MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — The new gym class at Amanda Elementary School is a giant interactive video game for students— students like Breanah McNutt.

  • Students follow timed exercises, do math problems, all without a pencil or paper, but a dodgeball and a 20-foot screen
  • The Middletown school district spent about $20,000 on the “Lu” virtual gym system
  • So far, it’s only being used at Amanda Elementary School, but the district is looking to expand

“I actually like it and think it helps a lot,” said McNutt.

Born blind, the fifth-grader can’t see the game, but she can hear it.

“I like it because the different noises it makes when you hit the ball and when you hit the targets,” said McNutt.

It’s making her a part of the new gym class that she might not otherwise be able to do.

“I’m not a good thrower when he has a target thing… I barely make it, like the basketball hoop, but with this, I know if I made it or not,” McNutt said.

It’s part of the reason the school district spent about $20,000 on the “Lu” system, a virtual gym that projects interactive games on a 20-foot screen —one that gym teacher Brad Fletcher says more students can be a part of.

“Constant cheering, constant helping of others, and that’s the big aspect that I’ve seen,” said Fletcher.

The students follow timed exercises and do math problems — all without a pencil or paper, but a dodgeball.

And this year, the principal says they made it a part of the curriculum.

“We traditionally think of PE as you come, you run around, kids are engaged in different kind of sports, well, this is kind of a sport for the mind,” said Principal Beth Hendricks.

The idea came from an educational conference, and now it’s the only school in the region putting it to use.

But Middletown district leaders say they’re looking to expand.

“This is obviously something you have to budget for, so we wanted to test it out, see how our students enjoyed and interacted with the technology that we’re bringing in, now that we’re starting to get some of that data and see what that looks like, that is the goal, is to actually bring that to the rest of the district so they can also be inspired to do more learning,” said Stephen Mosby, Middletown City Schools.