Counting of steps (practicing active lifestyle)
Preparations
Step counting is made with a help of smart devices. Most common is smart phone and health applications in it. Most Androids and IOs contain health applications by default. The users must enable application. In case of no application in the phone, please use external on-line sources to download any step counting applications for your phone. One of the most popular: Huawei Health, iHealth, Endomondo.
Smart bracelets or watches is the most appropriate gadget to use, as it allows to count steps everywhere you go, even when smart phones are not allowed.
Purpose of use
Walking is the most affordable form of physical activity, as it does not require any specific skills, tools or spaces. Getting to know your daily number of steps is a good starting point to improve your daily moving. Counting of steps is also a way to socialize with others, sharing with others and caring how active others are. It’s a good way to spend time actively and experience communication. At schools or any educative areas, it serves like a perfect tool to engage students into teamwork and create stimulus to be physically active. Step counting may be transferred into a game with prizes, involving groups, classes, schools into competition for biggest number of steps.
How to implement
Noticing number of daily steps may be organized in a variety of ways. It can start from very small local class group, where leader (teacher) is sharing his daily steps during the class and asks students to share their numbers too. It may become a part of a school’s culture to stay aware of how physically active everybody at school is. School may create best walkers’ charts and expose them printed or on the web page of the school or share weekly or monthly results on the school online diary to help parents become aware. Organizers and moderators may be picked from the school community and consist from teachers, student board members and parents.
This activity may also be controlled and organized using online groups like Facebook, Instagram or other chat groups. Participants may post print-screen pictures with numbers showed in the application according the rules of the competition. Please see the picture No. 1 below as an example.
There should be rules discussed and accepted by everybody to prevent cheating, which is a huge problem when it comes to students, who always find the ways to create fake numbers of their steps.
Prizes may stimulate better results. However, in most cases prizes are nor necessary. Being a part of the active group may be strong enough stimulus itself. Most successful stories come from schools where whole community or at least some individuals from different parts of community like teachers, administration, parents and grandparents are involved.
