Schools should embrace wearable technology and gamification in PE lessons, a leading youth sports charity says.
At a time when children are at their most unfit, the Youth Sport Trust, a physical education and youth sport charity is calling for technology to become an integral part of physical education.
In the report The Class of 2035, conducted by the Future Foundation, a global trends consultancy, the charity warns that PE and school sport are at a critical crossroads and the subject should remain a key priority.
The report also found that young people are becoming more dependent on smartphones and tablets, and warned that ignoring the potential which these devices could have in physical education could be a mistake.
Joshua McBain, project director of the Future Foundation said: “Young people are so entwined in technology anyway that it almosts seems counterintuitive to assume that their sporting life won’t be too.
“For the report, we looked at the extent in which the digital revolution will disempower young people in sport or empower them. There’s been so much talk about the negative impact that technology can have but we haven’t yet looked at the opportunity.”
As well as wearable technology and apps becoming more widely used in sport, McBain predicts that gamification will also take off. Gamified sport such as Run An Empire which combines a video game-style smartphone app with running challenges, could motivate young people and be used by PE teachers during lessons, McBain believes.
Other technology highlighted in the report include a tennis racquet created by Babolat which uses data collected by electronics in the handle of the racquet to measure the dozens of metrics about technique and relay the information to a smartphone app.
While in China, publisher Tancent and gaming tech company Razer have teamed up to create a unique gaming experience which rewards physical activity. Wearers of the Nabu fitness band, a wristband which tracks steps, calories burned and hours slept, stand to earn in-game rewards for a virtual running game.
As well as motivating pupils, the Youth Sport Trust also believe technology could be used to enable teachers and parents to effectively monitor and analyse the activity and fitness levels of children and young people. This data could then be used by the government and sporting bodies to create more effective sporting policy.
Ali Oliver, chief executive of Youth Sport Trust said: “We have all seen how technology can positively impact our own health and wellbeing through the use of apps, for example to monitor our individual training and performance. This can be translated to the classroom and playground.”
One example already in use is Skills2Achieve is an online programme developed by the Youth Sport Trust and Sportsdata that helps teachers plan, record and evidence pupil progress in PE, sport and physical activity.
“Skills2Achieve empowers young people to engage in and take responsibility for their own physical activity and development,” Oliver said. “Schools should embrace this approach to help develop and assess the progress of physical literacy of each individual, class and school.”