Advice: teacher's guide to ratio of students per exergame

Exergaming is delivering physical activity very well but does not obviously fit in with the traditional teaching of Physical Education. Aside from specialist gymnastics or sports coaching, the majority of classes are based around the whole class being active at the same time.

The engagement levels of exergaming are very high, using technology that is more expensive and requires more space than traditional PE store equipment. The extra cost and space, for many, will reduce the number exergaming stations available compared with the number of students in the class.

This post explores the options to gain benefits from the technology within a physical education arena. The six options are based on a 45 minute class of 30 students. Using 15 minutes for briefing, warm up and debriefing gives 30 minutes for potential activity.

Option 1 – Play and Observe
Three two-player exergaming stations give a total of six available places for students. This represents a typical resource for a small or medium sized school without its own dedicated exergaming space. The 30 students will be just as happy watching the games in progress, often being quite animated and offering game play advice, as they are playing the games. No child will be left excluded by rotating the class through the 6 stations. A typical 5 minute game will involve one minute of changeover, especially as children don’t like to restart without choosing new characters! While the fun factor is high, each student will gain just 5 minutes physical activity and each student is able to play just one game. A high energy output exergame is essential in this scenario to improve fitness levels.

Option 2 - Multi Play
To increase the physical activity, without adding significantly to cost or the storage requirements of exergaming, the extended multi-player features of some games can be used. Increasing the number of players from two to four per screen doubles the places available to twelve. The number of games that support four players is less than those that support dual or solo play. In practice there are plenty of titles and genres to choose from and the restriction to four player only needs a little more care in selection, especially when children bring their own games to class. Now each student will get 10 minutes physical activity and is able to play two games in the lesson. Once again, the higher the calorific burn of the exergame the better.

Option 3 – Split Class
If the school employs teaching assistants or student teachers it is viable to split the class to further enhance the active time of children. Using the exergaming equipment as per option 1 the class can be split with 6 children playing supervised exergames for a lesson, with the remaining 24 children being instructed in traditional PE. The split can be rotated over a number of weeks, making sure each student has a varied curriculum. The intensity of the exergames must be reduced, and lower energy exergames can introduced in this scenario that makes sure all students are active for the maximum amount of time.

Option 4 – Skill Enhanced Reward
Exergaming can be used as the basis of reward for achievement in PE and still deliver physical activity. The imagination of the PE teacher can be used to the full by adding the exergame reward to skill based games. Three two player exergames can be used as the reward for six students. An example would be a team catch skill development game with 5 teams of 6 students, where the team who manages the most number of complete passes over a set course are rewarded with the exergame. While this team is being rewarded, the remaining teams play the skill task again to determine the next exergame rewarded team. The students are active throughout the class and more likely to be anticipating the lesson with PE wear instead of excuses not to participate.

Option 5 – Fitness Enhanced Plan
There is an existing traditional PE example where equipment spaces are limited, the fitness circuit. This has been successfully employed in teaching skill and fitness development since long before video games were invented. Using a small setup of two dual-player exergames fits in well with existing circuits and will raise the student’s enthusiasm for the entire class. The students will be keen to get back around to the exergame activity, so may need a little more supervision on the traditional activities. The children all get maximum activity during the lesson.

Option 6 – The 1:1 Ratio
The ultimate flexibility is open to those schools that have the resource and are large enough to dedicate a space for exergaming. With such a facility on site it is possible not only to engage all of the students in a PE class at once, but also introduce more specialist exergames that may have a lower spectrum of games that can be played. Unlike a team game, where one PE teacher can supervise a large number of children, the activities will be split and extra teaching resource will be required to supervise such a large unstructured play. To reduce this reliance on teaching staff the lesson can follow programming that is easily understood by the children and introduces a set routine that children enjoy.

From the options it is clear that exergaming has a place in physical education, and is a very flexible resource, but the applications have yet to be written into curriculum. This gives the PE teacher a chance to take these options as a basis, build on them, alter them and add to them.

News: $44 Million initiative supports comprehensive solutions to childhood obesity

Exergaming is changing lives and having a positive effect on the engagement of youngsters in to extra physical activity. These great benefits are slowly being realised across the world, with the help of initiatives from bodies such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the trend can continue. Here is the latest funding news from RWJF.

As the first investment of a new $44 million initiative, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has awarded grants of up to $400,000 to nine communities across the country that will serve as leading sites for its most ambitious effort yet to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic.

Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities will support local action to increase opportunities for physical activity and access to healthy, affordable foods for children and families. The goal is to catalyze policy and environmental changes that can make a lasting difference and be replicated across the country.

The program is a major part of RWJF’s five-year, $500 million commitment to reverse the epidemic in the United States by 2015. The Foundation is also focused on building the evidence about what works to prevent childhood obesity and on supporting advocacy to educate policy-makers and leaders at all levels about the best solutions.

We see exergaming playing a big part in delivering RWJF's objectives. To find out more, read more here, and check back for news on the exergaming projects that will be funded.

Research: exergames break link between video games and childhood obesity

One of the evils that's linked obesity in children - video games - is now being used to promote physical activity by using physically active exergames, research shows.

"When we talk about obesity, we often talk about the fast-food industry," said Laurette Dube, organizer of the 2008 McGill Health Challenge Think Tank. "But that's only one side of the equation - the energy-in side. We also have to look at the energy-out side, and that's why it's very important to look at ways in which we can reduce kids' inactive time and increase their share of time that gets them moving."

Exergames keep kids moving and balance the energy equation, which has shown in new study. The study shows that obese and overweight children who play exergames don't gain weight but in fact improve their physiological function.

Linda Carson, a professor of physical education West Virginia University created two groups of overweight children. The first group spent 12 weeks with a variety of exergames. The second group continued with their regular routine.

After the 12 weeks were up, the researchers discovered that the children in the second group gained weight. But the children in the exergaming group maintained their weight, while improving their aerobic ability and endothelial capacity.

Read the full article here.

Advice: teacher's guide to video game consoles

Most physical education teachers are physically active, having spent a great deal of time from their youth playing sports. When not playing they were training in the gym or on the field to raise their game and improve their best. This lifestyle left little time to indulge in the world of video game consoles.

The video game console is a key component of almost all exergames and this post explains the basics you need to know, so you can concentrate of delivering physical education. The mainstream video game consoles are Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox and, of course, Nintendo Wii. You don't need to know the particular differences between these, they all have the same basic components.

The three main components are the game disc, the console and the controller. The controller is connected to the console and is not interchangeable between consoles of different types. Video game consoles can use up to four controllers at any one time allowing four players to share in the same game. One trick to bear in mind is the PlayStation 2, needs a special extension called a "muti-tap" to enable four controllers to be connected.

The game disc normally holds one game and there are a large number and variety of games available for each console. Games can be either a single player or up to four player, this is shown on the back of the game case. This determines the number of controllers and therefore players that can use a single console simultaneously. You should always check the video game age rating for the suitability of the game.

Loading a game disc and connecting controllers to a console is simple enough. Powering on the console is also straightforward with two main types of power, a simple cord or a two piece cord that connects a power pack to the the console and the electrical outlet. Normally the most challenging aspect of setting up a video game console is the connection to the screen.

Consoles use mainly scart connections or the three of yellow, red and white phono (RCA video) plugs. If your screen only has scart then the little adapter on the right of the above picture is what you'll need to convert from the three plugs to the recognisable scart connection. Your console video lead could, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, be an optional HDMI cable for high definition games which works very well on large screens.

Lastly, don't rule out a projector rather than a screen. These are great for showcasing your exergames during open days and kids like nothing better than playing games on the big screen. Projectors can also be combined with the PlayStation and Xbox consoles to play and show educational DVDs.

If all the video cables still worry you then relax, the good news is that none of these require the set to be "tuned in", it's all plug and play just look for the AV or "source" button on the TV/screen's remote to find the right input. If all this fails, in a class full of children, at least half will know how it all works!

Research: Exergaming 6 times more popular than exercise alone

In this blog we will be sharing research that is relevant to the adoption of exergaming in physical education at school. Common sense tells us that children are engaged by exergaming, the combination of exercise with video games. This post reports on this assumption under test.

This research was completed in July 2007 and set out to determine the free choice in activity of children aged between 7 and 11 yrs, when given three activity stations:

• Traditional games with no physical activity


• Exergaming stair step and cycle fitness machines on PlayStation 2


• Stair step and cycle fitness machines with no games connection

Upon arrival the children were told they could use anything they wanted to. Water was provided as the only drink and the children’s parents were asked not to interact or influence their child’s choices.

As the chart above shows, in unstructured play, children aged 7-11 years choose exergaming over traditional games and exercise. For those teachers who start each PE lesson examining a handful of excuse notes, it is useful to know that children can be engaged in exercise - by adding video games.

Given free choice the children were 6 times more likely to engage in physical activity if it is combined with games.

The exercise station and the exergaming station have the same cardiovascular equipment and the same calorific burn. The time spent on each station showed lack of motivation to exercise being a key factor in obtaining fitness benefits. It was also observed the rate and consistency of exercise was much lower on the exercise station, although this has not been reflected in the chart above.

The summary we can take from these observations is that children are engaged by exergaming, and in using exergaming we get significant physical effort from the children.

For further reading download the report in pdf format.

News: $10,000 Contest to improve middle school physical education

In its first year, Keep Gym in School is funding refurbishments for Physical Education programs at select schools, hosting NFL minicamps to get kids active and assess their fitness levels. NFL teams supporting Keep Gym in School in its first year are the Washington Redskins, Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals.

Keep Gym in School has chosen schools in-need for adoption to help deliver quality physical education opportunities to all students. Keep Gym in School will refurbish facilities; provide funding for physical education instructors and supply equipment, as needed.
Each adopted school will engage in an "In-School Fitness Challenge" to assess student fitness, motivate students to stay active and allow physical education teachers to monitor student progress throughout the year. The challenges will be kicked off with "minicamp" events that will be run by the participating NFL players.

To expand the program nationally, Keep Gym in School will provide one additional school with a $10,000 grant to improve its physical education program. NFL Network will offer an online adoption contest open to any middle school nationwide. Students, parents, teachers and other community members can nominate their school for the grant online at the website.

Keep checking http://www.keepgyminschool.com/ for updates to the contest.

Advice: teacher's guide to video game age ratings

Exergames use video games, which is positive because kids love video games. There needs to be awareness that not all games are suitable for children. Choosing an inappropriate game for exergaming is mentally unhealthy for children and will produce a negative response from some parents. Despite a few high profile games that are considered unsuitable for children, there is a significant number of alternatives. This post is intended to help you when selecting appropriate video games for children related to age groups.

Video games are rated according to age, similar to movies. This rating is typically visible on the outside of the packaging of the video game. There are various styles of age rating scales available -some using numbers and others using letter codes.

The number systems, such as the Pan European Game Information (PEGI), are self explanatory as they provide a number that indicates the lower age limit. Additionally PEGI gives an indication of the type of content on the outside of the package, such as bad language or drugs. The coding systems, such as the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), also include additional information regarding the content of the game, but use letter codes instead of numbers to define an age range. There are additional rating systems, but these are the two main styles you are likely to find.

It is important to implement positive mental practices as well as physical practices during exergame play in physical education. Therefore, paying attention to the video games children bring to class, and considering age rating as an important part of the purchasing criteria for you and the parent is necessary. In practical terms, you will need to decide what the lowest age is during each class, and make sure you are using appropriate video games for all potential users during exergame play.

As an example, to incorporate exergames into a school with children at various age levels, it is essential to avoid using video games designed for older children with children that are below the appropriate age. A game of a low age rating will be a suitable choice that everyone in the school is able to use. Most of the popular sports games have a 3+ age rating; yet, teenagers are also engaged. It is essential that any games with higher age ratings, chosen by older age groups, should be unavailable to younger children.

Allowing your children to bring their own games to class is a great way to get them excited with exergame play. However, if you allow this, simply check the age rating on the package to make sure it fits your standards. And, as we all know how children can be deceivingly smart, make sure the children have not brought an older rated game in by sneaking it into a different package with a younger age rating!

For further reading see http://www.esrb.org and http://www.pegi.info.

Ask us about exergaming in physical education

Exergaming is fun, and it's here and being used for physical activity all over the globe. It's not easy to work out this magic formula of getting games and exercise blended just right, but you don't have to! We'll share what we have learned through research, expert analysis, and of course practical experience from working with kids and schools.

To capture the kids imaginations, use a little exergaming magic and lead the lost boys (and girls) to a physical activity that they find fun. Where they go from there is up to you.

If you want a lowdown on which video games work for which ages, orfind out what products have made it out of the trade shows into the classrooms or want to avoid the pitfalls of exergaming in schools, then just ask us. We'll do our best to answer every question!

Welcome to P.E.T.E.R

Hey there! Thanks for stopping by and reading our blog, the Physical Education Teacher's Exergaming Resource; written by experts to give you practical advice from our experience.

Here you find all the resources you need in order to use technology for the advancement of physical education.To get you started, here's the lowdown from Wikipedia

Physical Education
In most educational systems, physical education (P.E.) class, also called physical training (PT) and Phys Ed, is a course that utilizes learning in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains in a play or movement exploration setting.

Exergaming
Exergaming (a portmanteau of "exercise" and "gaming") is a term used for video games that also provide exercise. Exergames have one element of exercise and one element of gaming. The "gaming" aspect is a short form for video gaming. "Exergames" sub divide into two main implementations, those with a game specifically designed to use an exercise input device and those implementations using a genre of, or a generic game.

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