CALGARY – We fit? Well, somewhat, but most of us live a fairly sedentary lifestyle. And so with the new trend of exergaming –the genre of fitness video games–kinesiologists in Calgary see an opportunity to get kids twitching more than just their thumbs.

Canada’s first Exergaming Research Centre was unveiled Thursday in hopes of having an impact on youth fitness and even dealing with the growing incidence of child obesity in Canada. It is located at Calgary’s Foundations for the Future Academy southwest campus, in a collaboration between the University of Calgary and Mount Royal College.

“Our hope is to try to connect exergaming to the acquisition of fundamental movement skills,” said lead researcher Dwayne Sheehan, a professor at MRC and a PhD student at the U of C. “Can we develop skills like balance? Laterality? Reaction time? Agility? If we can, then we’re one step ahead of being able to help these kids who are at that critical learning age.”

Used to be, the only thing video games slimmed down was the cushioning in your couch. Not here.

As a red curtain in the school’s gym pulled apart, the clattering of plastic footboards on a wooden gym floor rang in the air as a group of 20 Grade 4 students danced in unison to the game Dance Dance Revolution, jogged and performed yoga poses on Wii Fit, and found their balance on plastic snowboards as they slalomed down virtual slopes.

When they step off away from these gaming machines, these kids are meant to hit heart rates at 75 per cent of their maximum, and the slow beads of sweat forming on their foreheads was a good sign they were getting a workout.

“I really like it, it’s a lot of fun,” said student Kateri Oakley, who had come off doing yoga poses on Wii Fit. “It’s playing video games during school, it doesn’t feel like gym class. But you can still get really sweaty.”

Ishaam Agarwala was more into the snowboarding activity on Wii Fit.

“It’s funner than all the regular activities,” he said. “And it’s active, and that’s good.”

The exergaming module at Foundations for the Future Academy will become an afterschool and lunch club.

“It’s not meant to be a replacement for physical activity, it’s meant to be a replacement for sedentary video gaming,” Sheehan said. “It’s important that these young people understand that video gaming is activity and they are the human joysticks.”

The video game consoles, accessories and TV screens were all funded by the Community Initiatives Program through the Alberta Lottery Fund, and there are enough of them for an entire class of 20 students to play at once.

Beyond keeping them fit, these virtual activities may give these kids self-confidence and may even prove to help them learn, said Dr. Larry Katz, a professor of sport technology at the U of C.

“We want to know a number of things,” he said. “Are kids able to monitor their own performance reliably? Can they then take that information, such as heart rate or calories burned, and use it in math and science to get a better understanding of what they’re doing?

“In traditional teaching, we give kids math problems, and they write it out and we say they’re right or wrong. Now we’re giving them meaningful personal data, so they can learn math in a meaningful context, with numbers that have value to them.”

School principal Cathy McCauley said she didn’t have to try very hard to get her students on board.

“They love it, everybody wants to do it,” she said. “Kids today are technological wizards, so this is what their lives are about.

“We’re just lucky that the schools chose us as their partner for collaborative research.”

Parents don’t mind.

“They work toward getting a high score without even thinking about the physical effort,” said Cindy Higa.

“And that’s great.”

nlewis@theherald. canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

Check out this amazing interview with our Exergame Fitness Dubai Distributor “In-Motion” about Obesity and Schools. Great Job Osama! To learn more about them visit their official website here.

NeuroActive Bike

Cardio is good for our hearts, muscles, and circulation, but because it’s so repetitive, it can get boring fast. People help pass the time by listening to their iPods, watching TV or movies, reading magazines and books, and I’ve even seen someone knitting on the treadmill.

Now there’s a new way to help you forget you’re exercising. It’s known as the NeuroActive Bike, or Brain Bike. It’s a computer attached to a stationary bike, and there are 22 “brain-stimulating exercises” or games, that challenge your mind and memory.

The goal is to improve your cardiovascular and cerebral health at the same time.

This was an awesome demo today! Exergame Fitness will be developing our own bike shortly powered by this amazing software.

A very special thanks to Phil Lawler of PE4Life for personally inviting me to this in-service today! I always learn massive amounts of information from Phil. Stay Tuned!!!!

PS: Check out some more pictures of this in-service that I took here!

Active Kids Score Higher: More Activity Time Adds Up to Better Learning
June 2, 2009
Here’s good news for parents, teachers and legislators who want to help kids learn and excel: it’s easy as child’s play.
The 2009 Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, released in collaboration with ParticipACTION and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute – Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group (CHEO-HALO), reveals that children who are more physically active are also more academically fit, resulting in better scores in math and reading, higher grades, greater perceptual skill and overall academic readiness.
“Being active feeds the brain, giving active kids an academic advantage over their peers who are more sedentary,” says Dr. Mark Tremblay, Chief Scientific Officer, Active Healthy Kids Canada. “We’ve always known that physical activity is essential for kids’ health and their long-term well-being. Now we know that it also improves school
performance. A workout for your body is a workout for your brain.”
Unfortunately, this year’s Report Card gives most Canadian children a failing grade for Physical Activity Levels, with only 13% of Canadian kids getting the recommended 90
minutes of physical activity a day. The Report Card also assigns an F for Screen Time, as 90% of Canadian children are still spending too much time in front of television, computer and video screens. Also distressing are the grades for Active Transportation (a D, as most families live close enough to walk or bike to school, but do not) and for
school Physical Education and School Policy, which rate a mediocre C- and C, respectively.
“Unfortunately, in our eagerness to ensure academic success, we’ve cut out time for activity in the school day and devoted it to sedentary study,” says Tremblay. “But
research shows that reducing physical activity does not improve academic ability or test scores. Kids need to get up and move more to enhance physical and intellectual health
and success at school.”
The Report Card does note that there is some reason for optimism, even with the overall failing grade. The number of Canadian children who are active is on the rise—up to 13%
from 9% in 2006. It also offers solid recommendations for how our society can do better.
Teamwork the Answer to Making Time and Space for Play
School schedules are packed with heavy curriculum expectations, parents have intense work demands that eat away at family free time, and governments, as well as
individuals, are feeling the pinch of today’s economy.
All true, agrees Michelle Brownrigg, Chief Executive Officer, Active Healthy Kids Canada. But there are solutions.
“Improving opportunities to be active is not an either-or proposition. It’s an investment with direct benefits that are immediate and lasting,” she says. “Helping the 87 per cent of Canadian kids who aren’t getting enough daily activity will take a concerted, joint effort.”
“Schools don’t sacrifice academic results when they devote time to Phys. Ed. The kids do as well or better than they did when all their work was at their desks. Most busy
household schedules can find time for activity by simply turning off the TV or computer and going outside. Municipalities can and should invest money in parks and sport – but they also need to consider policies and by-laws that act as barriers to play in their communities.”
Look around, says Brownrigg. See what you can do.
School:
Recognize the importance of physical activity. Treat Phys. Ed. classes as any other subject, with devoted time, skilled instructors and assistance for children who need extra
encouragement or teaching. Offer an assortment of activities, from traditional team sports to individual activities like yoga or martial arts. Team up with children’s home supports and local community groups to ensure that the message of physical activity is communicated, just as the importance of homework completion is emphasized.
Home:
Parents can inquire about the activity policy in their children’s schools and insist that physical activity be integrated into the curriculum and overall school programming. For example, school fundraisers can promote movement with dance-a-thons or laps around the school.
You can also lead the way at home through modeling active behaviour and by scheduling time for play. Though families are feeling the time pinch, TV and computer time in most Canadian households far exceeds the recommended limit of two hours per day. For a better academic outcome for your child, replace screen time with active play.
Get children ready to learn by having them walk or bike to school each day. If your schedule doesn’t allow you to supervise the route twice a day, team up with neighbours
to form a “walking school bus” or choose a daycare that uses active transportation. You can also emphasize the routine of daily play by packing a skipping rope or ball glove in your child’s knapsack, increasing the possibility that recess will be an active time.
Communities and Governments:
Communities are vital partners in increasing the opportunities for active play and for creating bridges between school physical activity and family activity. Supervising school and public play spaces in the hours after school can make investments in park infrastructure go further by increasing community use, helping kids and parents feel safe and encouraged to go out and play.
It’s great when municipalities can support active play in their communities through investment in sport infrastructure, but removing barriers to play can be just as important to improving kids’ health. Eliminating by-laws that restrict ball playing, road hockey and skateboarding in public areas means that physical activity becomes an easy addition to day-to-day living and part of a community’s culture and self-perception. The results? Safer streets, knowing your neighbours, higher test scores in your area and an increase in community commitment from kids and all residents. Governments can also provide leadership in the area of physical play by putting activity on the public and political agendas. Active Healthy Kids Canada applauds the provincial Ministers of Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation in Canada, who have collectively set a target of increasing the number of active Canadian children to 20% by 2015, and looks forward to noting their progress toward that goal.
Active Play the Essential Ingredient in Better Performance
“When you add up better health today, decreased health care costs in the future and increased mental focus and academic results, it’s clear that being active is not an
extra—it’s an essential ingredient in raising healthy, intelligent children who will be able to guide our society in years to come,” says Dr. Art Quinney, Chair of Active Healthy Kids Canada. “We all know that Canada needs people with good minds. And good minds grow in active, healthy kids.”
The Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card is made possible through financial support from the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Lawson Foundation, Kellogg’s and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. For more information or to download this year’s Report Card, visit www.activehealthykids.ca

Lightspace Play Floor at the Tuscaloosa YMCA in Alabama.

YMCA video games focus on kids’ fitness – Exergame Fitness Facility

TUSCALOOSA – AL

Avery Jones stood tentatively, clutching a red balloon to his chest. His eyes followed a cluster of red lights moving within the floor beneath his feet. He watched the cluster bounce from one side to the next, tightening his grip on the balloon with each change of the light’s direction.

The light continued to bounce until, finally, it set its course toward him. Before Jones could step out of the cluster’s path, it passed under his weight, exploding into tiny green squares.
Avery Jones was out.

This scene isn’t out of a science fiction novel – it happened Saturday afternoon at the YMCA of Tuscaloosa County, where Jones and a host of other children got their first look at “Lightspace,” a game in the center’s new Kids Zone.

After taking the stairs directly ahead of the front desk, the room of red, yellow and blue-painted walls opens up and is filled with video games that kids play with their bodies, not hand-held controllers.

Byron Langdon, YMCA sports director, said the YMCA needed a place that kids between the ages of 6 and 14 could hang out, since they are too big for day care and too young to use the facility’s fitness center.

Langdon said the idea for the new area came from a Chicago YMCA that recently added the same program to their facility with the help of Motion Fitness, a company that sells and installs the games.

After touring the Chicago YMCA, Langdon said he knew it would be the perfect addition to the new Kids Zone. With the help of the YMCA Men’s Club, the idea became a reality.

“Exergame Fitness” came in the first part of April and installed the games and we played with them for a few weeks to make sure everything was working,” he said.

The YMCA’s Kids Zone contains four areas of play. “Lightspace Play Floor” is an interactive floor surface made up of programmable light and pressure-sensitive tiles on a 10-square-foot dance floor. “Lightspace” has eight games, including Dodgeball, which Avery Jones enjoyed, and a game called “Bug Invasion” in which different colored tiles or “bugs” pop up all over the surface for players to stomp on to score points.

The “Makoto” area looks a bit like a boxing ring with three posts. Each post has a number of lights on it that, when lit, signal players to hit them with special gloves or sticks.

Across from “Makoto” are a pair of exercise bikes hooked up to a video game console, which allows players to control racing games with the bikes.

But easily the most well-known area to most kids will be “Dance Dance Revolution,” a popular arcade game in which players step on arrows corresponding to the music and cues on the screen.
Langdon said the games require movement, which helps keep kids in shape. “We’re trying to do something for child obesity,” Langdon said. “You know, all these games are fun, but you’re always moving.” Crystal Jones, Avery’s mother, said her children enjoyed the games.

“It was fun and it’s something that combines play and physical activity. They really enjoyed it,” she said.

Langdon said the Kids Zone is available to members for free and non-members must pay for daylong passes.

The YMCA plans on renting the space for birthday parties and special events.
“It’s been great,” he said. “It’s all active, so any time kids can jump around and hit stuff with sticks and not get in trouble, they’re all for it.”

About Exergame Fitness:
Exergame Fitness is the world’s largest distributor & supplier of Active Gaming products to YMCA’s, Schools, JCC’s. Park Districts, Health Clubs, Hospitals, Kid Zones, Family Entertainment Centers, Casinos, Government/VA and more. Exergame Fitness provides Facility Planning & Installation, Grant & Funding Assistance, Program Design & Product Training, Turnkey Marketing Support, Free Layout Designs & Concepts, Detailed Programming Curriculums, Finance & Lease Options and more. Exergame Fitness offers the lowest prices on any of the products they carry backed by a 110% Lowest Price Guarantee.

Health Games Research

Serious Games Summit: ExerGaming + EduGaming = ExerLearning

9 Comments by Kyle Orland Oct 31st 2006 7:30AM
Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 2, Rhythm, Exergaming

It’s a no-brainer that games like Dance Dance Revolution can do wonders in combating our country’s growing youth obesity epidemic. But can rhythm-action games also help children improve cognitive skills like reading comprehension and concentration?

Former Florida teacher Judy Shasek would likely answer that question with an emphatic yes. With the help of a $125,000 sponsorship from RedOctane, Shasek has integrated games like Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero and accessories like the X-Board into the curricula at three test schools around the country for the past three years. The results, Shasek said in a presentation at the Serious Games Summit, mirror the results of numerous academic studies that show 10 minutes of aerobic activity before a test can be more helpful than 20 minutes of tutoring, and that replacing four hours per week of class time with physical education helps standardized test scores go up.

What’s more, playing rhythm games leads to improved algebra skills, Shasek says, and reading fast-moving notes in games like DDR helps train children’s eyes for reading text. No ones really sure why these games have the cognitive effects that they do, but the working theories involve increased oxygenation to the brain and hidden, unlocked power in the cerebellum, the brain’s motion and balance center. Whatever the science, Shasek says introducing the games also has fringe benefits like decreased absenteeism and improved attentiveness among students.

Shasek is hoping to expand her program to teachers and schools across the country through her web site, Generation Fit, which includes some great videos of students getting their dance on. She’s also trying to expand the benefits to the adult workplace with Revive! Nation, a program focused on adding rhythm games to break/lunch rooms. With physical activity on the decline among kids and adults, we can only say more power to her.

Tags: DDR, education, EduGaming, Exergaming, ExerLearning, Guitar Hero, GuitarHero, Serious Games Summit, SeriousGamesSummit, SGS