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Game Consoles in School PE Departments Many kids do enjoy most of the games that they play in P.E., but there’s always games no one enjoys, and there are also kids that dread P.E. because they are not as athletically gifted as others. When teachers bring in some type of game system for the kids to use, almost all of the kids are going to be excited. Kids are obviously going to be more motivated to go to P.E., and look forward to it, if they get to play with video games. Kids not athletically inclined can also look forward to it because they aren’t playing some type of sport, and don’t have the pressure of having all eyes all on them. Gaming consoles are a great way in P.E. if you are looking for an easy way to motivate kids to be active in P.E. class.
 * Some people have claimed the new generation of motion input and game consoles can help young people improve their fitness. Some schools have even bought game consoles for their PE departments. Analyse the benefits and problems. Do you think the benefit is significant?**
 * Group Response:**

Studies have been done on whether or not these gaming consoles produce the same amount of exercise as traditional P.E. class and research suggests that the proper use of AVG’s (Active Video Games), raise the heart rate (HR), raise oxygen consumption (VO2), and increase energy expenditure. Based on these three aspects of physical activity, (HR, VO2, and energy expenditure), there were no significant differences between playing an active video game and traditional P.E. activities. Studies also show that traditional P.E. games such as dodgeball on average will burn about 165 calories an hour, while Wii AVG’s like Wii boxing will burn around 125 calories in 15 min.

Although students have been said to be more interested in game console based PE classes than traditional PE classes, kids are not getting proper training for activities later in life. Teachers have less control over what exactly the students do, in order to follow the game system that is already set in place. PE classes are essential for elementary schools for the aspect of physical fitness but also to teach students life lessons involving physical activities such as sports. Using game consoles instead of a traditional PE classroom setting does not teach students how to play on teams as well. Although game consoles allow for teams to be established, the virtual aspect ruins the concept of working together. Game consoles are also limited as to how much input can be inputted at once, such as hands and feet together at one time. Traditional PE classrooms help students learn coordination by hands on practice, such as kickball or basketball, while the consoles cannot accomplish this. These game consoles cannot teach students how to play real life sports such as basketball or volleyball. In order to learn an organized sport, practice and actual playing of the game is necessary, game consoles cannot achieve this. Although game consoles do not provide students with as much opportunity to learn life lessons, improve character, and learn how to play a specific sport, they can still be beneficial to students that will not be participating in organized team sports.

Investing in expensive technology, like a Wii or Xbox kinnect, requires quite a bit of money**.** There’s the cost of the actual consoles, the cost of replacements and repairs, and the cost of insurance to guarantee any stolen or broken consoles can be replaced. There’s also the issue involving theft. If a school plans on buying this technology then they need to also invest in a storage place that will protect the valuable equipment. Another thing that schools have to think about is the number of students who will be using the technology and how many consoles will be needed to ensure that all the students get to spend fair amounts of time playing the games.

In conclusion, game consoles are not more beneficial than participating in a traditional PE class. Although game consoles may motivate kids more and still allow them to get a proper workout, the student’s engagement in the games will wear off. The cost and lack of teaching teamwork, coordination and organized sports cause the game consoles to not be as effective. A real life person teaching a class will out-weigh the option of using game consoles to teach in PE classrooms. Essentially machines can not replace man in the aspect of education.