The Games in Learning Project trialled the use of exergaming equipment in four Education Queensland schools. The schools are Gladstone Central State School, Hannaford State School, Ipswich West State School and Narangba Valley State High School. Find out more about what each school did:
Exergaming is a relatively new term describing computer games that can also provide exercise. Examples of these games are bicycle racing games, dance mat games and sports games.
Participating teachers share
Several planning and sharing sessions were held between participants via web conference. Some information that they shared during these sessions is outlined below.
1. How are you measuring / could you measure improvements in students physical activity levels?
- We record pulse rates, times for game races and dancing scores and measure changes over time.
- Each student is using a log to record date and activity (dance or bike).
- Personal comments on how they think they are going.
- Heart rate before and after game.
- We have been looking at improvement using the Wii Fit game's scoring system.
- Improvement in games scores - sometimes we graph these.
2. What other activities is your school doing around the exergaming theme?
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Hannaford
- media analysis - of characters, colours, music.
- open afternoon - for school community and surrounding communities to come in and have a go at the equipment - would like to have a go at interschool competitions.
- staff encouraged to make use of the equipment in their own time.
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Ipswich West
- invited staff to use equipment before and after school
- using digital cameras and creating photo stories
- designing exergaming t-shirts
- designing exergaming posters and slogans
- using some of the AIS curriculum
- students are creating Scratch games around exergaming.
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Gladstone Central
- ICT fun circuit: Wii, SingStar, dancemat
- making a photo story to show parents
- lend to teachers during holiday periods
- teacher competitions during breaks
- sessions for parents.
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Narangba Valley
- teachers borrowing equipment to demonstrate to others
- visit to aged care facility - students help residents use appropriate games
- a "parallel school" for students at risk of disengaging have expressed an interest in using it.
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3. What are some of the main issues that have arisen? How have you solved them?
| Issue |
Possible Solution |
| students being able to use games independently |
- train a few "experts" to mentor other students
- create short cheat sheets to get students started
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| cable management |
- have a tidy drawer/tray for everything |
4. What tips do you have for others?
- bikes with their own seat are best for younger students
- much easier if you have a designated space for exergaming gear
- use the "watch & do" technique for using Wii Fit & Dance Mats
- use a roster for equity of access
- activity rotations can be a part of your Smart Moves activity (note: it doesn't replace other forms of physical activity)
- use it as part of the "Get Fit" and "Fit Body" units.
5. What are your students learning by being involved in exergaming?
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Hannaford
- critical literacy
- media awareness
- ability to reflect deeply/specifically
- how to use the equipment (PS2, changing the source on the data projector, bikes, controller/dance mat hook-ups)
- time management
- sharing
- turn taking
- responsibility
- helping peers
- being able to explain how to do something without doing it for someone
- gross and fine motor skills eg hand-eye co-ordination, left and right
- other ways of developing physical fitness (components of physical fitness)
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Ipswich West
- exercising can be fun
- how to use software and equipment for exergaming bikes
- how to use software and equipment for dance mats
- how to follow a dance routine: timing, sequence of movements
- problem solving/ conflict resolution skills:
- what to do if someone won't finish their turn on time
- how to maximise space for dance mat rotations
- being supportive of peers/ encouraging others to do their best
- perseverance - persisting when the game is difficult
- how to monitor heart rate
- taking responsibility for personal fitness levels
- what 'being fit' means
- how to independently follow / adjust a roster
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Narangba Valley State High School Special Education Program
- how to cooperate as a team eg. when student numbers are greater than four, cooperative turn taking must prevail and sometimes one team member doesn't have the same expertise as another in a particular game. When this happens, I only ever hear words of encouragement like 'that's okay, I couldn't do that well the first time I tried'.
- tolerance and acknowledgement of individual strengths eg one of the students is particularly adept at the Tightrope Tension game on the WiiFit. The other students warmly encourage this person to better her scores and take a lot of genuine interest in this.
- self-esteem of course is flourishing due to the above and permeates other facets of the students' lives eg classes and people that they may be having difficulty with; they know that they are able to do something well, sometimes better than anyone else.
positive routines are established - theory lessons are enhanced by the use of the games eg we use the scores from Wii Bowling in a graphing activity for maths.
- I can't see a time when I wouldn't incorporate the Wii as part of my overall program
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Gladstone Central
- Physical activity doesn't have to be boring (running around the oval) or outside on the oval - we can all have fun no matter what age or ability. The Wii games can be a 'leveler' in skill for teachers & students! Worked with year 4 in 2008, where fun and participation was promoted as well as getting a base score on an activity & trying to improve personally. In 2009 we are working with year 6 students who are more aware of physical reactions / consequences to participating in physical activity.
- Incidental development of social skills - sharing, taking turns, sportsmanship, helping others (in a non-condescending way). Students are very supportive of each other when an improvement score has been reached, which in turn has led to an improvement in self-esteem & positive attitudes to "having a go" at activities.
- Students are learning which Wii games enhance specific Health-Related Fitness components (cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility & body composition).
- A variety of physical activities / exercises (Wii Fit activities) can lead to a more rounded aproach to physical fitness. Combination of activities (Wii Fit - yoga & muscle activities) can work together to improve physical activity.
- Students can measure their physical activity levels / efforts by:
- locating & taking pulse rates
- recording activity scores (looking for improvement or explanation when score is not so good)
- are they finding some activities easier than when they first started and looking at reasons for this.
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6. What are your final thoughts?
- Exergaming is really popular - motivation and enthusiasm is really high.
- Our students display an increased interest in health.
- It's a great way to engage parents and teachers too.
- We also like to use the website http://arcademicskillbuilders.com with our Wii.
- This is a wonderful opportunity. I'm so glad our school was able to be a part of it.
- We appreciate the opportunity to use the gear and share what's been happening.
- It's been great for students motivation and self esteem.
- We are really enjoying using the equipment - it is a fantastic project.
What did participating schools commit to?
Each participating school:
- released two teachers to attend a planning day which was split into two half days;
- received an exergaming kit to trial (kit contents are outlined below);
- provided regular media and curriculum integration examples for publication throughout the project;
- presented findings to an audience of peers;
- facilitated workshop sessions with other professionals in the use of these tools for improving student outcomes;
- had the option to continue to use the equipment once all project obligations are fulfilled.
What was in the kits?
Participating schools received one of the following kits:
Exergaming Kit 1. - valued at almost $2,000
received by Narangba Valley State High School and Gladstone Central State School
- 2 x Wii consoles with 4 x Wiimotes & 4 x Wiimote extenders
- A selection of Wii games including Wii Fit, Wii Play, Mario and Sonic at the Olympics, Wii Sports.
Exergaming Kit 2. - valued at almost $2,000
received by Hannaford State School and Ipswich West State School
- 2 x gaming bikes (exercise bicycles that can interact with computer games)
- 1 x Play Station 2 console
- A selection of games including ATV Off Road Fury 4, MxV-ATV game.
In addition, each participating school had the opportunity to borrow some school-grade dance mats with dance mat games.
How did schools apply to be involved?
Interested schools applied via email to the Games in Learning project officer by Friday 17 October 2008.
In their email, they provided the following information.
A. General information
School name:
Key teacher 1 name:
Key teacher 1 email address:
Key teacher 1's role in the school:
Key teacher 2 name:
Key teacher 2 email address:
Key teacher 2's role in the school:
Which kit would you prefer? Kit 1 / Kit 2 / either is fine
Is your principal aware of and supportive of this application? Yes / No
Is your school willing to provide 1-day release to each of the two teachers to prepare for the project? Yes / No
B. More detailed information
1. How will your school use the exergaming equipment within the curriculum (include a rationale for the curriculum project)? (200 words max)
2. What measures (student, teacher, parent data) will you use to gauge the success of the project?
Selection Criteria
Applicants were selected based on their commitment and capacity to utilise the exergaming equipment in creative and meaningful ways in the curriculum. An effort was also made to select teachers from a variety of teaching contexts.
For detailed information about each school's exergaming projects, please check out the hyperlinks to each school's web page above.
Games in Learning - Exergaming Action Learning Project 2008-2009
