Exergaming at Home and in Formal Education: How Can It Become (More) Effective?

This paper examines how exergaming, video games requiring physical activity, can be made more effective across home and formal education settings. Its central thesis is that exergaming holds real educational, social, and motivational promise, but that its benefits depend on structure, guidance, and careful design rather than simply on the presence of the game itself. The authors draw on their own recent work on exergaming at home and in schools, as well as a broader literature on physical, psychological, and educational outcomes.

In home environments, the analysis highlights that social exergaming, whether played locally or online with family, friends, or other players, can satisfy basic psychological needs for relatedness, competence, autonomy, and novelty. Drawing on self-determination theory, the authors argue that meeting these needs supports learning and well-being. However, unstructured home play appears less effective, suggesting that community-, family-, and school-based programs could add the structure and guidance needed to realize its benefits.

The central empirical evidence comes from a four-week field study in regular school teaching, in which students practiced and then competed in group dance exergames aligned with curricular guidelines. Using game scores, student ratings, and teacher ratings in a pre-post design, the researchers report improved dance skills, high enjoyment, strong learning motivation, and greater acceptance of video games in schooling. No unintended negative effects on students' body image were observed. The paper also cautions that high adherence could lead to excessive exercise and gaming, and that enjoyment alone may not sustain repeated participation.

The authors conclude that exergaming can become a more effective and preferred activity in formal and informal learning contexts, but that this requires further research, clearer theoretical frameworks, and pedagogical guidelines. The paper's scope is conceptual and synthesizing, relying on a single school intervention rather than a large multi-site dataset, and its recommendations are framed as directions for future research and development.