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.

Just Dance 3 Wins Top International Industry Award

Just Dance 3 Wins Top International Industry Award

Just Dance 3 by Ubisoft has been awarded the top accolade by public vote in The Exergame Network Awards 2011. Active video games nominated by industry experts were put to the public for the ultimate exergaming releases of 2011, attracting voting from around the world.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 5, 2012 – In the category for Best Home Exergame of 2011, Ubisoft's Just Dance 3 has taken the honours with the majority of the public vote. The most popular exergames are dance variations, taking three of the top four places in the voting.

The full nominations and the results for The Exergame Network Awards 2011 were;

Best Home Exergame 2011
Kinect Sports Season 2
Just Dance 3
Exergamer.com
Dance Central 2
Dance Dance Revolution II
UFC Personal Trainer

The results of the public vote are as follows, Winner: Just Dance 3 (39.5% of votes), Runner-up: Kinect Sports Season 2 (22.0% of votes)

”Dance exergames are very powerful for engaging players in an intense workout that has a focus on fun. From my first hand experience of Machine Dance in our facility, XSITE in Hobart Australia, I see the appeal every week.” says Brett Young, founding member of The Exergame Network and CEO of Exergaming Australia.

Commercial grade exergaming launches, suitable for schools, gym and public spaces, featured in The Exergame Network awards with a strong contingent of mobile exergames and unique solutions.

Best Commercial Exergame 2011
Nexersys
Bjong TrezrHunt
Fruit Ninja for Rehabilitation
Exergame Station
Mobile Adventure Walks

The results of the public vote are as follows, Winner: Exergame Station (41.5% of votes), Runner-up: Bjong TrezrHunt (26.8% of votes)
"We are extremely excited, honored, and humbled to have received this award, especially in view of the fine products represented by the other finalists. I want to thank Stephen Yang and his staff and students at Cortland for all their help and support. I also want to thank Dr. Gregory Reeds and Canisius College, as well as The Exergame Network, and of course all the public that participated in the voting. We look forward to continued collaborations, and we will continue to work hard to provide products that let our customers play hard, and to show our appreciation for having received this award." says Michael Pelletter, CEO of Exergame Station.

The Exergame Network can be joined or contacted via LinkedIn, Facebook, Wiki, Twitter or by email at info@exergamenetwork.org

Games for Health Journal - Insider

	ARTICLES PLAYERS JOURNAL ADVERTISE MOBILE VERSION FORWARD
	The Internet has been abuzz this week due to the surprising results from Tom Baranowski’s team at Baylor, which found that children, left to their own devices, get no more health benefit from exergames than from other videogames. The paper, Impact of an Active Video Game on Healthy Children’s Physical Activity, was published in the Feb. 27 issue of Pediatrics. According to Reuters who had the initial report on the study, some public health researchers have hoped that active videogames might be an alternative to outdoor play and sports for at least some of the physical activity kids need -- especially for those who live in unsafe neighborhoods where playing outside isn’t always an option. To test this idea, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, gave Nintendo Wii consoles to children who didn’t already have one. Half of the participants were given their choice of an active game -- such as Wii Sports or DanceDance Revolution-Hottest Party 3 -- and the other half their choice of an inactive game, such as Disney Sing-It Pop Hits or Super Mario Galaxy. Halfway through the study, the 78 participating children, all nine to 12 years old and above average weight and BMI, were given their choice of a second game from the same category as their first. The research team tracked the youngsters for 13 weeks, testing their physical activity levels with a motion-measuring device called an accelerometer. Results showed that throughout the study period, participants with the active games got no more exercise than those given inactive video games. If one simply refers to this statement of findings, it is a short step toward believing that exergames have no health value. In fact, the actual conclusion of the study was “results provide no reason to believe that simply acquiring an active videogame under naturalistic circumstances provides a public health benefit to children.” In other words, like having a bowling ball, simply owning a potentially beneficial asset doesn’t ensure success. It requires coaching for goals, motivation, technique, discipline, and so on. Many bloggers and the more sensational publications failed to read the fine print of the story which resulted in headlines such as “Wii Motion Gaming Won't Guarantee Better Fitness”, “Just because it's Wii, doesn't mean it's exercise,” and “Study rubbishes Nintendo health benefits”. The take away from the Baylor study remains powerful. The health benefits and expectations for videogames lie not within the game itself but how one chooses to employ the resource. Medicine sitting on the shelf and untaken; un-followed post-surgery exercise regimens; ignored recommendations for smoking cessation; and exergames without assistance don’t achieve the expected outcomes -- not at the fault of the medication, prescription, advice, or game. So the question becomes, given the resources, how are exergames best supported to achieve the desired results? My sense is that we have not heard the last on this study and, hopefully, other researchers will build on the results of the Baylor study to better understand exergame potentials. Meanwhile, we have received excellent feedback from our first issue of the Games for Health Journal. If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, please visit the website to see the Games for Health Table of Contents and to subscribe. Warm Regards, Bill Ferguson, PhD Editor-in-Chief Games for Health Journal: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications

Games for Health Journal - Online!

Check out the brand new Games for Health Journal online. As is customary with the seventy journals published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., the online version is posted about a week before the print issues are shipped. We do this to make sure our authors get as early of a publication date as possible for their work as well as use the speed and convenience of the Internet versus traditional distribution of our content.

The table of contents for this, our inaugural issue, is quite remarkable. My editorial provides a bit of a backdrop for the Journal and expresses my sincere thanks to the many people who made it possible. News from the Field shares some of the diverse health game activities that have taken place recently. Next are two interviews with the virtual founders of Games for Health research and conferences - Paul Tarini of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Pioneer Portfolio and Ben Sawyer, co-founder of DigitalMill and Games for Health conference organizer and host.

The Participants in the Roundtable Discussion read like the Who's Who of health game research and development - Tom Baranowski, Peter Bingham, Debra Lieberman, Ernie Medina, Jesse Schell, and Sam Yohannan.

Next we present seven excellent Original Articles; Peer Reviewed papers on a broad range of topics. I think you will find these reports of effective health game deployment to be robust and fascinating. The two Clinical Reports are excellent perspectives and opinions developed by experts in their respective fields. As such, they enable experts to report on trends, developments, and key perspectives at the leading edge of the health game field. We conclude this issue with a review of Jane McGonigal's excellent book, Reality is Broken.

Whether online or in print, we feel confident you will find great value in the Games for Health Journal. I am pleased to be the facilitator for sharing your remarkable work and I encourage you to contact me with your research, comments, feedback, and suggestions.

For the Games for Health Journal: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications - see http://online.liebertpub.com/G4H

The Exergame Network in 2012

The Exergame Network (TEN) is taking new focus into 2012 to explore the various aspects of how exergaming affects peoples lives. The achievements of TEN in 2011 have been without parallel in the exergaming sector. As a non-profit, non-affiliated, international group that has no funding or strict organisational structure TEN operates only through the passion of individuals and on the generosity of these expert's time. If you do not know what TEN has achieved, take a look at the slides below;

The Exergame Network - Report on our Progress

View more PowerPoint from Exergame Network

Exergaming has much to do with change and progression, TEN is changing and progressing with a new format for 2012. The first collaborative Skype call of the year outlined those changes;

• TEN is moving towards delivery focused collaboration in Workshop Skype Calls
• TEN will still maintain it's social support collaboration, with open general discussion calls
• Responsibility for running the TEN social channels (Twitter, Facebook etc) will be expanded
• Projects will be focused to interest groups and collaboration will be largely online in real-time
• TEN will branch out the representation of Exergaming into pure gaming and pure health channels
• TEN will maintain links with games for health channels
• TEN's International focus will take account of regional expert bases, adapting to fit
• TEN will remain a free unbiased collaboration, with an executive steering group based on participation

TEN brings the commercial, academic and public passions for exergaming under one roof, the democratically decided motto of the network is as it does - "Promoting Healthy Exergaming Worldwide"

Last Chance to Vote in The Exergame Network Awards 2011

The Nominations are in and you have four days letf to vote! The Exergame Network is looking for winners in two categories for "Best Exergame of 2011"

The nominations for Best Home Exergame are;

• Just Dance 3
• Kinect Sports Season 2
• Dance Central 2
• Exergamer.com
• UFC Personal Trainer
• Dance Dance Revolution II

The nominations for Best Commerical Exergame are;

• Fruit Ninja for Rehabilitation
• Bjong TrezurHunt
• Nexersys
• Exergame Station
• Mobile Adventure Walks

Voting is open to the public until the end of January. To vote go to http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/763252/The-Exergame-Network-Awards-2011

Physical Education Pre Conference Exergame Workshop

Thursday March 1, 2012, 8:30am to
3:30pm

Preconference
Event to the DuPage County PE Institute Day (Naperville, IL) on March 2,
2012 

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.

Exergame Education Workshop

Date: March 1, 2012

Time: 8:30am to 3:30pm

Location: 

Bulls Sox Training Academy
6200 River Bend Dr.
Lisle, IL 60532

 

Fee: $95.00 / Person for Full Workshop.  $45.00 for
Education Students

Registration Form

Purpose: Professional Development / Exergame Education Workshop for
PE teachers, Administrators, Superintendants. School and After-School programs. Non-Profits. Foundations.

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.

The workshop will be located at the state-of-the-art Chicago Bulls
Sox Training Academy in Lisle, IL, featuring the best Exergaming / Active Game facility in the world.

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.

·         How to Raise and go after funding for your program!

 Presenters Include

·        Dan Lawler, Ph. D. - Retired
Principal

·        Stephen P. Yang, Ph. D.- SUNY
Cortland College

·        Lisa Witherspoon, Ph. D. –
University of South Florida

·        Ernie Medina, Jr., Dr. PH, CHFS –
Preventative Medicine Specialist

·        George Velarde – California Physical
Educator of the Year

·        Sharon Warren – Polar Electro
Education

·        Dave Kurland – Chicago Bulls
Director

Please join us for this one of a kind event where you can learn the potential of implementing technology and Exergaming into your facility.

Originally posted at http://www.exergamefitness.com/blog/article.php?show=physical_education_pre_conference_exergame_workshop

Targeting Sedentarianism with exergaming!

1-11-12: Happy New Year! I hope that you have a great holiday break. I'm sure many received some sort of exergame (such as a Wii or Kinect), and are using it to stay active in the new year.

As I look back on the last few years in the field of exergaming, a lot of the attention has been focused on using exergames as a way to increase physical activity (PA) and to be used as a new intervention for an exercise prescription (Exercise Rx).

However, in just the last year, I've noticed a new focus coming up...that of decreasing sedentary behavior. At first glance, this may seem like 2 sides of the same coin or mere semantics, but in fact, evidence is coming out that shows sedentary behavior is an independent risk factor compared to not doing the your exercise Rx.

In other words, someone who is doing their regular exercise Rx of 30 mins, 5x/wk, but then then is totally sedentary the other 23+ hours of the day (sleep, sitting at work, driving, etc.), is almost at the same risk as not doing your Exer. Rx at all!!! In other words, doing your workout does NOT protect you from being a couch potato the other 23 hours of the day!!!

A study that just came out highlights this in youth. Published by the American College of Sports Medicine, you can read more about it here.

What I like about this new focus is that now, instead of seeing which exergames meet the moderate to vigorous levels of intensity to qualify as "exercise", we are just focused on kids (and adults) being less sedentary!!! They talk about the benefits of JUST STANDING while talking on the phone, for example. With this level of physical activity, EVERY SINGLE exergame would qualify as an tool to decrease sedentary behavior!!!

Imagine schools, workplaces, homes, taking "sedentary vaccinations" by playing a game or two of some popular exergame every hour. It would be a nice mental break as well as a physical activity against sedentarianism.

I think we should encourage more research into the viability and effectiveness of exergames to break sedentary behavior. Then maybe, exergames will be more fully accepted by all those in the sports medicine and healthcare fields and promoted as a tool for their patients/client.

What do you think? Feel free to comment here or e-mail me at xrgamer1@gmail.com or post a message on my Facebook wall (Exergaming Interventionist).

The Exergame Network Awards 2011

Welcome to The Exergame Network Awards 2011

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Welcome to the public voting for The Exergame Network Awards 2011.

The following categories and nominations have been chosen by The Exergame Network Awards Committee. Please vote on each of the categories and share this survey with your friends!

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GameDays 2012 and Edutainment 2012

It is HERE! The GameDays 2012 conference website is now calling all Exergame researchers, developers and users to Darmstadt Germany! Dr Mellecker was in attendance at GameDays 2011 and it was reportibly "AMAZING!"

Looking forward to seeing the The Exergame Network crowd the 2012 event! Here's the link - http://www.edutainment2012.de/index.php?id=164&L=1, and some words from the TEN supporter who scooped the "Best Presentation of the Conference" award;

"I had the pleasure of attending GameDays 2011 and found it to be very well organized. The research and game development content was cutting edge. Teams of researchers, developers, gamers and designers openly shared thoughts and research throughout the conference. The team of organizers keenly assisted visitors and to made everyone feel at home in Germany. The city of Darmstadt has many historical sights and it is extremely efficient. There are plenty of boutique shops for those wishing to fill their suitcases and the food and beverage is abundant! I highly recommend this conference for anyone wishing to share their work with an international audience and/or for those just wanting a great international experience.

Dr. Robin Mellecker"


Here's a little more on the conference itself;

3rd International Conference and 8th Science meets Business Workshop on Serious Games for training, Education, Health and Sports plus 7th International Conference on E-Learning and Games
Multimedia Communication Lab at Technische Universität Darmstadt

The GameDays have been established in 2005 as "Science meets Business" event in the field of Serious Games, taking place on annual basis in Darmstadt, Germany. The principle aim is to bring together academia and industry and to discuss the current trends, grand challenges and potentials of Serious Games for different application domains. Since 2010, the academic part has been emphasized resulting in a first Int'l Conference on Serious Games for Sports and Health with conference proceedings and a special edition with selected papers in the Int'l Journal for Computer Science in Sport. 2011, the GameDays spectrum of topics has been broadened and the different facets, methods, concepts and effects of game-based learning and training are covered as well.

Similar, the Edutainment conference provides an international forum for researchers and practitioners in various disciplines to share and exchange experiences in the emerging research area combining Education and Entertainment. Edutainment 2012 keeps its tradition as an international major conference, which facilitates the international exchange of the-state-of-the-art in academic research and practice. The conference covers all aspects of pedagogical principles, designs and technological issues for Education and Entertainment.

The organizers of the GameDays series highly appreciated the request by the Edutainment initiators to bring the Edutainment 2012 to Europe and to combine it with the GameDays 2012.