Gym Class Goes Virtual

Jan. 19, 2006 — -- For many, gym class means dodging locker room bullies, donning a uniform and ducking under high flying volleyballs. For Abbie Modaff, it means horseback riding and logging onto the Internet.

As a freshman at South High School in Minneapolis, Abbie's class schedule only had room for one elective class. A flute player, she wanted to take band, but she also had a physical education requirement to fulfill. The problem was solved when she discovered "online gym" -- a way for her to work out on her own time, fulfill the physical education requirement and continue playing the flute.

It's changed her attitude about gym class, too.

"It was never really constructive, I wasn't exercising much, I wasn't doing anything I liked to do," Abbie said. "With this, I got to do what I love -- ride horseback, swim, play soccer, bike -- and get credit for it."

Abbie is one of hundreds of Minneapolis high schoolers taking online gym. To fulfill the course requirements, students must work out for 30 minutes three times a week, and record details of each workout in an online journal. Just about anything that gets the heart pumping counts as a form of exercise, from running on a treadmill to dancing at a rock concert.

But it's not that simple: Every week the students also go online to view assignments from teachers, who direct them to different web sites to learn about a fitness-related topic and answer questions about it online. Tests are given at the beginning and end of each semester. Parents sign forms to confirm that their children are indeed exercising.

For one assignment, online gym teacher Frank Goodrich had students figure out the number of calories they burned on an average day. For another, he had them calculate their body mass index.

He said the course's self-directed format is beneficial.

"When you get to choose the physical activities you want to do, it makes what you do much more enjoyable and you're probably more likely to do it," said Goodrich, a veteran teacher of classroom and online gym.