Where is the Education in P.E from Exergaming?

Active Video Gaming uses in Physical Education

I've just spotted a new comment on a Gamercize YouTube video that opens a critisim of exergaming that a lot of active games struggle to answer - where's the education component? The overriding answer to this question is there is none, as the game is just a tool for the PE teacher to use. However - some games give the teacher more to work with.

Here's the video that was commented on:





The comment says "I like the overall idea and objective of this, but how are kids working on fundamental movement skills and such. Sure this is getting heart rates up, but not actually teaching them any skills or ways to stay active throughout their lives."

Yes, Gamercize does raise HR to moderate to vigorous levels, so that's a tick in the box for physical activity, but what of  the skill component? True, Gamercize is not teaching kids how to catch, but we're looking at more advanced kids - the ones that are engaged by video games.

Gamercize in this implementation is being used to teach

• Sport strategy - seeing the big picture of team interaction and how tactics can be employed
• Team play - co-operation and communication between teams of 2 to achieve a sports objective
• Physiology - which muscles are working and how energy is being created for them 

I'm not a PE teacher, so that is just first impression view and I'm sure those more experience in PE will be able to find different modes of implementation that lever the power of engagement into video games to reach lesson objectives!

As for the second part of the question above, kids are like wind-up toys - just give them the opportunity to get moving and give them a start and they'll keep on moving :)

Originally posted at http://gamercize.blogspot.com/2013/03/where-is-education-in-pe-for-exergaming.html

The Cause of Obesity

(Source: http://gamercize.blogspot.com)

It should come as no shock that there is an obesity crisis. We hear it in the news every now and again, but what's the problem. A few more fat people? It's actually quite a serious issue.

For an individual take a look at this graphic

(source : https://www.ldh.nhs.uk/obesity_01.htm)

For the population that's not overweight of obese (congratulations!) there is still a serious issue

(source : http://www.getamericafit.org/statistics-obesity-in-america.html)

What this means is fit or fat, you're affected by obesity, either in your health or your wealth.

This is an outcry I hear you say. I'd agree. There is no mistake that I have cited UK and USA sources above, obesity is a global epidemic - a pandemic. So what are our individual countries doing to fix this for us?

The the UK we have the Change4Life campaign. Eat less, move more! Great. In the USA we have Healthy People and latterly supplemented with Let's Move! In Canada there's of course Active Healthy Kids Canada. Everything's ok now we have these great quasi-government organisations fighting for our health?

Not quite. All of these organisations have a common flaw. They do not adapt, they do not learn, they do not get disbanded if they are ineffective.

First on the block for the chop is Healthy Active Kids Canada.

"Since the formation of the Active Healthy Kids Canada in 1994, according to "Obesity in Canada - Snapshot" published by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the levels of obesity have grown from just over 20% to nearly 25%."

Next up Healthy People 2010

 "Since the inception of Healthy People 2010 in 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the states in America that have an obesity prevalence of 30% grew from zero states in 2000 to 12 states in 2010".

What about Change4Life?

"Since the creation of the Change4Life campaign in 2009, according to the National Health Service commissioned statistics via ONS, the percentage of overweight or obese children had grown from 17% reported in 2009 to 30%"

Why if the obesity problem is recognized and agencies have been set up to combat the problem is it still getting worse? Costing us our health and our wealth? The answer is a lack of knowledge about the population they are trying to help. Technology is becoming increasingly more important in work and leisure for the modern western individual and these agencies are still touting the "go play outside" message for increasing physical activity. All of them have dismissed exergaming as part of the solution.

Exergaming is dismissed because a few studies in Nintendo Wii have failed to produce the illusive 60 minutes of MVPA (Moderate to Vigourous Physical Activity, basically, being out of puff) that most governments recommend. Equally, most people get bored of Wii Sports and go play Mario Kart instead. The lack in understanding of exergaming, and the natural aversion to technology, causes the obesity agencies to make a fatal (that'l be fatal you you, not them) mistake and provide incorrect guidance. So what if exergaming ticked the boxes for sustainability, for MVPA?

Contrary to stereotypical or ignorant belief, exergames can. At least, Gamercize can. If you only ever read one piece of research this decade, make it this one. Exergaming MVPA, sustainability and of course comparison against the dreaded Wii.

(source : http://exergaming.pbworks.com/w/file/61482197/BHF%20Exergaming%20Poster.pdf)

So what causes obesity? Ignorance. Or to be blunt - the ignorance of the agencies set up to combat the situation. We know exergaming works, see above, but the agencies deny this. I would rather suggest honest stupidity over a desire to worsen the crisis in order to justify the expansion the respective agencies budgets. Well, maybe I might just hint at that.

Source: The Cause of Obesity

Exergaming through the ages – Wii sets ‘em up, Kinect knocks ‘em down

A specific wave of video games is relegating Billy Blanks, Jane Fonda, and, yes, I admit, Richard Simmons to our media cabinets.  Exergaming, the phenomenon that combines exercise and video games is making its way into every facet of our lives.  The five-by-eight foot space in front of our television sets is being increasingly taken over by motion control games, those games that are controlled entirely by body movements.  With state-of-the-art technology – namely from Nintendo, Sony, and, most recently, Microsoft – we now have a myriad of systems to choose from.  VHS, no more!  Bring in the video games to whip me into shape.

‘Exergaming’ has been coined as a rather catchy media term to detract critics from the notion that gamers are typically exercise-averse.  The word officially entered the English language by appearing in the Collins English Dictionary in 2007.  As a field that has been gaining momentum since the 1980s, the field of videogame exercise is poised to only increase followers.  From scientific circles to educational organizations and professional sports teams, the games we play in our homes have found a footing in our society’s agenda to improve our overall well being.

My first brush with action-packed video gaming took place at an arcade at a mini-golf/go-cart/batting cage emporium in my suburban, Chicago hometown.  A rather astute young man was going at it on a http://www.ddrgame.com/ round for what seemed like hours.  Dripping with sweat and oblivious to those around him, Mr. DDR let his Airwalks meet their maker with every step he matched from the screen to the mat.

Konami, the creator of the 1998 DDR game, has certainly capitalized on its early success.  With Sony carrying Dance Dance Revolution over from the arcade to its Playstation, consumers were able to have their own dance mats in their living rooms and brush up on their dance skills at home.  Other early games that featured an under-foot mat included Nintendo’s Dance Aerobics with the Power Pad and Atari’s Foot Craz.  The Power Pad games reached respectable commercial success.  The Atari product, eventually, like much of its franchise, did not fare as well.

Exercise machines are also no strangers to the gaming world.  Nintendo and Life Fitness released the short-lived Exertainment system, which featured a pedal-driven stationary bicycle.  These days, the Gamercize machines are compatible with each of the Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo systems, and Expresso offers a rendition for consumers.  Although lackluster in their gaming appeal, they are undoubtedly items that many people are dropping money on to lose pounds.

As who was the most visible contender in the media in the 2000s, Nintendo made a comeback to the fitness video game business in a big way.  Not only as an entertainment tool with secondary physical benefits, the Wii become a solid means of getting healthy.  In 2007, Nintendo released the WiiFit. From then on out, the Nintendo became a staple for women everywhere to cancel their yoga center memberships and peacefully train on their Wii Balance Boards.

These fitness games are even changing the way the scientific community thinks about treatment for neuromuscular disorders.  Take Wii-hab for instance.  Parkinson’s Disease patients show some evidence of improving motor control after playing the Wii after a period of time.  Some users show how even autism might be seen as less of a disability with the Microsoft Kinect.  For autistic children who find traditional video game controllers difficult to master, taking advantage of the gross movements that control the games makes one more activity easier.

One only needs to look to two major metropolises to see how more and more children benefit from fitness gaming.  In Chicago, children’s athletic training programs have been leveraging virtual fitness for their agenda.  It’s all about the children, and they have been getting ample attention in New York public schools.  In lieu of a traditional gym class, an elementary school in the Bronx tried out WiiFit on a group of students in 2009.

The exergaming world has had its share of wrong turns, however, but many of today’s games are pretty engaging.  EA Sports Active suite of games, The Biggest Loser empire, and WiiFitPlus are all experiences that I am willing to try.  My personal favorite right now is Dance Central 2 for the Xbox and Microsoft Kinect.  In fact, anything that has to do with Kinect has a certain je ne sais quoi about it.  This system has somehow managed to capture the interest of the most unlikely candidates.  From girls claiming on their blogs that it is their workout of choice to dogsrunning around robotics conferences with a Kinect camera on their heads, well, it’s held me captive.  The new Dance Central 2 is a game that brings me back to those first days of Dance Dance Revolution, when we spent evenings gawking at the professionals at work.  I don’t believe that I’ll miss the familiar faces of the old-time fitness gurus on my TV now that I am the one in control.

Originally posted : http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2011/12/04/exergaming-through-the-ages-wii-sets-em-up-kinect-knocks-em-down/

Increased activity stressed for office workers

Summer vacations are over for most people, so it’s time to head back to the daily grind. But work today doesn’t usually mean breaking a sweat. More of us are spending our 9 to 5 at a desk — and we’re less healthy as a result.

A study published in May by the online journal PLoS One estimates that Americans are burning more than 100 fewer calories per day in the workplace than they did just a few decades ago, when fewer jobs were confined to a desk.

“We’ve had massive changes in the ‘workplace’ environment, and in this case, it’s a loss of physically active jobs,” said lead author Tim Church, an exercise researcher at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

Church and his colleagues found that the number of people in jobs requiring moderate physical activity decreased from 48 percent in 1960 to 20 percent in 2008. The researchers also found a match between the drop in calories burned and increase in average weight during the past five decades.

A few creative types have come up with ideas to increase workplace activity. For example, endocrinologist James Levine of the Mayo Clinic has promoted the treadmill desk, which lets you walk slowly as you work at an attached desktop; factory-made models cost $2,000 and up. There are under-desk step machines such as the $195 Gamercize PC-Sport; if you stop pedaling, your mouse or keyboard stop working.

Toni Yancey, a researcher at the UCLA School of Public Health, has developed and written a book about a 10-minute exercise routine called “Instant Recess.” It includes both strength training and aerobic exercises that can be done within the boundaries of a cubicle.

Whichever approach workers might take, researchers agreed, the most important step is getting up and moving.

“Something’s always better than nothing,” Church said.

Originally posted at http://www.bendbulletin.com/article/20110907/NEWS0107/109070371/

Exergaming putting PE in the news (Video)

Children are supposed to get 60 minutes of exercise a day, and that's often not happening. With child obesity rates rising and kids interest in physical education dropping, educators are constantly trying to craft new and exciting ways to get kids pumped about fitness.

Lisa Hansen is leading the way with research and practical application of exergaming in schools. The USF Research Labs are showing that technology and PE can co-exist with results that the kids love!

Video games and physical fitness: MyFoxTAMPABAY.com

Positive Gaming sponsors TEN at AAHPERD 2011

iDANCE and TEN in San Diego!

Positive Gaming is the sponsor with TEN T-Shirts as the Official uniform of the Exergame Workshop: Oceans of Opportunities 4 Better Health, spearheaded by SUNY Cortland.
This experiential multidisciplinary workshop will focus on how exergames (video games that require physical exertion to play) can be used as a means to accumulate more physical activity in today’s sedentary society. Our panel will lead live demonstrations and competitions on the use and benefits of exergames in schools, fitness clubs, and at home. Don’t miss your chance to meet the leaders in exergaming from education, health care, advocacy, fitness, research, manufacturing, and marketing.
The sessions will include presenters from many different aspects of the exergaming world, with support from SUNY Cortland students running demonstrations on stations such as iDANCE2, Gamercize, Xavix and Exergame Station.
The event will take place on Tuesday 29th March from 8:00AM in San Diego and has a Facebook group where you can ask the experts, pick up information and follow the sessions if you cannot attend in person.
Huge thanks to Positive Gaming for the sponsorship of the TEN uniforms with their showcase product iDANCE2, which will be in the forefront of the workshop. Thanks also to Jill from www.bstreethill.com for helping TEN out with the production of the Tees at seriously short notice!

Exergaming and the Feedback Loop

Focus groups, customer polls, consumer surveys even the good old "suggestion box" have one purpose, to find out what others think. This is important for exergaming because it is a relatively new experience for most.

We've seen an increased importance over the last year being placed on "implementation". This comes in the context of programmes for commercial clubs and lesson plans for schools. There's not a whole lot out there to help with the most convenient of exergame arenas - the home.

The majority of "fitness games", such as Wii Fit plus and EA Sports Active, do guide you through a workout regime in much the same way that a personal trainer might. There is of course one huge difference, there's no "personal" in a games disc. The feedback the game has is limited to what it can measure.

It can't tell you if losing 1lb per week is a great, if you goal is actually improved cardio fitness over and above weight loss. The game can't tell when you're bored, too tiered or needing motivation. With these limitations, how good can exergaming in the home really be?

What we need is feedback! Luckily there is one place we can get this feedback, Gamers for Health. We first reported on the new work group titled Gamers for Health here. Gamers for Health provides ECA members and the gaming community with the tools and resources necessary to help incorporate gaming activities into healthy lifestyles.

The ab-initio exergamers have struggled through motivation slumps and aches and pains to report on what people should expect from home exergaming. If you wanted to know one thing about their experiences, had one question to ask... what would that question be?

Active Gaming Videos at University of South Florida

Active Gaming at USF (via Exergame Consulting)

Active Gaming - Video games aren’t just about mindless button pushing anymore, as systems like the Nintendo Wii and the Xbox Kinect are encouraging players to get up off the couch and get moving.

University Beat on WUSF TV takes you to USF’s Active Gaming lab as the Executive Director of President Obama’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition visits researchers who are looking at how these games can help fight childhood obesity.

Experts at USF are looking at how video games and “active gaming” can be used in schools to battle childhood obesity, and their work recently caught the attention of the nation’s top physical fitness director.

Please click here to see more information on Dr. Lisa Hansen Ph.D. Assistant Professor at USF’s School of Physical Education & Exercise Science

University Beat on WUSF 89.7 FM has the story. WATCH VIDEO

Asst. Professor Lisa Hansen, the Co-director of the USF Active Gaming Research Lab, talks about the purpose of the lab—both for the children and the researchers. She also talks about the kinds of games in the lab, including the Gamercize “stepper” device.

Dr. Colleen Kennedy, Dean of the USF College of Education, talks about the kind of interdisciplinary research the lab is involved in, as well as what the students thinks of the lab.

Shellie Pfohl, Executive Director of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, says the Active Gaming Research Lab ‘enhances’ regular physical education.

Original Source:
WUSF

Study: Xbox is better exercise than Wii

Active Gaming Proved To Keep Kids Interested

Two major criticisms of using active gaming for physical activity are the lack of exercise compared to traditional activity and the expectation that kids easily get fed up with the new way of moving.

Two linked studies in the United Kingdom have tackled these issues head-on by trialling active gaming in a free-play environment. Two schools in the Midlands undertook a medium term study using popular active games compared against free play in the playground.

The effort that the kids expended was converted into “steps” to make the results comparable between the playground and the video games. The initial study, over six weeks used Nintendo Wii Sports active play compared with the baseline of traditional play. The results showed that in week one the Wii was king of the calories, keeping kids 25% more active than the playground.

After the first week, the criticisms of boredom and poor exercise appeared well founded, as Wii exercise floundered to a poor 65% of traditional activity. The study was then repeated, this time using Xbox and Gamercize Power Steppers. The results, unexpectedly, turned the thinking about the shortcomings of active gaming on its head.

For the second data collection, the kids had to keep moving on the Gamercize steppers to power their controllers and play the game, which would pause if they stopped moving. Normal video games are compatible with Gamercize and games such as Lego Star Wars and FIFA were used.

The Gamercize results were similar to Nintendo’s results for week one, reflecting the kids excitement of “something new”. What happened next was unexpected. Rather than the initial interest tailing off like it did with Wii, the combination of Xbox and Gamercize kept the kids playing, engaged and active throughout the entire study period.

The Wii data supported the loss of interest and lack of exercise critisims of active gaming, but Gamercize for Xbox did not suffer a lack of interest over time or a drop in physical activity. What can we conclude from this? As a physical activity intervention, Gamercize uses the attraction of videogames to keep the kids engaged and the patented Gamercize approach of minimal interaction kept the kids active the whole time.

Results of the Gamercize study have been presented at the European Child Obesity Group. Reference: Duncan, M. J., Birch, S., Woodfield, L., Hankey, J. (2010) An evaluation of a 5-week, school-based, exergaming intervention using the Gamercize power stepper on body mass index and physical activity during school lunch breaks in British primary school children. Proceedings of the 20th Annual Workshop of the European Child Obesity Group, Nov 17-20th, Brussels, Belgium.

The Exergame Network Award Categories

Fifteen categories cover the new generation of Active Video Games (Exergames) with nominations from industry experts. The Exergame Network's Active Gaming Awards have the following categories and nominations are:

The awards for the winners will be made in January, so get voting now! Make you vote count with the quick and simple survey at http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/421003/vote

1. Best Children's Exergame

Place your vote from the following finalists in the award that gets younger kids moving with active video gaming!

- Dance Dance Revolution Disney Grooves by Konami

- Wild Planet Hyper Dash

- Atari Family Trainer

- Just Dance Kids by Ubisoft

- Nickelodeon Fit by 2K Play

2. Best Physical Education Exergame

Place your vote from the following finalists in the award for an active video game that is best to use in PE classes

- HOPSports Training System

- Gamercize Pro-Sport for Wii

- Cyber Coach

- Xer Pro Sportwall

- Target Trainer

3. Best Seniors Exergame

Place your vote from the following finalists in the award to an active video game for the "silver gamer"

- Sony Eyetoy - Play

- Wii Sports - Bowling

- Cobalt Flux - Dancetown

- XaviX - EYEHAND

- NeuroActive Brainbike

4. Best Accessibility Exergame

Place your vote from the following finalists in the award for an active video game suitable for players with disabilities

- Nintendo Wii Sports

- Cobalt Flux - Hand Dance Pro

- Eyetoy - Play for PS2

- The GameCycle

- Target Trainer

5. Best Home Dance Exergame

Place your vote from the following finalists in the award for a console based dance video game

- Konami DDR

- Just Dance by Ubisoft

- Activision Dance Masters

- StepMania

- Microsoft Kinect Dance Central

6. Best Commercial Grade Dance Exergame

Place your vote from the following finalists in the award for an active video game dance system suitable for youth clubs and fitness facilities

- In the Groove 2

- Positive Gaming iDANCE2

- Cobalt Flux Blufit

- Pump It Up Pro

- Xerdance

7. Best Exergame Fitness Avatar

Place your vote from the following finalists in the award for the hottest in-game virtual trainer!

- Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum

- Daisy Fuentes Pilates

- Your Shape Fitness Evolved

- Wii Yoga

- Jackie Chan PowerBoxing

8. Best Rehabilitation Exergame

Place your vote from the following finalists in the award for an active video game used in physical therapies

- Wii Sports

- Sony Eyetoy for PS2

- Wii Sports Resort

- Trazer 2

- Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus

9. Best Group Exergame

Place your vote from the following finalists in the award for an active video game for four players or more

- Positive Gaming iDANCE2

- Gamercize Pro-Sport with Xbox LIVE

- Xerdance

- Cobalt Flux Blufit

- HOPSports Training System

10. Best Gateway Exergame

Place your vote from the following finalists in the award for an active video game that encourages participation in traditional physical activities

- Wii Sports

- XaviX Sports

- PlayStation Move Sports Champions

- Microsoft Kinect Sports

- Humana Horsepower Challenge

11. Best "Head to Head" Competition Exergame

Place your vote from the following finalists in the award for a two player active video games best for 1 on 1 competition

- Exerbike for PS2

- GameBike for PS2

- Gamercize Pro-Sport for Xbox 360

- Web Racing for PC

- LightSpace Wall Peter Welsh Boxing

12. Best Brain Exergame

Place your vote from the following finalists in the award for a brain training game that requires physical activity

- NeuroActive BrainBike

- Footgaming FootPOWR Pad

- Fisher Price Smart Cycle

- Gamercize PC-Sport

- V.Smart Motion

13. Best Music in an Exergame

Place your vote from the following finalists in the award for an active video game with good songs or music

- Ubisoft - Just Dance

- Positive Gaming iDANCE2

- Cobalt Flux Blufit

- Xerdance

- Wii - Walk it Out

14. Best Commercial Exergame 2010

Place your vote from the following finalists in the award for an active videogame system suitable for youth clubs and fitness facilities that was launched in 2010

- Makoto 2

- Cobalt Flux Blufit

- Positive Gaming iDANCE2

- Trazer 2

- GameBike 2

15. BEST HOME EXERGAME 2010

Place your vote from the following finalists in the top award, for a console based active video game for home use that was launched in 2010

- PlayStation Move - Start the Party

- Microsoft Kinect Sports

- Nintendo Motion Plus - Wii Sports Resort

- Ubisoft Just Dance for Wii

- EA Sports Active 2 for Wii

To vote please go to http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/421003/vote, thank you!

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