In accordance with the recent release of the NASPE “Why Physical Education Is An Academic Subject” we would like to applaud the organization on putting together an outline for schools, boards of education, and even states on statistics and arguments as to why every school should have Physical Education.
One of the sections specifically talks about how student assessment should be part of every curriculum and provides a sense of accountability not only to the PE teacher, but the school as well. It’s a good time to also look at other tools of measurement as it will only lend a helping hand to proving that YES, Physical Education is needed!
Recently Humana’s Active Games, an online game designed to encourage school-aged children to lead an active lifestyle came up with a simple goal – getting kids active. Humana Active Games use activity monitoring devices, to bridge the real and digital worlds for players, creating an entertaining motivator to increasing levels of physical activity. The internet based games help schools meet state-mandated physical activity requirements without impacting teachers’ busy schedules. In addition, all Humana Active Games use the same technology to track player activity and fuel the game, creating opportunities for school administrators to migrate player populations from one game to the next – maintaining player interest and enthusiasm for the intervention. That same technology allows the team the ability to track game interaction and outcomes, ultimately reporting success stories to administrators.
“It’s the perfect approach to supplementing the measurement tools Physical Education teachers already use. We don’t want to take away from everything they already do so this is a great opportunity for the teacher to provide incentives and rewards for student activity with very little else that they have to worry about,” says Parker Johnson, Project Manager at Motion Fitness.
The Horsepower Challenge is the most popular game – it’s an online game designed especially for kids that combines real-world activity with a virtual race around the planet. Each player receives a smart pedometer that wirelessly uploads steps to a router. The router is installed in a central location at a school, community center, or recreational facility. This data is uploaded to the game, where it can be viewed online. Participants earn points for each step taken in the real world, which can be used to purchase virtual accessories for their character and collectively powers the team’s school bus in this virtual race. The team with the highest average number of steps at the end of the challenge is the winner.
If you would like to know more about Humana and how the Horsepower Challenge can help with your evaluation of students activity please contact Parker Johnson at (847) 963-8969.
About Humana Inc.
Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is one of the nation’s largest publicly traded health and supplemental benefits companies, with approximately 10.4 million medical members. Humana is a full-service benefits-solutions company, offering a wide array of health and supplementary benefit plans for employer groups, government programs and individuals.
Over its 48-year history, Humana has consistently seized opportunities to meet changing customer needs. Today, the company is a leader in consumer engagement, providing guidance that leads to lower costs and a better health plan experience throughout its diversified customer portfolio. www.humanagames.com
About Motion Fitness
Motion Fitness is an Innovative Development Company – Creating industry leading products, solutions and partnerships for a healthy and active lifestyle. Motion Fitness was started in 1998 with a simple goal: “give people the ability and power to move”. www.motionfitness.com
LINKS
http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/about/announcements/pe_core.cfm