Ed+games+for+phys+ed

Physical education and health have to keep evolving to keep up with all of the changes in the world of education. Technology is a key component to keeping these subjects in the school curriculum. Physical education and health are an important part of a student's education as a student's health and fitness level have been shown to improve perfromance in school and the United States is facing an obesity crisis with our youth. Technology and educational games are a great way to get the students motivated and engaged about what they are learning in physical education and health. The two classes are different in their presentations and activity levels, but both can benefit from the activities technology can provide. Incorporating technology in the form of activities in the gymnasium, games on the computer, and technology products are the items that can add excitement, motivation and learning opportunities for all students. __**Online Components for Physical Education and Health**__ Physical education is traditionally a class that is completed in the gymnasium and health is taught in the classroom. Recently, with the technology developments, an online component can be added. My school uses a system called Moodle. Moodle can supplement the teachings in the gym or the classroom and allow the students to explore different aspects of the subject taught without loss of class time. The links below represent games, activities and ideas for teachers to add to a Moodle class to supplement their curriculum in health and physical education. media type="custom" key="9120852"
 * __Technology in Secondary Health and Physical Education games__**

__**Active Gaming in the Gymnasium using Technology**__ Physical education is starting to move away from the traditional games played in the gym like football, volleyball and basketball. A focus on physical fitness and overall wellness is starting to take over. This has happened because of obesity crisis and the perceptions that the skilled athletes are the only ones that are motivated to get anything out of a physical education class. The newest trend is active gaming. Active gaming uses some type of game system like the Nintendo Wii, Xbox, or Gamersize. These games have proven to increase motivation and class engagement for all students in physical education.This equipment is not cheap, but there are ways to manipulate the lessons to allow all students to be participating if there is not enough games to go around. Writing grants is one of the major ways schools fund this type of program. Below are two You Tube videos about the benefits of Active Gaming and links to sites about active gaming and articles about the how and why to add Active Gaming to the physical education curriculum. media type="youtube" key="jsSLXl_m_Vc" height="273" width="336"

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__**Heart Rate Monitors**__ Another technology tool that can increase motivation and engagement of physical education students are heart rate monitors. These tools allow the students to constantly monitor their heart rate while in class. After teaching the students about how the cardiovascular system works, the students find their maximum and minimum heart rates for making fitness gains. The students know how hard they are working and if they need to pick up the pace or slow it down. They also allow the teacher to monitor how hard the student is working in class and provides and objective form of assessment. Below is a You Tube video about how the use of heart rate monitor can increase motivation and engagement and links to more information on the use of heart rate monitors in physical education. media type="youtube" key="KNbGaAEhDNQ" height="273" width="493" media type="custom" key="9121518"

__**Examples of Lesson Plans**__ Below are links to some quality lesson plans and ideas for integrating technology into physical education class. Active gaming is a totally new unit of instruction with many way to manipulate the equipment at hand. But, for online components like Moodle or heart rate monitors, all that is needed is a tweak of the normal class activities. Webquests are also a great way to engage students about physical education and health. media type="custom" key="9121550" __**Research and Scholary Articles**__ Research is an important component to establishing a quality physical education program. The research indicates how effective programs are and if they are worth continuing. The links below provide articles about how important the integration of technology is to the future of physical education and why the focus of traditional games is moving toward a fitness and health base. media type="custom" key="9121566"