Online Physical Education

I think that Online Physical Education can actually hurt the PE learning experience. Taking a course online could mean that the student never actually sees the teacher or the other students in the class. To me, this can be really affect the learning process, especially for something as active and hands-on as PE. The face-to-face interaction between students and teacher during PE class ensures that the students are learning and performing correctly. Even more so, having a teacher there to watch the students ensures that the students are performing exercises safely. Not having that social contact with the PE teacher can really slow the learning process because the students will never know if they are doing the task correctly.

I also think that Online Physical Education can also be harmful because of our society's dependence on technology. I think that part of the reason that so many people are obese today is because of their constant use of computers, televisions, video games, and other types of technology that leave them little time to be physically active. Having a break in the day to do regular Physical Education can be a much needed break from sitting all day in other classes. Online Physical Education can be really harmful for young children, in my opinion, because it encourages the constant use of computers. When I was growing up, PE was a part of my day where I could run around and be physically active for an hour. If kids logged into a computer and were told through the Internet to go to something active, I do not think that they would actually do it.

Overall, I think that regular Physical Education is much better than Online Physical Education. However, I do not know much about Online Physical Education and think that because it is so new, more research should be done on it. After it has been around long enough for the public to really see whether or not it is effective, I will be able to make a more educated decision on whether or not I would support Online Physical Education.