The Future of PE: Is the Apocalypse Upon Us?

As I searched the web to find technologies and websites to blog about, I happened upon several articles that piqued my interest. The articles discussed ways that PE teachers are using technology in the classroom, mostly with heart rate monitors and pedometers, which are excellent ways of qualifying and quantifying physical activity, respectively. However, these technologies are not particularly new, as they have been in use in physical education for at least a few years now, though they are beginning to catch on more and more. What interested me the most, is (in my mind), the horrible proposition that technologies such as the Nintendo Wii's Wii Fit and the game Dance Dance Revolution could become commonplace in the gym or classroom for PE. Here are some things that I've learned over the last several years: youth today love video games. I worked with a group of Boy Scouts for about a year and a half, and getting them to do anything that didn't involve video games was like pulling teeth. I also know that people need physical activity to help with disease prevention and many other things. So, if people need physical activity and love video games, games like Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution should be the perfect storm, right? Well, I still have a hard time believing that one day I will have stations set up in the gym (or what's left of it) for teaching a PE class using a Nintendo Wii or a similar technology. Does it have a better chance of providing health benefits than just sitting in a chair playing a video game? Of course it does, but I don't know if it can ever beat good ol' fashioned health-related fitness activities and games. Can it?