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Thursday, May 13, 2010

Superintendent letter- Ryan Elsasser

To Mr. Superintendent,
I am writing to you in respect to gaining funding for a new gaming system that will greatly benefit our physical education program as well as each student in the school district. As times have been changing, students in today’s society are developing rapidly in the arena of technology. It is very important to adapt to this change within the school districts. I feel that this change is important to watch and use as a teaching tool. Many students are suffering from a lack of physical activity for reasons of incapability or lack of interest. Using the strong interest in technology will help to improve student’s fitness levels as well as their other education. As a physical educator my goal in the program is to get students as active as possible. In recent research, physical activity goes hand in hand with an increase in attention, higher learning, and an increase in scholastics in all students. With the changing times it is important for us to take advantage of this research and its benefits. In previous years athletics and physical activity had limitations for students with disabilities or lack of motor development, however using technology for physical fitness these students have the same chance and ability to further their level of fitness as well as carry these activities with them for the rest of their lives. For instance, a various number of technologies based fitness activities can be used for students with physical disabilities and age limitations as well as physically advanced people. A recent news article, http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/indepthanalysis/story/2009/10/06/national-braingains.html, demonstrated the benefits of physical activity in the classroom. As well as this, there have been studies provided using exergames, in which students have made remarkable improvements in their physical ability, social interaction, and excitement for learning. In saying this, I believe that it is important to look into, and bring the Wii bowling system into the physical education classrooms. In my personal experience with this was an increase in attention, activity, and enjoyment. This system will greatly help students that would otherwise avoid bowling due to the fact that they are not as good at the sport. As it is hard to bring an entire school to a bowling alley, this will allow us to bring the bowling alley to the school. Bowling is a sport that students will be able to continue long after they leave our schools. This can open doors to students, allowing them to participate in and enjoy the physical benefits of the activity for the rest of their lives. I would like to bring the system into a single classroom as a trial period in which you can watch and evaluate the lesson and witness firsthand the benefits that it can have on the students. I plan on bringing the students together in an effort to fundraise for the purchase of these systems. If there are any questions regarding the trial lesson, or the system itself you can contact me at Ryan.Elsasser@Cortland.edu. I look forward to demonstrating the positive effects that this system will have on the students as well as the enjoyment that students get from participating in physical fitness via the Wii system.

Thank you,

Ryan Elsasser
Physical Education Department



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