Assessing Student Knowledge and Incorporation of Smart Technology Into Daily Physical Activity

This study describes high school students' use of smart technology to enhance leisure-time physical activity. Participants included 109 students who completed an informational survey comprised of questions examining non-school sport and physical activity hours, daily video game hours, and use of Kinect active video games and smartphone apps. Students engage in 1.99 hr/week of physical activity (SD = 1.13), play video games an average of .46 hr/day (SD = .69), and use 1.21 active video games (SD = 1.43) and .52 smartphone apps (SD = .75). Results show that students are minimally familiar with active video games and smartphone apps, but fail to meet physical activity recommendations set by the American College of Sports Medicine. Additionally, students can benefit immensely from structured instruction on health benefits and incorporation of such technology. Recommendations for application include explicit classroom instruction, teacher encouragement, and reinforcement throughout coursework.