Introducing and adapting to a new teaching tool in the classroom can be daunting and challenging for educators. Luckily, merging technology with physical health education (PHE) has never been easier. There are a multitude of ways that you can introduce technology to your next PHE class. In this blog, I am going to highlight some valuable and enjoyable ways to combine the two subject areas together.
Embracing technology can help create a dynamic class environment. In a world of technology, this cross-curricular connection initiates interest from students leading to an increase in engagement. Some technology services are more common and easily accessed, than others. If limited technology is available at one time, stations are an excellent way to make use of tech in small groups. Below we have listed ways to incorporate technology in a PHE class:
- Various fitness, fitness tracking, or nutrition apps
- Video – to film slow motion, instant replay
- Video resources online eg. gifs (see below)
- Listen to music
- Use “Kahoot” or “Google forms” to create simple quizzes to test knowledge
- Pedometers
- Heart rate monitors
- “Exergames,” such as Wii Sports, Dance Dance Revolution
- Have students take turns with remote, and have the rest of the class follow along
- Physical Activity (PA) watches
- Websites or edocuments
- Virtual Bicycle Ergometers
- Virtual Reality (VR) headsets
With the use of videos, in a study by Baek et al. (2018), it was determined that students developed a deeper understanding of core skills such as throwing and catching, enhanced ability to connect their performance to the performance of an elite athlete, and overall, had an increased engagement in PHE (p. 28).
However, to focus specifically on the elementary level, in the same study, educators primarily only used websites or e-documents to incorporate technology in their PHE classes. This does not mean that it cannot be done though. Young students can begin learning what pedometers and heart rate monitors are, and how to use them. They are devices used to measure health related aspects such as steps and heart rate and health tracking are programs used to store and track this information. With a developed awareness, young students will be better able to consider their bodies health to make positive choices.
This Technology Integrated Lesson in Physical Education YouTube video by Seth Jenny is an excellent example of young students participating in a technology aided PHE class. As a class the students watch three different basketball passes in video delay, which slows the moving picture and seamlessly repeats the clip. Following, Jenny introduces music, timers, a smartboard, and projector at different stations, each with a different objective.
Next up, we will be talking about how to educate the educators.
xoxo missrose & mickybecks
Photo credits: https://fitnwitpe.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/my-first-ib-article-technology-and-pe-in-the-early-years/
Second photo by Anete Lusina from Pexels