Analysis of the applicability and utility of a gamified didactics with exergames at primary schools: Qualitative findings from a natural experiment

One of the main objectives of Physical Education in elementary schools is to encourage motivation so that the subject enhances academic performance and the practice of physical exercise. Didactic research should evaluate the effectiveness of educational methods to know if they are applicable, useful, and in what sense. Exergames are digital motor games that aim to stimulate players'' motor skills. Gamification refers to the use of game-based elements in nongame contexts to motivate actions. This research evaluates a gamified exergaming intervention, designed to improve children''s academic performance by focusing on understanding applicability and usefulness. A natural experiment was set up in schools according to a mixed methods design. The qualitative data herein reported were collected during a natural experiment with a nonrandomized controlled design. The qualitative research design was used with field notes, an open-questions questionnaire, individual semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews. Eight teachers and 417 students took part. A content analysis was chosen as the methodological orientation. The facilitators were the realism of their didactic design and their adaptability to different educational contexts. The main barriers were the required materials and facilities. Teachers and students'' attitudes were very positive, although future use was inconclusive. These findings may imply that this study is one of the few to provide positive evidence for educational gamification. The “Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics” gamification model and the “Just Dance Now” exergame may be applicable and useful for didactics in Physical Education, but all the participants'' suggestions need to be considered to improve teaching interventions

Games for health for children - current status and needed research

Videogames for health (G4H) offer exciting, innovative, potentially highly effective methods for increasing knowledge, delivering persuasive messages, changing behaviors, and influencing health outcomes. Although early outcome results are promising, additional research is needed to determine the game design and behavior change procedures that best promote G4H effectiveness and to identify and minimize possible adverse effects. Guidelines for ideal use of different types of G4H by children and adolescents should be elucidated to enhance effectiveness and minimize adverse effects. G4H stakeholders include organizational implementers, policy makers, players and their families, researchers, designers, retailers, and publishers. All stakeholders should be involved in G4H development and have a voice in setting goals to capitalize on their insights to enhance effectiveness and use of the game. In the future, multiple targeted G4H should be available to meet a population's diverse health needs in developmentally appropriate ways. Substantial, consistent, and sophisticated research with appropriate levels of funding is needed to realize the benefits of G4H

Psychological effects of gamified didactics with exergames in Physical Education at primary schools: Results from a natural experiment

The physical effects of exergaming have been proven, but less is known about the psychological effects in elementary schools that make exergames an effective educational tool. The application of gamification to education is still an emerging practice that has been barely studied. The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of a gamified exergaming intervention in Physical Education classes in primary schools on psychological variables like motivation, flow, basic psychological needs and academic performance. A natural experiment with a non-randomised controlled design was run. The participants were recruited from four schools (n = 417), and received traditional didactic intervention or a gamified exergaming intervention. Both lasted 1 month. The results showed better positive gamified exergaming effects on basic psychological needs, academic performance and some flow dimensions. No interaction effects were found in intrinsic motivation, external regulation and amotivation, although specific improvements in the gamified exergaming group are discussed. The Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics gamification model and the Just Dance Now exergame may be resources capable of producing positive psychological effects on school-based Physical Education

Interventions for Childhood Obesity: Evaluating Technological Applications Targeting Physical Activity Level and Diet

Overweight and obese children have increased risks for multiple preventable diseases and conditions which can impair their physiological health and significantly increases the overall cost of their healthcare. Free mobile applications and technology for weight loss, dietary tracking, and physical activity may be quite useful for monitoring nutritional intake and exercise to facilitate weight loss. If so, nurses are well positioned to recommend such tools as part of their efforts to prevent childhood obesity and help children and parents better manage childhood obesity when it is present. However, there are no guidelines that nurses can use to determine what applications or technologies are most beneficial to children and their parents. The purpose of this project is to develop such guidelines based on a review of the scientific literature published in the last 5 years. Articles regarding healthy-lifestyle promoting mobile applications and technological approaches to health and fitness interventions were identified by searching articles indexed by CINAHL, Psychinfo, Medline, ERIC, IEEE Xplore, and Academic Search Premier. Identified articles were assessed using Melnyk’s hierarchy of evidence and organized into tables so that implications for research and suggestions for practice could be made

Movement Interventions for Children with Autism and Developmental Disabilities: An Evidence-Based Practice Project

This review explored the following question: Are the comprehensive treatment models Makoto Therapy, Brain Gym, and Interactive Metronome effective interventions for improving occupational performance including improving executive function, academic performance, and physical coordination in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)? Because current research on Interactive Metronome, Brain Gym®, and Makoto Therapy fails to address children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, presents multiple flaws in research design, and does not measure occupational outcomes such as occupational performance, we recommend that these interventions should not be used as comprehensive treatment models in occupational therapy. We recommend that more occupational-based, methodologically-sound research involving youth with ASD be conducted before implementing these interventions in occupational therapy practice

A systematic review of sport and dance participation in healthy young people (15-24 years) to promote subjective wellbeing

We know that taking part in physical activity like sport and dance can bring wellbeing benefits, such as being more satisfied with life and happier, and feeling less anxious and depressed. Most of the evidence is however about adults. This review was carried out to investigate the relationships between subjective wellbeing (SWB) and taking part in sport and dance for healthy young people (15-24 years). Healthy people were defined as those without a condition diagnosed by a health professional. SWB describes wellbeing in terms of the good and bad feelings arising from what people do and how they think. The focus of this review was agreed through on-going collaborative engagement with UK-wide stakeholders representing policy, commissioning and managing, service delivery, and scholars from both academic and non-academic organisations. We examined studies from the past 10 years and found that there is limited good quality evidence, and very little conducted in the UK. The review includes published findings from 977 participants across six countries - China, Korea, India, Turkey, Sweden and the USA. In some studies, participants were predominantly female. A wide variety of wellbeing measures were used. The most common form of sport/dance related activity was based on meditative practices (yoga and Baduanjin Qigong). Other physical activities reported included body conditioning, aerobic exercise, dance training, hip hop dance and sports including volleyball, ice skating, Nintendo Wii Active Games. We included evidence from recent unpublished reports (grey literature) produced by or for sport and dance organisations since 2013. Participants in the evaluations were both male and female with a mean age between 13-24 years and were engaged in UK-based programmes of sport and dance. Findings illustrate that depending on activity type and delivery mode, taking part is associated with wellbeing improvements connected to social connectedness, pleasure, sense of purpose, confidence, interpersonal skills, happiness, relaxation, creative skills and expression, aspiration and ambition. Taking part was also associated with negative wellbeing connected to concerns about competency and capability. Overall, the evidence available in this review suggests that yoga-type activities have the potential to improve subjective wellbeing and that group-based and peer supported sport and dance programmes may promote wellbeing enhancement in youth groups. The evidence in this review provides limited promising findings upon which sport and dance programmes for wellbeing improvement could be developed. The lack of evidence identified in this review does not necessarily mean that wellbeing benefits are not accrued from taking part in sport and dance. There is scope to build evidence on wellbeing outcomes of sport and dance in healthy young people through well-designed, rigorous and appropriate research methods which are underpinned by relevant theory and use established methods of analysis

Motivational strategies and approaches for single and multi-player exergames: A social perspective

Background: Exergames have attracted the interest of academics, practitioners, and designers, in domains as diverse as health, human-computer interaction, psychology, and information technology. This is primarily because exergames can make the exercise experience more enjoyable and entertaining, and in turn, can increase exercise levels. Despite the many benefits of exergames, they suffer from retention problems. Thus, the objective of this article was to review theories and game elements that have been empirically examined or employed in an attempt to make exergames more motivating so people engage in sustained physical activity (duration of physical activity) in a repeating pattern over time (frequency of physical activity). Methodology: A literature search and narrative review were conducted. Results: Five major theories and elements were prevalent in the exergaming literature: (1) self-determination theory, (2) gamification, (3) competition and cooperation, (4) situational interest, and (5) social interaction. These theories and elements are important for encouraging long-term play and show promise for designing exergames to promote sustained engagement and motivate physical activity. We discuss their strengths and weaknesses throughout the paper. Conclusions: The long-term effectiveness of exergame interventions is unclear mainly because of the limited amount of long-term studies. Better metrics are also needed to evaluate this effectiveness. We also identified particular attention to social factors and group dynamics, such as multi-player exergames and more effective player matchmaking strategies for increasing social connectedness, as a key area of future research

Disentangling Fun and Enjoyment in Exergames Using an Expanded Design, Play, Experience Framework: A Narrative Review

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