sure we are promoting healthy alternatives to the sedentary lifestyles in which many of our children are engaging in everyday.Suggest active games - not the traditional sedentary game! Inform parents, administration, and other teachers. It is a simply solution to replace sedentary screen time with more active play.

Active Gaming in Yahoo!News

Recently, Yahoo!News produced a nice article and video regarding active gaming and physical education. I really enjoyed this article and video because active gaming and traditional physical activity were not compared as one being "good" or "bad". Often, the media produces articles leading the reader to be persuaded that either active gaming is the "new pe" or that the "old pe" (more traditional play) is still the best strategy for physical education teachers to employ and video games are the enemy to this generation. What is hard for many to understand is that a key to appropriately implementing active gaming in physical education is to use these modern activities as a tool to assist students in accomplishing learning objectives. Active gaming is aligned with what our children desire and enjoy; however, these technologies should never be seen as a replacement for fitness and skill development.

Dominique Dawes, a former U.S Olympic gymnast, joined Yahoo!News and myself at one of the USF active gaming research labs located in a local elementary school. Dominique had a blast learning about active gaming and playing with the students. Once she was able to experience the games, hear and see the students' excitement, and witness her own heart rate being quickly elevated while playing, Dominique began to understand why active gaming can certainly be an appropriate tool for physical education teachers to use in their programs. Read the full article here.

Integrating Active Gaming in the Classroom

Integration of academic material into the physical education classroom OR physical education content into the academic classroom is a well known strategy that quality physical educations teachers are not only aware of but do try to incorporate into the school curriculum. Considering 65% of children do NOT recieve any physical activity outside of school hours, it only seems appropriate that the physical education teachers get on board and begin advocating for more physical activity time during the school day. A major issue is that many administrators and classroom teachers believe more seat time is better and more effective. Unfortunately, recent research suggests this is simply not the case. Active Kids are Healthier Kids...Bottom Line!

Children that are moving more frequently during the day are proven to spend more time on task and consequently learn more efficiently. Is there something I am missing or should we not be getting our children up and moving throughout the day to improve learning....The No Child Left Behind Act is going to be left behind if we continue forcing children to be sedentary throughout the school day!

At the University of South Florida, researchers have started investigating the use of active games in the academic classroom. Active games are used as stations in the classroom before and after school, during bell work, after assignments are complete, and to "control" behavior issues. The teachers and students suggest the games are fun, effective in controlling off task behavior,and...guess what? Children are actually LEARNING!

Incorporating active video game play in the academic classroom is a great way for physical education teachers to integrate physical activity throughout the school day to accomodate for a lack of physical education time. There are many economical and appropriate active games (Gamercize, Dance Dance Revolution, Footgaming, etc.) that can easily be used in the computer lab or in the classroom as a station that encourages teachers to let children move while learning! If the children and teachers like it, AND learning occurs - why would we not want to encourage it?

Active Kids are Healthier Kids! Active Gaming is FUN, HEALTHY, and EFFECTIVE!