Today’s students don’t have to choose between summer vacation and school. Drawing upon the latest brain research that found children learn best through real-world connections, movement and music, the Florida Virtual School (FLVS) has partnered with GeoMotion Group, a Florida based innovative fitness and learning company, to support their Physical Education initiative by providing video, equipment and curriculum to enhance learning and physical activity online.
FLVS’s Elementary Physical Education course actively engages students in 150 minutes of physical activity every week, meeting the minimum required under the new FIT KIDS ACT. The new on-line courses are designed for Elementary Grades 3–5 students and teachers.
“During today’s challenging economic times, our partner schools have expressed great interest in a blended model of online Elementary Physical Education,” explained Sarah Sprinkel, director of Elementary School Programs at FLVS. “Our course blends academics and deliberate movement with a purpose and provides flexibility for brick-and-mortar schools and home-schooled students to use in a number of ways.”
Aligned to both the state and national PE standards for grades 3 through 5, the new course is broken into 30-minute segments that can be delivered both in and outside of a classroom or computer lab setting. Students apply critical thinking skills by planning and analyzing their own goals toward health, nutrition, and wellness for a lifetime. Embedded assessments leverage skill-based rubrics, collaborative projects, and interactive games.
“GeoMotion programs are not intended to replace the PE teachers or the traditional PE programs. They are designed to provide the structure for classroom teachers to combine their curriculum with organized physical activity. Students learn while moving and having fun; teachers have the tools necessary to blend learning and physical activity” says Dr. Debby Mitchell, GeoMotion’s president and founder, and associate professor at the University of Central Florida.
“Each lesson begins with an online demonstration by a teacher-student team. We then enhance the physical exercise by setting activities to music and by using numbered mats that reinforce academic skills and allow classroom teachers to provide practice for FCAT-tested skills such as multiplication, addition or subtraction,” commented Sprinkel.
“We want to make our programs available to as many students as possible. Every child deserves a private trainer. We are helping build a generation which is healthier and fit physically and mentally. We believe it is our obligation to lead the change and help create this generation” says Dr. JoAnne Owens-Nauslar, “Dr. Jo”, GeoMotion’s director of Corporate/Community Development.
FLVS provides teacher support from both an online guide and a state-certified physical education teacher, who provides live online sessions with students, monthly evening sessions with teachers and a sharing Wiki for all teacher-participants to enhance existing physical education programs.
GeoMotion Group is a client of the UCF Business Incubation Program in the Central Florida Research Park.
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