Virtual ‘playground’ being added to 21 Iowa City elementaries

Technology is ‘wave of the future,’ Iowa City schools PE coordinator says

Jun. 3, 2023 6:00 am, Updated: Jun. 5, 2023 1:53 pm

IOWA CITY — Kids at Mann Elementary in Iowa City cheered each other on as they practiced kicking a ball at targets projected on the wall of the gymnasium Thursday, their movements tracked by a camera.

The students were the first in the Iowa City schools to experience new physical education equipment being installed this summer in all 21 of the district's elementary schools. Called the Lü Interactive Playground, the technology engages students physically, intellectually and socially in an active learning environment with curriculum-based activities.

Jan Grenko Lehman, physical education coordinator for the Iowa City Community School District, said seeing students "excitement and awe" while engaging with Lü was like "Christmas," she said. She believes it's the "wave of the future" of PE, she said.

Lü is a tool that will enhance the work PE teachers already are doing in the classroom, Grenko Lehman said. While students are engaged with Lü, teachers can observe them and help them correct their form. "It allows more freedom for one-on-one teaching," she said.

Each system includes a giant wall projection, a 3D camera that turns the wall projection in to a touch screen that can detect multiple objects, and a light and audio system. Adding Lü Interactive Playground to the district's elementary schools was approved unanimously May 9 by the Iowa City school board.

The total cost is $445,648 — or $21,225 per gym. Funding for the systems come from the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy and Secure an Advanced Vision for Education, capital project funds that includes purchasing major equipment like technology.

The Lü Interactive Playground company was created in 2017, and the company has sold more than 1,400 units in 35 countries today.

Grenko Lehman said "kids are not moving the way they used to" and speculates it could be a "product of COVID-19" when kids were out of school to mitigate the spread of the pandemic and spent months learning online. Lü could be a way to help reengage students, said Grenko Lehman, who also teaches at PE classes at Coralville Central, Hoover and Grant Wood elementary schools and online.

Activities available through Lü are designed by and for educators to help kids foster education beyond PE such as personal and social skills, arts, social studies, sciences, literacy, numeracy, interaction, movement skills and active living.

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"We know most of our students are kinesthetic learners," said Grenko Lehman, who is retiring this summer. "They’ve got to move in order to learn … not only are they going to learn it a little bit faster, but they’re going to retain it better than if they’re sitting at a desk. We teach students an arsenal of skills to help them lead a better, healthier, stronger emotional life."

Jen Neubauer, who will replace Grenko Lehman as PE coordinator for Iowa City schools, said the program will "complement" what PE teachers already are doing in the district.

For example, Neubauer, currently a PE teacher at Alexander Elementary School, said she likes to incorporate relaxation at the end of her class to help students transition back to their homeroom. Lü has software for that with instructions for students on breathing exercises and how to relax specific muscles, Neubauer said.

Neubauer said what's rewarding to her as a PE teacher is when students come to class and tell her about the active things they did outside of class time. "We want them to be healthy for life," she said. "The most rewarding thing is having them come back and say they applied their learning in PE class, whether or not it's through technology."

Josh Hildebrand, a PE teacher at Grant Elementary School, said Lü is being talked about in online teacher forums. "Everyone's excited about it," he said.

Lü's projector, audio and light system also will benefit other activities in schools, such as music and art. If teachers are reading a book to their class, they could use Lü to project the book's illustrations, Hildebrand said.

Hildebrand said elementary PE classes are only 27 minutes long.

"The excitement kids bring — I love seeing them dripping sweat, smiling and sharing what they did during that time with their classroom teacher," he said.

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