Perils and promise of messaging: The media take on online gym

The Washington Post reminds us that online learning is still a new concept to many people, while imparting a critically important lesson (without intending to).

The article tells the story of Grace Brown, a freshman at West Potomac High School in northern Virginia, who

 “is getting school credit for virtual physical education, a concept that, as strange as it may sound, is being helped along by availability of wearable fitness trackers…

 Grace, who lives in Alexandria, wears a school-issued Fitbit on her wrist while getting in at least three 30-minute workouts a week outside of school hours. She has an app on her computer that screenshots her activity so she can turn it in for credit…

Though a physical education instructor isn’t shouting from the sidelines, teachers do guide assignments by setting goals such as fat burn, cardio or peak, relying on the technology to be their eyes and ears. Students also are required to sign in for a weekly 60-minute to 90-minute classroom session with the teacher.”

The article explains that taking phys ed online frees time in her schedule to take another elective at school, which is a very common story that we often hear from students in our studies. It also referenced Digital Learning Collaborative member Joliet Public Schools, quoting Karla Guseman, the district’s associate superintendent for educational services as noting that

“it’s one of numerous blending learning options that Joliet Township High School offers to give students both more control over the pace and time of their work, and more responsibility to get it done….

‘We’re trying to give them an opportunity to see what post-secondary might look like,’ Guseman said, ‘when you don’t meet every day but you’re still expected to do work for a course or preparation between class periods.’”

Several other districts and sources are mentioned as well.

The critical lesson comes in this quote, which in the context of the article questions whether tracking students’ physical activity is roughly equivalent to a P.E. class:

“There is a difference between physical activity and physical education,” said Chris Hersl, former vice president for programs and professional development at SHAPE America, which wrote national standards for K-12 physical education.

“Physical activity is great for the body. We want everybody to move,” he said, “but physical education is a class where students are taught how to move their body and the social context in which to do that.”

The problem this quote illustrates: online gym isn’t being compared to how traditional gym class operates; online gym is being compared to some hypothetical, ideal, “best practices” gym class.

I’m sure there are gym classes in which gym teachers consistently teach students “how to move” and appropriate “social context.” I’m even more sure that description does not apply to many gym classes in U.S. public schools.

This is a common approach among people defending traditional instructional methods. They don’t defend the real status quo. Instead, they hold up a mythical ideal, which is rarely reached, and compare the online version to that ideal.

Is online gym perfect? Definitely not.

Is it a good option for some students? Definitely yes.

Those two ideas can fit comfortably together.