Online gym affects traditional classes

Some educators say online gym courses are risky and of poor quality.
UPPER ARLINGTON, Ohio (AP) -- A high school gym teacher is offering incentives such as a field trip to a yoga studio and allowing students to work out on their own time to counter the popularity of online courses, which critics say can't teach kids to exercise properly.
Some out-of-state universities offer online high school courses for up to 115, which can satisfy Ohio's physical education requirement. By submitting logs of their weekly exercise, students earn credits toward graduation.
Michael Schaefer, head of physical education at Upper Arlington High School in suburban Columbus, said the online courses can't verify that students are getting a challenging workout.
Schaefer is competing by changing the traditional gym course. So many students wanted to take the field trip to a yoga studio this month that Schaefer had to hold a lottery. The experience was what a gym class should be, he said, with an instructor in the room, correcting poor form and sweating along with his students.
Schaefer also has started offering independent study courses this year that still allow students to choose when they work out but also give them personal access to the instructor.
What happened
About 150 of Upper Arlington's 2,000 students enrolled in online gym last school year. Meanwhile, the school's gym classes have shrunk. There were about 90 students per class four years ago, Schaefer said. Now, there are 45.
Some educators say online courses are a good option for students, but others fear they are unsafe and of poor quality, said Celia Regimbal, president of the Ohio Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
Jack Clark, a junior at the school, finished an online course through Brigham Young University and earned enough credits to fulfill Upper Arlington's physical education requirement in one month.
Typically, students take two semester-long gym classes to complete the requirement.
"I thought it was a pretty good deal," Jack said, adding that he received more credit for less work. The online course "was kind of weak compared to a [traditional] gym class," he said.
But Jack, 16, said the course freed up time for classes required by the rigorous International Baccalaureate program.
Upper Arlington school board member Margie Pizzuti supports the online courses and said a step-aerobics class that her daughter took through Brigham Young was "rather rigorous."
Here's the concern
But some educators are worried because online gym instructors never see students exercise.
"If that student for several weeks has a problem with their form, there's no one there to catch it before it causes an injury," said Judy Jagger-Mescher, a health education instructor at Wright State University who taught physical education for 34 years.
Schaefer hopes his creativity in the traditional gym class will make students realize that online gym isn't the best option.
"Just because it's easier doesn't mean it's the right thing to do," he said.