Technology In Physical Activity And Health Promotion

As technology becomes an ever more prevalent part of everyday life and population-based physical activity programmes seek new ways to increase lifelong engagement with physical activity, so the two have become increasingly linked. This book offers a thorough, critical examination of emerging technologies in physical activity and health, considering technological interventions within the dominant theoretical frameworks, exploring the challenges of integrating technology into physical activity promotion and offering solutions for its implementation. Technology in Physical Activity and Health Promotion occupies a broadly positive stance toward interactive technology initiatives and, while discussing some negative implications of an increased use of technology, offers practical recommendations for promoting physical activity through a range of media, including: social media mobile apps global positioning and geographic information systems wearables active videogames (exergaming) virtual reality settings. Offering a logical and clear critique of technology in physical activity and health promotion, this book will serve as an essential reference for upper-level undergraduates, postgraduate students and scholars working in public health, physical activity and health and kinesiology, and healthcare professionals.

A wide variety of technology is available to physical educators, health teachers, and coaches—but technology is only helpful if people know how to use it effectively. This text will help health and physical education teachers and coaches improve their abilities by learning to effectively use technology in the areas of instruction, assessment, management, communication, professional development, and advocacy. The effective use of technology as outlined in this book can improve student and athlete performance and assessment and motivate active and healthy lifestyles among students. An important distinction with this book is that it goes beyond simply discussing the technology tools—it helps readers understand how to use technology to improve instruction. Practical examples of how to use various technological tools are included for different settings and a variety of age groups (child to adult). Readers will learn about the effective use of technology in physical education, health education, and coaching. Technology for Physical Educators, Health Educators, and Coaches is a practical, hands-on text that offers a number of useful tools: What Does the Research Say? sidebars that provide evidence for which technologies do and do not work in physical education, health education, and sport coaching, with accompanying explanations Tips, examples, and interviews from seasoned professionals on various types of technology Chapter objectives, key terms, review questions, and open-ended discussion questions, which could prove useful for online discussion boards Instructor ancillaries, including PowerPoint presentations and learning management system (LMS)–ready quizzes for each chapter, that help instructors organize, plan, teach, and assess content effectively Online web resource that offers a variety of tools, including additional practitioner interviews; links to websites, videos, and podcasts; sample handouts, and other activities and resources from practicing professionals. The online web resource will be updated annually to keep current with the changing technology. Social media accounts (@Tech4HPECoach) on Twitter and Facebook allow readers to further connect and share ideas. Use the hashtag #Tech4HPECoach across various social media platforms too! (The web resource is included with all new print books and some ebooks. For ebook formats that don’t provide access, the web resource is available separately.) The text is organized into six parts. Part I focuses on how technology can assist in meeting specific goals, objectives, and national standards within physical education, health education, and sport coaching. Part II covers technology for class and team management as well as communication technology, while part III explores how to leverage technology to facilitate teaching and learning, including within a traditional classroom, online, and with special populations. The authors address how to use technology for assessment in part IV, and part V delves into how technology can benefit professional development and advocacy. In part VI, the authors detail the all-important legal and financial aspects of technology.

As technology becomes an ever more prevalent part of everyday life and population-based physical activity programmes seek new ways to increase lifelong engagement with physical activity, so the two have become increasingly linked. This book offers a thorough, critical examination of emerging technologies in physical activity and health, considering technological interventions within the dominant theoretical frameworks, exploring the challenges of integrating technology into physical activity promotion and offering solutions for its implementation. Technology in Physical Activity and Health Promotion occupies a broadly positive stance toward interactive technology initiatives and, while discussing some negative implications of an increased use of technology, offers practical recommendations for promoting physical activity through a range of media, including: social media mobile apps global positioning and geographic information systems wearables active videogames (exergaming) virtual reality settings. Offering a logical and clear critique of technology in physical activity and health promotion, this book will serve as an essential reference for upper-level undergraduates, postgraduate students and scholars working in public health, physical activity and health and kinesiology, and healthcare professionals.

What do teachers, principals, school administrators, superintendents, state policy makers, and parents need to know about the growing trend to use technology in physical activity environments? How can technology be used to increase not only fitness levels but academic learning in today’s youth? How can kids benefit from increased use of technology in physical education? These questions and others are answered in this volume of the series Educational Policy in the 21st Century: Opportunities, Challenges, and Solutions. An entire generation is growing up without the benefits of daily physical activity. The daily experiences of our children are centered on the use of technology driven, mostly sedentary, activities. Technology should be considered a viable tool that can increase physical activity levels when implemented effectively. The lack of contemporary programs and strategies that motivate participants to want to participate daily in physical activity has created a culture of inactivity and obesity and is having a profound effect on the physical health and academic learning potential of today’s youth. In this volume the authors suggest current trends and explore the enormous potential of technology in motivating youth to commit to daily physical activity. Authors detail contemporary programs, teaching strategies and contemporary technologies beginning to be used in schools across the country, and suggest policies, directions, and cost considerations for implementing technology based learning in physical activity and physical education settings.

As technology becomes an ever-more prevalent part of everyday life, and population-based physical activity programs seek new ways to increase life-long engagement with physical activity, these two ideas have become increasingly linked. This Special Issue attempts to offer a thorough and critical examination of emerging technologies in physical activity and health promotion, considering technological interventions in different contexts (communities, clinics, schools, homes, etc.) among various populations, exploring the challenges of integrating technology into physical activity promotion, and offering solutions for its implementation. This Special Issue aims to take a broadly positive stance toward interactive technology initiatives and, while discussing some negative implications of an increased use of technology, offers practical recommendations for promoting physical activity through various emerging technologies, including, but not limited to: Active video games (exergaming); social media; mobile device apps; health wearables; mobile games, augmented reality games, global positioning and geographic information systems; and virtual reality. Offering a logical and clear critique of emerging technologies in physical activity and health promotion, this Special Issue will provide useful suggestions and practical implications for researchers, practitioners, and educators in the fields of public health, kinesiology, physical activity and health, and healthcare.

Physical inactivity is a key determinant of health across the lifespan. A lack of activity increases the risk of heart disease, colon and breast cancer, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, osteoporosis, anxiety and depression and others diseases. Emerging literature has suggested that in terms of mortality, the global population health burden of physical inactivity approaches that of cigarette smoking. The prevalence and substantial disease risk associated with physical inactivity has been described as a pandemic. The prevalence, health impact, and evidence of changeability all have resulted in calls for action to increase physical activity across the lifespan. In response to the need to find ways to make physical activity a health priority for youth, the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Physical Activity and Physical Education in the School Environment was formed. Its purpose was to review the current status of physical activity and physical education in the school environment, including before, during, and after school, and examine the influences of physical activity and physical education on the short and long term physical, cognitive and brain, and psychosocial health and development of children and adolescents. Educating the Student Body makes recommendations about approaches for strengthening and improving programs and policies for physical activity and physical education in the school environment. This report lays out a set of guiding principles to guide its work on these tasks. These included: recognizing the benefits of instilling life-long physical activity habits in children; the value of using systems thinking in improving physical activity and physical education in the school environment; the recognition of current disparities in opportunities and the need to achieve equity in physical activity and physical education; the importance of considering all types of school environments; the need to take into consideration the diversity of students as recommendations are developed. This report will be of interest to local and national policymakers, school officials, teachers, and the education community, researchers, professional organizations, and parents interested in physical activity, physical education, and health for school-aged children and adolescents.

The Internet serves as an essential tool in promoting health awareness through the circulation of important research among the medical professional community. While digital tools and technologies have greatly improved healthcare, challenges are still prevalent among diverse populations worldwide. The Handbook of Research on Advancing Health Education through Technology presents a comprehensive discussion of health knowledge equity and the importance of the digital age in providing life-saving data for diagnosis and treatment of diverse populations with limited resources. Featuring timely, research-based chapters across a broad spectrum of topic areas including, but not limited to, online health information resources, data management and analysis, and knowledge accessibility, this publication is an essential reference source for researchers, academicians, medical professionals, and upper level students interested in the advancement and dissemination of medical knowledge.

Physical Activity and Health Promotion: Evidence-based Approaches to Practice evaluates the realities and complexities of working to reverse the adverse trend toward physical inactivity. It is a well-rounded, evidence-based study of interventions for physical activity practice, covering a range of settings and target groups. Expert contributors present case studies which help to translate the theory into practice, from individual to societal levels, enriched by explanations of the socio-political context.