Technavio Updates on the Physical Education Technology Market

In a new report, Technavio analysts forecast the global physical education technology market to grow immensely during the forecast period and will post a revenue of almost USD 8 billion by 2020.

The research study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global physical education technology market for 2016-2020. The report also presents the vendor landscape and a corresponding detailed analysis of the key vendors operating in the market.

Educational institutions have laid greater emphasis on educational subjects such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), which provide better learning opportunities. However, with the rise in awareness among institutions regarding health and academic benefits of physical education, efforts are being made to improve this field of education. The deployment of physical education technology has yet to gain momentum in developing regions. However, in Europe and North America, the situation is much better with physical education being an essential part of course curriculum. With fundamental requirements of infrastructure and e-learning in place, they are able to adopt physical education products and services.

"Interactive Health Technologies partnered with Gopher Sport through which the FITstep Pro pedometer of the latter will be used along with the software solution offered by the former. In addition, Interactive Health Technologies formed a partnership with adidas to promote adidas Spirit Challenges among the former company clients," says Jhansi Mary, a lead education technology analyst at Technavio.

Technavio's education analysts highlight the following three factors that are contributing to the growth of the global physical education technology market:

-Increasing emphasis on differentiated instruction

-Rising involvement of physical education stakeholders

-Provides improved fitness and skills development

Increasing emphasis on differentiated instruction

The onset of technology-aided education system globally has vastly influenced each and every aspects of education, be it data collection and storage, content delivery, or assessment. Teachers are using various technological solutions ranging from hardware to software to enhance their teaching effectiveness. Physical education teachers are adopting devices such as heart rate monitors and pedometers to seek detailed information on their students' daily activities and performance. The data collected by means of these devices is then used for the purpose of designing fitness sessions.

"Differentiated instruction plays a crucial role in ensuring equal learning opportunities for all students while emboldening teachers with appropriate tools and technology. Therefore, the traditional practice of one-size-fits-all does not seem to be relevant and effective these days," says Jhansi.

Rising involvement of physical education stakeholders

To foster the idea of being healthy and physically fit among students, educators are promoting and spreading awareness about the importance of focusing on physical education apart from the regular academic courses. In addition to the promulgation of the importance of physical fitness, many institutions have incorporated software solutions and data capturing devices within their infrastructure. These devices are synchronized with computing devices that collect data related to various fitness activities such as calories lost and heart rate fluctuation.

The quantifiable data available, guides instructors to take strategical decisions, set realistic goals, and devise an entire roadmap of how to implement an effective physical fitness program. Intervention policies and steps can be taken for corrective measures in terms of teacher training and equipment required. In addition, the pre- and post-fitness activity data can be compared and this information can be useful for teachers to build physical education programs.

Provides improved fitness and skills development

Physical activity is proven to help individuals in enhancing attention and concentration. Exercises are found useful in brain development and enhancing cognitive skills. The emphasis on an individual's early childhood to improve these aspects are getting impetus from such findings. As a result, institutions are looking at physical education as another tool to improve academic performance of students.

The advantages associated with participation in fitness activities have long-lasting impacts in the prevention of diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and high blood pressure. Since students spend majority of their time at schools and colleges, the management are using the opportunity to foster physical education awareness among students. These initiatives will lower the problem of obesity among young children. These developments are attracting the attention of educators.

Technavio is a technology research and advisory company.

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