Using iDANCE in Student Teaching

This Friday, April 27, Professor Yang allowed me to borrow the iDANCE system to bring to my student teaching placement in State Street Intermediate School in Skaneateles, NY.  This school is grades 3-5 and the class sizes range from 18-48 kids in one class.

Having the opportunity to use this system took a lot of planning and plenty of time training with the materials.  Going to Boston, MA with Professor Yang in March to present the Exergaming systems was the start to this opportunity.  This was followed by many days in the Exergame lab using the system and getting used to how it works and how to set it up.  After it was all over, the only way I could describe the success to this program was "It couldn't have gone better".  I have never seen students so engaged in activity dealing with music.  As soon as they stepped in the gym, their faces brightened up and I knew I had their attention.  The best moment of this lesson was having one student who never participates, dancing like crazy with a smile on his face.

The plan for the day was to only use the iDANCE system with my two smaller classes of 18 and 24 students.  However, it was so successful that I ended up having the all of my classes using the program, recess classes, and teachers all coming in during the day to use it.  The largest class I used it with was with 38 kids and was still a success.

My host teacher has been interested in purchasing one of these systems for his school for a while now but has never got a chance to use it and present it to the administration.  I had the principal come in for about 20 minutes during the lesson and within 10 minutes he had my host teacher bring out a catalog to see how much it was worth.  The principal, both P.E. teachers, and all other teachers thought this program would be great for the school district to use within the four Skaneateles schools.

I have found out that it pays to take the extra time and do different things within the P.E. program.  Anything that you do can lead to something greater.  This experience that I had was by far the best in student teaching yet.  Yes, the amount of planning and stress before the lesson took a lot out of me, but by the time I was teaching, I was in the best mood and was having a blast.  So, if there's any advice that I would have to give, it would be to take chances and ask for things that may be out of reach because you never know the opportunities that could arise.   

Experts Rate “Exergames” for Consumers

(Cross-posted via The Exergame Network)

Exergaming (Active Gaming) combines video games and exercise to provide a physically challenging but enjoyable experience. Traditionally, laboratory tests have been used to determine exertion levels and mainstream journalists review and rate a game’s game-play.

The Exergame Network (TEN) has created a next generation rating system which is ready for world wide release. TEN’s ratings system evaluates the holistic experience of an exergame in it’s Exergaming Experience Rating System (EERS)

TEN is a non-affliated, non-profit games for health exergaming advocacy. Its website portal is http://www.exergamenetwork.org/. TEN represents an international collaboration of dedicated health and fitness practitioners, exergame developers, researchers and clinicians, wellness entrepreneurs, all devoted to promoting an active and healthy lifestyle through exergaming.

The peer-reviewed EERS results have been compiled by a panel of world renowned exergaming experts. The system used to rate the exergame experience has taken a collaboration of over 12 months, driven by the previous lack of real world consumer information into the genre.

Exergames are not only scored on exercise and game play, including the physical interface between the two, but also on the interaction of seven further attributes including sustainability and intervention capacity. Six popular video games with an exercise component have been scored in the first results, including Wii Fit, Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), Eyetoy Kinetic, Wii Sports, EA Sports Active and Rockband.

"With so many different games available on the market, a rating system for exergames like the EERS by TEN, is a welcome tool for healthcare practitioners trying to help their patients make the most appropriate choices for their families." says TEN contributor Dr Ernie Medina of MedPlay Technologies LLC.

The highest rated exergame, so far, is Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), which scored 63% with the popular Wii Fit making a mid-table position with 57%. TEN has a resource of over 40 exergames listed that will be peer-reviewed and rated over the next 12 months.

"The EERS results compliment the research work being done in the Exergame Lab at SUNY Cortland. While there is no substitute for scientific research in PE, the thorough rating system is extremely useful to consumers when looking at which product to purchase." says TEN contributor and exergame expert Stephen Yang.

The full Ratings table can be viewed at the TEN Blogsite http://exergamenetwork.blogspot.com/p/exergame-experience-rating-system.html and the resource of exergames at http://exergamenetwork.blogspot.com/p/exergame-products.html The Exergame Network can be joined or contacted via LinkedIn, Facebook, Wiki, Twitter or by email at info@exergamenetwork.org