A small group of students gather around an iPad that is mounted to the wall of the school gymnasium. One student clicks on a Pilates and yoga app and selects a yoga video to watch at the difficulty level that the group can handle. Students practice yoga poses for about five minutes until the teacher blows the whistle, signaling them to rotate to a different station with a new activity.

This is the unique form physical education takes at Scholars’ Academy in Far Rockaway, where the teachers have transformed their traditional sports-based gym program into a fitness model that incorporates the use of iPads.

The innovative program at this highly selective middle and high school was born four years ago when athletic director Joseph Lunati learned that area residents were reporting high obesity rates and, in consultation with the rest of the physical education staff, decided that more needed to be done to protect the health of the school’s students.

The physical education teachers also were eager to come up with a more manageable method of teaching large class sizes — a typical physical education class with up to two teachers includes anywhere from 66 students to more than 160.

“We wanted to find a way to take fitness and iPads and fuse them together,” said Lunati. “We also wanted students to learn lifetime fitness skills that can benefit anyone of any age, including a grandparent.”

At a recent class, students break up into groups and scatter to 14 stations in the gym. Each station has an iPad mounted to the wall that can rotate 360 degrees and a teacher-created chart next to it with the group’s workout instructions. Students rotate through an array of activities that get their hearts pumping: some work out to a video on their station’s iPad while other groups utilize the iPad timer as they run, jump rope or do sit-ups. (Some stations continue to offer traditional activities such as weightlifting, where the use of iPads is not compulsory.)

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Jonathan Fickies

The school’s four physical education teachers agree that the introduction of the iPad program has made their classes more effective and efficient and has boosted the amount of time students spend exercising.

“Engagement has really increased,” says Melissa Pascarella, one of the physical education teachers.

The teachers also note that they are better able to differentiate instruction by grouping students based on their fitness scores and then selecting the appropriate difficulty level for each group.

“If we are having trouble with a certain move or want to see it again, we can,” says 8th-grader Erika Velazquez.

The iPad apps make fitness assessment easier, too, as the programs continually track students’ progress. Students can monitor their own progress as well and enjoy seeing the instantaneous results.

“The program puts the students in control and allows them to learn at their own pace,” says Chapter Leader Susan Deruvo.

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Jonathan Fickies

The benefits of the iPad program are not confined to the gymnasium: 8th-grader Waseq Ahmed says he’s downloaded the Nike Training Club app on his own and works out at home, too. “I like the structured workouts that let me work on a specific muscle,” he says. “Using iPads makes class more fun.”

Student Nimrat Mann agrees. “It helps us work out and get sweaty,” she says.