Red Rover, Red Light, Green Light 1-2-3, Spud, and kickball. If you are like me, hearing any of these words brings back memories of childhood afternoons. After school routines used to involve eating a quick snack and then meeting up with the crew on the block to play. We would play until mom yelled from the front porch that it was time to eat. No, this was not in the 1950’s, but rather the late 80’s and 90’s in suburban Long Island, New York. I had the privilege of growing up on a street with three other kids in the same grade as me. The four of us, my two younger brothers and I, plus a few kids who grew up on the next block over, would play games nearly every day. 

The new age of learning

We all somehow instinctively knew the rules to the many games that were played over the years. It was rare that someone didn’t know how to play. We would be out there running and burning off energy (getting exercise), building friendships (collaborating), as well as figuring out how to win (trial and error). As kids, we were not thinking about all the positive skills we learned from our games. Keeping active and building those 21st century soft skills would serve us well as adults!

That was 30 years ago. Although that does not seem like a long time ago, it was on the cusp of a technology revolution that would change the way children play and interact with each other. Of course, there were video games then too. We played Genesis, Super Nintendo, and PlayStation, but those were primarily reserved for rainy days. They were a fun substitute for play, but not a full alternative to active games. Fast forward 30 years, we now see that the internet, along with advanced gaming technologies, has completely changed the way kids interact, play, and even eat.  

A generational shift in play

As a former sixth grade teacher, I witnessed firsthand how students’ active play had drastically decreased since I was their age. However, the changes were a bit shocking. Getting physically active was a chore for many of my students. They became easily winded after minor play and needed multiple breaks with water. This was just from a walk around the block after lunch. Intrigued, I’d ask my students what they did when they got home from school, and a majority of them described how they would partake in hours of online gaming with friends. A few were involved in organized sports a few days a week, but the surprising response was that no one was going home and getting outside for any type of active play.

Hours of stationary gaming is troubling and detrimental to kids’ health. The human body was not meant to be inactive (I type this from my standing desk, so I know the struggle). During my time as a teacher, I started an intramural club after school that met twice a week. Depending on the age group, I introduced different games to the kids and found that most had never heard of them, let alone knew the rules or how to play.  

Using technology to connect physical activity and skill building

Clearly, there has been a shift in the way younger generations interact with each other and maybe the solution is to harness that technology to teach them about getting active. This could inspire them to get back out there and play, but if anything, they will be learning some new skills that can be used in the future. A great way to incorporate technology and physical activity is through app creation. If you’re not an app developer and know nothing about coding, don’t worry! You don’t need to be a STEM teacher to take advantage of apps for physical fitness and skill building benefits. 

MAD-learn is an app development program for grades K-12  that is designed to have students harness their love of technology and create something that can be used in their everyday lives. This is a great platform for designing apps that expose students to active play and nutrition. You can implement app development into any class, and games and nutrition can be taught as well. Have students take charge of their learning by researching and creating apps that will help get their peers out of their gaming chairs. There are so many ways to use MAD-learn to encourage active lifestyles and healthy choices. Here are some ideas:

• Learning the rules of certain games  
• Learning to utilize outdoor spaces for games
• Places that kids can meet to play these games
• Nutritional facts
• Best practices for developing healthy eating habits
• Tracking their gaming/online usage

More MAD-learn resources

Instead of going to extremes and banning students from using the technology that they have grown up with, we need to embrace it. With this, we can empower students to create a balance between their physical and technological lives. We also need to remember that the skills we learned while playing outdoors can also be learned playing video games or building an app. As teachers, all we need to do is bridge the gap between healthy lifestyle choices and current trends in play. The students can do the rest!

For more information on MAD-learn, check out our MAD-learn Basics course or the “Engaging App-renuers for the 21st Century” blog post. 

For more tips, tricks, and tools for teaching in and out of the classroom, check out more content on the Teq Talk blog or our YouTube channels OTIS for educators and Tequipment.

We also offer virtual professional development, training, and support with OTIS for educators. Explore the technology and strategies that spark student success — no matter where teaching or learning are happening!

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