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School districts compete for grants that bring more interactive, information-based curriculum to gym classes.By Dennis Carter, Assistant Editor, eSchool News.
Physical education teachers are trading in their traditional equipment for heart-rate monitors and video games that encourage running, jumping, and stretching. Taken together, these two trends are transforming P.E. classes across the country and are spurring school officials to vie for millions in grants.
More than 10,000 schools across the country reportedly use heart-rate monitors—wristwatches that calculate a student's heartbeat and heart rate target zone—that make it easier for teachers to track student performance. And a growing number of schools are embracing a new phenomenon known as "exergaming," encouraging students to exercise using video games such as Nintendo's new Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), in which players mimic dance moves on the screen, requiring constant movement.
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New social-networking web site enhances education
The San Jose Mercury News reports on FreshBrain, a social-networking web site created to enhance the education of youth in the areas of business and technology through interactive experiences. Because FreshBrain is a nonprofit organization, the web site service is available to users free of charge.
The web site, freshbrain.org, gives youth ages 13-18 the chance to explore and create through activities and projects, such as changing the image of the Mona Lisa by putting a new face on it, creating a video game, or social networking to start a small business.
Source: eSchool News
