Exercise + Game = EXERGAMEING!

Video games have had a bad rep in the past. It was said that it makes the young lethargic and rots their minds. With Exergames neither is the case! Exergames is a opportunity to stimulate the mind and body while playing a video game! Technology in this area can really make an impact on the face of future PE classrooms. Not only do the games get you moving and having fun, they can be educational as well!

Bringing education in with the physical activity is a huge innovation. This allows the opportunity for students to learn different subject through their movements. The game Hyperdash is an excellent example of this. This is a target tagging race course game. It is a game that can be modified in many ways. It can be set up as a course, where the students would have to run around finding the colors or numbers the Hyper Dash unit calls out. This is a way for youngsters to learn their colors and numbers in a fun and active way! The course can be changed around whenever during game play, having the multicolor pods scattered around their room and students would have to overcome obstacle in order to get to the pod. It is a fun way to learn to be active and even compete to try and beat your fastest score!

There are other ways to bring education into the PE classes. For younger students there are foam cut outs and pieces that match up. These can be utilized in PE in a multitude of ways. The only limit to the activity would be your imagination. The students could move around the room trying to find the match to their piece. So many games involving such simple items can be played and with different objectives!

For students who love to go on bike rides there’s an exergame for them too! It is an interactive biking game. The students get to ride their bike and steer to the position they are at one the screen. The screen gives a course with different subjects such as, counting and the alphabet. Now the students are able to bike and learn in the classroom! There is even more to the interactive bike game the course sets up lots of turns and obstacles that need to be avoided. This works on the students cognitive problems solving skills that relate to their movements so they can avoid the obstacles and continue the game.

 There are even biking games for the older students as well! Games like these can be  used for any ages.

What about the older students? Of course there are a variety of activities for the upper grade levels.  There is the classic DDR game newly modified to incorporate a whole class’s participation! The class gets to dance as a group grooving to the music and having a good time.   

There is another game out that is similar to DDR but upgraded! It is kickboxing to the beat! This great form of exercise while working on timing and coordination.

An idea for using this for other school subjects would be to make a song up about the subject of study and upload it onto the music player and kick box to the beat of the educational song! MOVE GROOVE AND LEARN! Finally a chance to relieve all the built up stresses of school! ;)

These are video games can enhance ones health, mind, and body. Technology is a huge part of our lifes already. Why not make it part of our healthy living?