Posts tagged BrainBike
Model Physical Education Program Demonstration Days
Sep 19th
One of the long standing professional strengths of educators is their willingness to share ideas and programs that are working with other teachers and principals. This professional courtesy has helped thousands of other schools and children to benefit from the original school’s hard work and success. For example, if a school is getting great results in reading the school and teachers invite people in to hear how they constructed their success or present at state and national conferences so they can give that same advantage to others.
One of the best examples in physical education has been work lead by George More >
Choice Health Fitness Grand EXERGAMING Opening
Sep 12th
The IMAGINE campaign began in 2007 when a group of Grand Forks citizens started raising funds to build a new health and wellness facility and renovate the existing Family YMCA. Thanks to donors’ and business sponsors’ vision and generosity, all residents can now benefit from exceptional new health and fitness facilities.
We have found nothing quite like it in the country. Today, this historic movement has allowed the Grand Forks Park District the ability to continue enhancing lives throughout the community. Through a more efficient use of combined knowledge, expertise, resources and strengths, Choice Health & Fitness and Altru Family YMCA promise More >
Play Games to Get Healthy
Sep 5th
Play games? Yes, playing games can improve your fitness and overall health. The American Medical Association strongly supports prevention and wellness efforts to promote a healthy America, including the promotion of physical fitness, and activity-based games (Exergames) offer a fun and engaging way for kids, adults, and seniors to increase their physical activity.
Physical activity has been shown to help reduce many health risks, including diabetes, heart disease, and many cancers. Walking is an easy way for the majority of people to be more active and gain the associated health benefits and is a great way to start a physical fitness More >
Gateway Unified School District PEP Grant Winner will use grant to buy high-tech exercise gear
Aug 28th
The Gateway Unified School District governing board signed off on using federal grant funds on interactive exercise gaming equipment at its Wednesday night meeting.
The equipment features games to encourage kids to move around, said Matt Diskin, program director for the Physical Education Program (PEP).
He obtained the funds from a $1.2 million federal grant for the district to build fitness labs at district schools.
The equipment is the first major step of the grant in moving toward more active students, he said.
“It costs less than one open heart surgery and contributes to better learning,” he said. “A healthier kid is a More >
Students with Disabilities First Experience with Exergaming – Scott Adolf
Aug 22nd
Last year, I was offered the opportunity to test a new product, MOVE + by Motion Fitness. I was extremely excited for this and now fortunate enough to write about my experiences. I guess there is something to say about first impressions and by seeking professional developments when you are can attend.
As a member of TEN (The Exergame Network) and an active participant in many other Exergame/Active Gaming websites and social media outlets, I was anxious to see firsthand the reaction of my students with disabilities (SwD) to this form of exercise. Needless to say, adjectives like breathtaking, amazing or astonishing do not More >
Motivation Through Exergaming
Aug 14th
By Dan Lawler Ph.D.
Every teacher in every classroom eventually faces the dilemma of how to motivate the uninspired student. Often teachers look to utilizing positive rewards as a means to increase desired behaviors. Some traditional strategies, especially at the elementary level, include longer recess, special seats, positive phone call home, lunch with the teacher, and positive verbal feedback. Extrinsic motivators, in the form of rewards, can encourage students who do not yet have powerful intrinsic motivation to learn. Rather than criticizing unwanted behavior or answers, reward correct behavior and answers. Remember that adults and children alike continue or repeat behavior More >
Healthy Families Healthy Communities Program Starts at Port Discovery
Aug 8th
Port Discovery Children’s Museum is ranked as one of the top 12 children’s museums in the country by Forbes and offers three floors of educational, interactive exhibits and programs for children ages birth through ten years. All of the Museum’s programming aligns with the Maryland Model for School Readiness and the state curriculum, with a focus on five core Platforms of Learning:
- Early Childhood Learning
- Healthy Families/Healthy Communities
- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)
- Financial Literacy
- Creative Arts and Culture
In Maryland, obesity is an escalating concern, with the percentage of adults who are overweight or obese doubling over the last 20 years. About 177,000 out More >
BrainBike: Exercise for the Brain and the Body by Dan Lawler, Ph.D.
Jul 25th
by Dan Lawler, Ph.D.
Most often wellness programs focus on improving employee fitness levels along with emphasizing good nutrition. Seldom is any specific attention given to retaining and improving the functions of the brain.
“A life-long commitment to stimulating brain activity contributes to quality of life, especially in the later years. Exercises that promote brain health vary widely and include physical activities such as walking and intellectually stimulating activities. Among other benefits, brain exercise activities work to facilitate quick thinking, promote quick reflexes and develop better short- and long-term memory”. (Judy Al-Ahmary, eHow Contributor). Recently, health organizations are adding a new dimension to More >
Games for Health 2012 Recap Focuses on Social Gaming
Jun 18th
The 8th Annual Games for Health Conference is now in the rear view mirror! On June 12-14 hundreds of game developers, health professionals, and leading researchers gathered to discover, brainstorm, and debate how videogame and videogames technologies can work to improve health & healthcare.
Founded in 2004, the Games for Health Project supports community, knowledge and business development efforts to use cutting-edge games and game technologies to improve health and health care. The Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the lead conference sponsor and a major supporter of the Games for Health Project.
The quest for better health games More >
What Makes Early Morning Physical Activity Helpful for Students
Jun 7th
Dan Lawler, Ph.D.
Education Consultant
Several schools across the country have adopted early morning physical education classes in order to assist students with learning. In Naperville, Illinois, District 203 has been conducting a Learning Readiness Physical Education program for years. Their approach has received national attention because of the positive impact it has had on literacy scores. More and more evidence points to the reasons why this intervention is so successful. Primarily, when students are introduced to an early regiment of exercise, they become more focused and ready to learn due, in part, to an increased oxygen flow to the brain combined More >
