TECHFIT: Combining fitness & technology to spark interest in STEM Alka Harriger Purdue University United States
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Michael Flynn College of Charleston United States
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Bradley Harriger Purdue University United States
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Susan Flynn College of Charleston United States
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Abstract: The goal of the Teaching Engineering Concepts to Harness Future Innovators and Technologists (TECHFIT) project was to foster middle school student enthusiasm for STEM disciplines by equipping them with the skills to become innovators of interesting, fun, and valuable fitness games. The TECHFIT team conducted a pilot study to test their premise. The study engaged twenty-two seventh grade students in hardware and software lessons and gave them experience with commercially available, technology-supported fitness games (Wii fit, Dance Dance Revolution). Students and parents were given pre-and post-pilot study surveys to assess their enthusiasm for the program and gauge their interest in STEM disciplines. The preliminary results revealed that parents felt that their children’s enthusiasm for TECHFIT increased and that there was an increase in the students’ interest in learning more about engineering, technology, information technology, and computer graphics.
Background The Teaching Engineering Concepts to Harness Future Innovators and Technologists (TECHFIT) project addresses two important concerns facing our nation: • The declining interest of youth in pursuing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields of study in college. (Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy, 2007) • The increasing rate of obesity of our nation’s youth. (Shaya, Flores, Gbarayor & Wang, 2008).) The TECHFIT team embarked on this project to initially find a way to spark student interest in technology. The team felt that by working with teams of teachers to show students how to use their science, math, and technology skills in a fun, interesting, and beneficial way, more of them may consider studying one or more STEM subjects in college. Applying their STEM skills to a significant societal problem such as obesity would help the youth realize the importance of having these skills. Furthermore, the side benefit of tackling the obesity crisis should help sell the idea to schools facing a mandate for improving their students’ health. It is generally agreed that obesity levels in school-aged children have reached near epidemic levels (Shaya, Flores, Gbarayor & Wang, 2008). Many technology-based solutions have been created to reduce the physical effort required to complete tasks that touch many aspects of everyday life. (Lanningham-Foster, Jensen, Foster, Redmond, Walker & Heinz, 2006) The unexpected consequence has been that people are much less active than they used to be or should be. (Mhurchu, Maddison, Jiang, Jull, Prapevessis & Rodgers, 2008) Technological advances are frequently blamed for reducing the physical activity levels of children and for contributing to the obesity problem in children. Television, video games, and labor saving devices are often targeted when causes for the obesity epidemic are identified. Not surprisingly, television viewing has frequently been linked to the problem. In particular, television viewing has been linked to increased body mass index (BMI) (Delmas, Platat, Schweitzer, Wagner, Oujaa & Simon, 2007; Henderson, 2007; Pardee, Norman, Lustig, Preud’homme & Schwimmer, 2007), high blood pressure (Pardee et al, 2007), and low physical activity levels (Lanningham-Foster, Jensen, Foster, Redmond, Walker & Heinz, 2006). Pardee et al, for example, studied television viewing time in overweight children and found that daily TV viewing was positively correlated with the risk of hypertension and linked with the severity of obesity (2007). Reducing television viewing and computer time has been shown to lower energy intake and lower BMI (Epstein, Roemmich, Robinson, Paluch, Winiewicz, Fuerch, et al., 2008). There are similar findings for the amount of computer time or the playing of video games (Mhurchu et al, 2008). Fortunately, people are beginning to realize that technology can be used in a positive way to improve physical health. Several manufacturers have developed and marketed games that require the user to move while playing the game. Combining virtual worlds with physical activity “has been referred to as exergaming or
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exertainment” (Smith, 2007). These active video games or exergames have become quite popular in recent years. In fact, the Nintendo Wii was on the top ten holiday wish lists for both boys and girls (Walters, 2007). Another popular exergame is Dance-Dance Revolution (DDR; Konami Digital Entertainment). Preliminary data suggest that playing these games has a positive influence on the overall physical activity level of children and may reduce their total video game playing time (Mhurchu et al., 2008). Lanningham-Foster et al reported that playing these games dramatically increases energy expenditure over playing a traditional video game or television viewing (2006). For example, they reported that playing Sony EyeToy (Sony Entertainment) and Dance Dance Revolution Ultra Mix 2 significantly increased energy expenditure 108% and 172 %, respectively over resting energy expenditure. Increased participation in exergames has the potential to improve the activity levels of children. Roemmich, Barkley, Lobarinas, Foster, White & Epstein (2008) found a strong link between the enjoyment and reinforcement derived from moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and the likelihood that children will participate in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. In addition to supporting physical activity, technology has also been shown to abet student learning. (LeBlanc, 2008). The results of the MacArthur Foundation five-year study on digital media implications for student learning state “Rather than assuming that education is primarily about preparing for jobs and careers, they question what it would mean to think of it as a process guiding youths'participation in public life more generally.” (Ito, Horst, Bittanti, Boyd, Herr-Stephenson, Lange, Pascoe, & Robinson, 2008) Although finding a solution to America’s obesity epidemic is an important national goal, an equally important goal is increasing the number of skilled workers in science and engineering. Occupational Employment Statistics projected that over 80% of the fastest growing occupations and over 66% of the occupations with the largest job growth require a knowledge base in science and mathematics (Coble and Allen, 2005). To make matters worse, more than half of the current engineering and science workforce is approaching retirement (Business Roundtable, 2005). Unfortunately, many students are being taught technical subjects by people with insufficient experience and no related training in their subject areas (Wallis, 2008). This situation puts America’s competitiveness and security at risk. The National Academies identified the primary actions needed to enhance science and technology to make America competitive in their landmark report, “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” (Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy, 2007). The first of their four recommendations stressed the need to improve K–12 science and mathematics education. Suggested actions included recruiting more math and science teachers, strengthening their skills through training and education programs, and enlarging the pipeline of students prepared to study STEM in college. In response to the challenges presented in the report and with bi-partisan support from Congress, the America COMPETES Act was signed into law on August 9, 2007 (Gordon, 2007). More recently, the National Science Board’s STEM education recommendations to President Obama stressed the importance of equipping teachers with instructional materials and technology to augment the classroom experience (2009). The TECHFIT project developed a multidisciplinary, project-based learning approach to introduce the importance of STEM disciplines to the task of creating fun fitness games. Project-based learning has been shown to engage student interest, motivate learning, and improve retention (Nastu, 2009). The TECHFIT experience is expected to raise student awareness of the importance of math and science knowledge to building solutions to societal problems, such as the obesity epidemic. Although the teacher team’s professional development is the most important aspect of the TECHFIT project, many questions posed regarding student interest and student ability to complete an exergame in the limited time frame warranted further study. Therefore, a pilot study was designed to address questions related to student interest and ability.
The TECHFIT Pilot Study The TECHFIT team conducted a 2½ week pilot study of 22 seventh grade students at a local school. The team worked with two teachers who shared the same group of students. These teachers taught science, computer applications, and physical education, so the team was able to use appropriate class meetings to deliver TECHFITrelated lessons in these classes. The goal of the pilot study was to ascertain the following: 1. What types of hands-on activities in each of the STEM areas would be needed to provide minimal understanding to middle school students regarding how to use technology to build a fitness game?
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2. 3. 4.
Could middle school students become engaged in the preliminary activities to gain the necessary background knowledge? Could middle school students become engaged in the task of building a fitness game? Would middle school students enjoy the fitness game they designed?
Over the 2½ week study, there were ten meetings with the students, including a final meeting where the students’ game was demonstrated to the parents and other invited guests. The teachers served as silent observers as the TECHFIT team members led the students through various activities. Due to the limited time allocated to the pilot study, the middle school students were involved only in the design of the game. Under the supervision of the TECHFIT team, the college students implemented the students’ design into a working exergame. Pilot Study Schedule of Activities Before the meetings with students began, all students were asked to complete and return parental consent forms, student assent forms, and photo releases. Once the requisite forms were returned, the TECHFIT team met with students ten times during the study period. After each activity, students completed a daily survey and were given a homework assignment. The following section identifies the activities in each of these meetings. Day 1: Because TECHFIT was interested in determining whether the program activities changed the students’ interest and knowledge in STEM, the students were asked to complete a pre-program survey. After completion of the survey, the primary objective of the first meeting was to get students to think about the characteristics that defined a good physical fitness game. For this reason, the students played with several technology-based fitness games including Dance Dance revolution (DDR) and Nintendo Wii. They also learned to use traditional fitness equipment as well as how to conduct cardio fitness testing. This experience included the use of heart rate monitors and digiwalkers to track their number of steps. The assignment for this meeting was to talk to their parents, friends, and family about fitness games. Day 2: The second meeting showed students how to use information technology (IT) to track fitness data and present results. In addition to learning about what types of data to track and the benefits of tracking fitness data, they learned how to use a spreadsheet application to document their fitness data. They were also introduced to a three-dimensional storyboarding tool, Alice, that they could use to tell a story such as describing how to play a game they might invent. The homework for this meeting was to share with family and friends how to use IT to track fitness data. They were also encouraged to download the free Alice tool at home with parental permission and practice using it to create an Alice world. Day 3a: The third meeting introduced students to manufacturing terminology and industrial automation equipment. Students learned about computer-aided design (CAD), programmable logic controllers (PLCs), robots, and computer numerical control (CNC) machines. The manufacturing technology college students shared a demonstration using equipment from a Pico Cricket educational controller kit designed for very simple, fun applications. The goal was to get the students to understand the application of manufacturing technology and industrial automation to the development of technology-based fitness games. Their homework was to review the new terms they learned. Day 3b: Later on the third day, students learned more about how technology is incorporated into fitness games. They identified the technology used as they played more fitness games. They also saw durable touch pads that could be integrated into a large manufacturing application and drew analogies with the DDR game. Their homework was to think about how integrating automation equipment into a fitness game could make it more fun, interesting, and beneficial. Day 4a: On the fourth day, students learned how to use and program automated controllers. The focus was on teaching PLC ladder logic and drawing comparisons to Lego Mindstorms and Pico Crickets. Using live examples, students saw how they could apply simple code development to understand the relationship between input and output devices. They learned the meaning of state and explored combining states together using AND operations as well as integrating decisions with branching statements. Due to time constraints, students could not generate their own programs; however, the demonstrations with class input
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allowed them to gain a better understanding of important concepts essential to being able to design fitness games. Their homework was to review what they learned in this session. Day 4b: Later on the fourth day, students reviewed how the automation equipment could be integrated into fitness games. They also played other traditional fitness games with the digiwalkers and heart monitors. Their homework was to continue to think about how automation equipment can add interest and bring value to fitness games. Day 5: On the fifth day, students learned how to use automation equipment to build things. Due to time constraints, the college students had developed some fitness game examples to have the students try out. They reviewed what type of technology was used and discussed modifications that could be made to change the games. The concepts of teamwork and elements of game design were discussed. Then students were divided into five teams and charged with brainstorming a team-based fitness game that integrated some of the automation equipment they had seen. Because the amount of equipment was limited, the teams were given maximum limits on each type of technology that could be integrated into their game. They were also given a minimum number of inputs and outputs for their game design. The assignment was to work with their teams to brainstorm ideas for the automated fitness game. Day 6: The goal of the sixth day was to get students to think about visualizing their game. Alice (a program that can be used to develop three-dimensional, interactive stories) was presented as a tool that could be used to develop a game simulation to help explain to others how the game should function. Each team presented their game ideas, and the class voted on the one game that the college students would implement. The homework was to work within their team to discuss the next steps to build and market their game. Day 7: On the seventh day, students discussed marketing and implementation ideas. They were challenged to think about how the game should work and why people would want to use it. They were encouraged to use a presentation tool to document their marketing plan or Alice to develop a game simulation. They also completed a post-program survey. Their homework was to take the parent survey home, have their parents complete it, and bring it back by the final meeting. Day 8: The final day gave the students and the TECHFIT team an opportunity to show off the prototype game that was implemented by the technology college students. After the game was set up across the entire gym floor, all students had the opportunity to play it. One of the features allowed the game to track the amount of time it took a player to finish the task, which added a layer of competition to the game. Another feature allowed a quick change of settings to change how the game was played, effectively turning one game system into a possible three variations. Several parents stopped to talk to the researchers after the showcase to share their child’s enthusiasm for the program. Pilot Study Survey Results The students and parents were given a survey before and at the conclusion of the ten-day pilot project. The survey was generated by the TECHFIT team in an attempt to assess students’ enthusiasm for studying in STEM areas and their parents’ perceptions of their children’s interest in the program. The survey and all procedures were approved by the Purdue University Institutional Review Board (IRB protocol #0811007512), but the survey was not validated prior to administering. Of the original 22 students who participated in the study, one student failed to return a post-study survey. Consequently, the results described below are based on the 21 students who completed all aspects of the program and data collection. The surveys used a 5 point Likert scale (1 very low or none to 5 very high). The parents were asked about: • their child’s enthusiasm for the TECHFIT program • their child’s interest in science • their child’s interest in math • their child’s interest in engineering technology • their child’s interest in fitness and sports • their child’s interest in electronic games • their child’s interest in participating in a larger scale TECHFIT program
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The parents were asked to assess enthusiasm/interest before and after the TECHFIT program. Twenty-one parent surveys were returned. Wilcoxin Matched Pairs analysis (alpha level 0.05) was used to assess differences between pre- and post- program responses. There were significant increases in the parents’ perceptions of their children’s: • enthusiasm for the EVERFIT program (mean 3.0 pre; 3.8 post; p = 0.029) • interest in science (3.5 pre; 3.8 post; p = 0.031) • interest in fitness and sports (3.6 pre; 4.0 post; p = 0.03) There was also a tendency (p = 0.07) for the parents perception of their child’s interest in engineering technology to increase (pre 2.7; post 3.0). However, since this difference did not achieve the level of statistical significance, it is equally likely that the difference was due to sampling error. The student survey asked about their interest in a variety of college majors: • mathematics; • science; • engineering; • mechanical engineering technology; • manufacturing engineering technology; • electrical engineering technology; • information technology; • computer graphics; and • health and kinesiology. It was apparent to the TECHFIT team that some of these areas were unfamiliar to the students from the beginning. Thus an increase in enthusiasm was expected. Scores for student interest in each of the areas listed above tended to increase, with interest in information technology (+.40), computer graphics (+.47), and health and kinesiology (+.36) having the greatest amount of change. However, none of these differences achieved the level of statistical significance (Wilcoxin Matched Pairs; p > 0.05). There was a slight but not significant decrease in the students’ interest in math, science, and engineering (p > 0.05). Students were also given a pre- and post- test to assess their knowledge of ten different content areas— assessing their knowledge of different fields in technology, the benefits of a physically active lifestyle, several computer hardware and software applications, programming with Alice, and use of heart rate to prescribe exercise intensity. A chi-squared analysis was applied to the number of correct responses in the pre- and post-test, with the pre-test number correct used for the expected outcome, and the post-test number correct used for the observed. That is, the pre-test number would be expected to remain unchanged without an increase in knowledge and the post-test should reflect the change in knowledge (observed). The results demonstrated that the students’ knowledge of technology did improve. The specific improvements were: • an input device (0.0% correct pre; 19.0% post), • a programmable logic controller (40.9 % correct pre; 70.0% correct post), and • programming with Alice (61.9% correct pre; and 90.1% correct post) appeared to improve (p < 0.05). The results of the pilot study suggest an impact on the parents’ perception of their child’s overall enthusiasm for the TECHFIT program and their interest in different areas of study. The change in the survey data pre- to post- for student responses was less impressive, with only modest, non-significant increases in IT, computer graphics, and health. The test of student knowledge was also only modestly impacted, with students improving significantly on only three of 12 questions. The lack of student change may be due to the small number of sessions, the fact that this particular group of students already had a high enthusiasm level for the subject areas, or a weakness in instrument (survey) development. Nevertheless, it appears the student-parent interaction was such that the parents perceived an increase in student enthusiasm.
Implementation Suggestions for Middle School Teachers Although the TECHFIT team implemented all elements of the pilot study program for students, it would not have been possible without the cooperation, support and input of the two teachers. The teachers helped recruit
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the students, provided dedicated class time and classrooms to deliver activities, and helped arrange the showcase where students showed off their innovation to parents, family, and friends. The team-based approach for instructional delivery and minimal planning are critical success factors for future implementations. Consequently, before schools embark on a similar project, they will need to form compatible teacher teams that include expertise in math, science, computer programming, technology, and physical education. If some of the expertise is lacking in the available teacher group, experts in the local community or nearby colleges should be added to the team. Additionally, sufficient time should be dedicated to planning and coordinating the program. Once the teacher team has been identified, they will need to plan the individual activities for the students such that they are presented in a logical and coordinated fashion. For example, the activities for days 1, 2, and 3a could be interchanged, but all three should be completed before initiating day 3b activities. As with any new project, the schedule should include built in backup plans. For example, during the TECHFIT implementation, snow forced school cancellations in the middle of the two-week schedule. This unexpected issue forced the team to adjust the schedule to accommodate the reduction in available time. Most school curricula are already packed with required subject matter content. However, most of the TECHFIT activities help convey traditional course concepts from a fitness context. Therefore, planning for the implementation of a TECHFIT program should be done a year in advance to allow teachers to adjust their course material such that all required content is still covered, but the scheduling of TECHFIT-related activities in different subjects occurs at compatible times. If adjusting traditional course content becomes too complicated or teachers are eager to implement the program sooner than the next school year, a viable alternative is to offer the program as an afterschool activity. In this case, every member of the teacher teams can meet with students every time or they can coordinate their schedules to be available when a given day’s activity requires their expertise. This approach will allow the schools to follow the same schedule shared in this paper, even if unexpected issues such as a school closing occur. It has the added benefit of having the showcase at a time that is more likely to enable working parents and community members to attend. Regardless of the mode of implementation, because the long-term goal is to have teachers run the TECHFIT program at their schools, the professional development needs of the teacher will directly impact the ultimate success of the program. The quality of the training provided to the teacher teams coupled with ongoing technical support and easy-to-use, understandable, and accessible resources will be essential. Building a collaborative community in which the teachers can share their ideas and challenges can aid in their sense of kinship. Creating this community on the Web will not only facilitate these networking activities but also provide a vehicle for delivery of practical resources, including effective classroom activities and tutorials. It will be important for the teachers to feel confident in their skills and aware of the range of resources available to them and their schools. In addition to having the teachers complete a professional development program to learn the concepts and gain experience completing activities that their students will complete, having access to knowledge experts, especially ones willing to go to the schools on a regular basis, should increase the teachers’ confidence in running a successful program and reduce their apprehensions about taking advantage of the knowledge resources made available to them.
Conclusion The results of the pilot study showed the TECHFIT team that it was possible to spark interest in STEM subjects through interdisciplinary lessons focused around the task of developing a technology-based fitness game. The team’s goal is to use the pilot study as the basis for developing a longer, after school program that could be led by interdisciplinary teams of teachers to get students moving to improve their physical fitness as well as learn about the importance of STEM in building solutions to improve their health.
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The TECHFIT Team The TECHFIT team consists of four university faculty at two educational institutions in two states. The team came together based on their mutual interest in combining technology and fitness knowledge to develop innovative fitness tools. They garnered the support of the principal and science teacher at a local school to run the program. Two manufacturing engineering technology students supported the fitness game development activities and one fitness graduate student supported delivery of the traditional fitness activities. Alka Harriger has taught software development in the Computer and Information Technology department for over 25 years at Purdue University. She has authored/co-authored four college-level textbooks and numerous journal/conference articles. She is currently leading the three-year, NSF-ITEST project (#DRL-0737679), Surprising Possibilities Imagined and Realized through Information Technology (SPIRIT). Alka served as the project manager for the TECHFIT project and developed IT instructional modules for students. She also managed the data collection for the study. Bradley Harriger has over 25 years of experience teaching automated manufacturing and has authored/coauthored several related articles. Professor Harriger is a part of the steering committee and a founding member of a recently formed Aerospace Automation Consortium and has served in several leadership roles with Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the American Society for Engineering Education. He has invested twenty years in the development and maintenance of a multimillion dollar manufacturing laboratory facility complete with a full scale, fully integrated manufacturing system. Bradley coordinated and developed the technology and engineering aspects of the TECHFIT program. He supervised two students who identified and developed the technology components for the toolkit and implemented the games designed by the students. Susan M. Flynn has taught in public schools and the university for over 20 years. She developed fitness course modules, coordinated the fitness portion of the educational program, and supervised the fitness graduate student. Susan’s expertise is in appropriate fitness practices for lifetime activities for children. Michael G. Flynn has nearly 22 years experience teaching and conducting research in exercise physiology. He has authored/co-authored more than 70 refereed articles and numerous research grants. Michael managed the data analysis for the team. Michael’s expertise is in physiological responses to exercise, disease risk reduction, and issues related to aging.
References Business Roundtable. (2005, July). Tapping America’s potential: The education for innovation initiative. Retrieved October 21, 2010, from http://www.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/reports/050727_tapstatement.pdf. Coble, C. and Allen, M. (2005, July). Keeping America competitive: Five strategies to improve mathematics and science education. Retrieved October 21, 2010, from Education Commission of the States Website: http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/62/19/6219.pdf. Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy. (2007). Rising above the gathering storm: Energizing and employing America for a brighter economic future. Retrieved October 21, 2010, from the National Academies Press Website: http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11463&page=R1. Delmas, C., Platat, C., Schweitzer, B., Wagner, A., Oujaa, M., & Simon, C. (2007). Association between television in bedroom and adiposity throughout adolescence. Obesity, 15(10), 2495-2503. Epstein, L. H., Roemmich, J. N., Robinson, J. L., Paluch, R. A., Winiewicz, D. D., Fuerch, J. H., et al. (2008). A randomized trial of the effects of reducing television viewing and computer use on body mass index in young children. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 162(3), 239-245. Gordon, B. (2007, July 31). Legislative highlights: The America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act (COMPETES). Retrieved October 21, 2010, from the House
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of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology Website: http://science.house.gov/legislation/leg_highlights_detail.aspx?NewsID=1938. Henderson, V. R. (2007). Longitudinal associations between television viewing and body mass index among white and black girls. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41(6), 544-550. Ito, M., Horst, H.A., Bittanti, M., Boyd, D., Herr-Stephenson, B., Lange, P. G., Pascoe, C.J., & Robinson, L. (2008, November) Living and learning with new media: Summary of findings from the Digital Youth Project. Retrieved October 21, 2010, from http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/files/report/digitalyouth-WhitePaper.pdf. Lanningham-Foster, L., Jensen, T. B., Foster, R. C., Redmond, A. B., Walker, B. A., Heinz, D., et al. (2006). Energy expenditure of sedentary screen time compared with active screen time for children. Pediatrics, 118(6), e1831-1835. LeBlanc, S. (2008, August 18). Studies: Video games can aid students, surgeons. Retrieved October 21, 2010, from the USA Today Website: http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2008-08-18-970688034_x.htm. Mhurchu, C.N., Maddison, R., Jiang, Y., Jull, A., Prapevessis, H., & Rodgers, A. Couch potatoes to jumping beans: A pilot study of the effect of active video games on physical activity in children. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 5(8): 1-5, 2008. Nastu, J. (2009, January 27). eSN special report: Project-based learning engages students, garners results. Retrieved October 21, 2010, from the eSchool News Website: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/topnews/index.cfm?i=56961. National Science Board. (2009, January 11). National Science Board STEM education recommendations for the President-Elect Obama administration. Retrieved October 21, 2010, from the NSF Website: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/2009/01_10_stem_rec_obama.pdf. Pardee, P. E., Norman, G. J., Lustig, R. H., Preud' homme, D., & Schwimmer, J. B. (2007). Television viewing and hypertension in obese children. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 33(6), 439-443. Roemmich, J. N., Barkley, J. E., Lobarinas, C. L., Foster, J. H., White, T. M., & Epstein, L. H. (2008). Association of liking and reinforcing value with children' s physical activity. Physiology and Behavior, 93(4-5), 1011-1018. Shaya, F. T., Flores, D., Gbarayor, C. M., & Wang, J. (2008). School-based obesity interventions: a literature review. Journal of School Health, 78(4), 189-196. Smith, B. K. (2007, April 28). Designing exertion interfaces for health. Retrieved October 21, 2010, from the CHI 2007 Website: http://workshopchi2007.pbwiki.com/f/Exertion_Interfaces_For_Health.pdf. Wallis, C. (2008, February 13). How to make great teachers. [Electronic version]. Time, 5 pages. Retrieved October 21, 2010, from Time Website: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1713174-1,00.html. Walters, C. (2007, November 15). The most popular toys of 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2010, from The Consumerist Website: http://consumerist.com/2007/11/most-popular-toys-of-2007.html. Acknowledgements The TECHFIT team recognizes the important contributions of Randy Strakis and Lois Campbell, two teachers at the school where the study was conducted. Without their cooperation and willingness to use class time to conduct the study, TECHFIT would not have been possible.
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