As screen time increases and physical education opportunities in schools decrease, could digital tools be used to promote physical activity?
That’s a question Chad Killian, assistant professor of kinesiology at the UNH College of Health and Human Services is trying to answer.
"We're seeing a historic decline in physical education and physical activity opportunities in schools," Killian says. "I've always viewed digital technology as a medium to potentially supplement or expand those opportunities, both within and beyond the school day."
From Dissertation to COVID-19 Response
Killian developed a research interest in digital physical education during his doctoral studies, where he was one of only a handful of researchers exploring this niche area.
"We were pretty ostracized in our field," Killian recalls. "Nobody came to our conference presentations. We got published, but nobody really read our stuff."
Then COVID-19 hit, suddenly pushing Killian's research into the spotlight. In response, he and an interdisciplinary team of colleagues from other academic institutions developed free online modules to help teachers adapt to remote physical education
The myPE Project: Personalized Digital Physical Education
While teachers struggled to implement online physical education curriculum during COVID-19, the free modules from Killian’s team received positive feedback and thousands of views on YouTube.
Building on this momentum, the team is now working on a digital platform called myPE. myPE is designed to be a flexible, student-driven program where students would engage with brief instructional content online, then be encouraged to participate in physical activities of their choice in their own communities.
The program emphasizes reflection, prompting students to consider what they enjoyed, what barriers they encountered, and how active they were.
"We're trying to help students identify personally relevant, meaningful, sustainable physical activities," Killian says. "We also want to help them understand how to navigate barriers to physical activity across the lifespan.”
Currently in its pilot stage, myPE is being developed through the Center for Digital Health Innovation with support from the UNH Innovation Grant Fund. The team hopes to eventually offer it as an alternative physical education credit in schools and expand to other contexts, such as healthcare settings and summer camps.
The Road Ahead
Killian stresses that a digital approach isn't about keeping students glued to screens, but rather using technology to motivate and guide them towards real-world physical activities.
"People in our field can be very suspicious of digital, because it can be seen as a sedentary endeavor," he says. "But it's how we conceptualize using digital that makes it valuable or not."
As the project develops, Killian’s team will continue to refine their approach, seek funding and conduct studies to determine the effectiveness of digital physical education interventions.
“Quality physical education doesn't just have to happen in the gym or on the sports field during the school day and that prompted me into exploring digital as a way to promote quality physical education experiences,” Killian says. “But, if we find that digital isn't the way, we will find a different way.”
