FDL School Districts PEP Grant Acquires New Technology

Fond du Lac School District physical education staff and students are excited about trying out the new POLAR technology that monitors heart rate in a more convenient and effective manner. The new monitors and the accompanying technology obtained through the PEP Mindfully Active Community (MAC) Grant reads blood flow just under the skin in the forearm whereas earlier heart rate technology was a chest strap which was quite cumbersome for students.

Secondary physical education teachers pictured here with the new POLAR technology are: Joel Warner (left), Lauren Zivkovich (back to camera), Brian Holzman, and Jena Reisdorf who participated in a training conducted by George Centeio from POLAR in how to effectively use the new equipment. Teachers especially noted the ease and comfort of the new technology in addition to the abundance of feedback from a color touch screen. These features will ensure that students have a positive experience from the moment they put on the monitor.

Whether indoors or outdoors, due to the Bluetooth pairing capabilities, teachers can monitor each student’s heart rate throughout class with an iPad. Students get detailed, immediate, and continual feedback from their own screens as well as from teacher feedback.  Additionally, workouts can be saved and used to help students reach individual goals. Lauren Zivkovich, Woodworth physical education teacher, shared that the new heart rate technology has encouraged students to participate in exercises that increase their heart rates,“Students dropped all the equipment and began running laps around the gym to get more time in their zones. It was a fantastic experience to see the students want to work hard.”

This new technology aligns with PEP MAC’s purpose of inspiring students with fun, being driven to health, and perfecting our choices with science. The monitors will be introduced to fourth and fifth grade elementary students.  They will be used very frequently in all middle school PE classes, and they will be used in classes for individualized heart rate activities at Fond du Lac High School.