Digital technology has done so much to shape the way we learn and teach in the 21st Century. But there’s one aspect of education that we tend to forget when it comes to edtech: Physical Education (PE).
In 2017–18, just over 1 in 10 (11%) 15–17-year-olds were sufficiently active for their age, while just over 1 in 6 (16%) met the recommended muscle strengthening activity guidelines. Staying active is important for health, including mental wellbeing. Plus, kinaesthetic learners benefit from keeping active, and endorphins help keep the whole class calm and focused.
So, it’s important to keep engagement and participation in PE high, especially if your school has been in and out of remote learning recently. Just like any core curriculum subject, there are many ways we can enhance PE class for students with clever apps and devices. Here are some fun ways you can up your PE-game with edtech:
Tracking PB for PE
Technology allows you to track progress of students by recording personal best times for self-improvement purposes and reward systems. This gives a broad idea of the classes’ performance levels as a whole, but also shows individual development and improvement.
To maintain privacy, you can have students set their own personal goals. Then, monitor their individual progression towards these goals, rather than showing their ranking within the class. Break the end goal up into mini achievements to maintain a high sense of accomplishment and drive for improvement.
Get gaming
There are so many different games and sports out there to explore and discover. You can easily teach new and exciting games to your class, demonstrating rules and how to play on your ActivPanel for the whole class to see.
Take Yulunga Traditional Indigenous Games, for example. This government-based website has a wide range of traditional Australian Aboriginal games and sports, suitable for children of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, with easy-to-read instructions and diagrams that you can display on your ActivPanel.
Techniques
With a large display in your PE class like the ActivPanel, you can easily demonstrate correct form and technique for more established sports. Plus, with access to a range of sports science resources, you can ensure kids are being safe and getting the most out of their PE.
Remote physical education
PE class doesn’t need to be limited to the school grounds. There are plenty of no-equipment-needed activities to get students active when they are learning from home. With the ActivPanel, you can get the whole class connected through videoconferencing. Plus there are so many online resources to use for inspiration. Like this blog, which has a host of online PE videos geared for remote teaching.
Incorporating PE into normal lesson delivery
Incorporating movement into other lessons throughout the day is not only a great way to keep kids’ activity levels high, it can also fight brain fog and help students retain information. Teachers of younger students are probably already incorporating movement into their day-to-day lessons with songs that have built-in actions, but there are plenty of ways to get older kids moving as well.
In English, instead of just reading texts out loud, why not get students to act them out as mini-plays? Or incorporate active brain breaks throughout the day, like this simple toe-tapping exercise that students can do in pairs.
Check out our kinaesthetic learning blog for more ways to get active in your classroom with the ActivPanel.
