Reflection 4

Looking back on the past eight weeks brings several different feelings. I am one step closer to the completion of my masters degree, and I have built and created several new tools to enhance what I do. A feeling of accomplishment comes first as this may have been the most challenging course to date. What I learned and how I learned it has made technology a true factor in the content area of physical education. For the first time, I actually felt that some of the course work was directed towards physical education. I know have solid proof that technology can be integrated in p.e. and it can enhance how students learn and apply information to real life. To date, the most important factor that I have learned throughout my journey is how to relate curriculum to the world that student's live in. Each area of content that students participate in is of equal importance to how students will choose to live. Each time that an educator has an opportunity to reach someone new is a success, and if technology aids in that effort then it will be used as long as I choose to teach.

Relating Game Plan to Students

Now I need to connect everything that I have planned for myself to the students that I teach. After all, the students should be the most important variable in an educator's plan for improvement. I do think that in developing my game plan that I have had the best interest of my students in mind throughout the entire process. I cannot see how technology could hurt the progress of students in physical activity if that technology is used in ways that help educate students about why they are doing things and how those things may be benificial.

So far the focus of my game plan has been to meet National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T). Now I will shift some of the focus to the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S). Both may be found at http://www.iste.org/. So, how do the two standards that I have been working towards, relate to the standards set for students? The fourth standard for students is Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making. In this standard students are expected to

a. identify and define authentic problems and signifigant questions for investigation.

b. plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project

c. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions

d. use multiple processes and diverseperspectives to explore alternative solutions

This standard fits pretty well with my first goal to educate students of the trend reguarding overweight youth and the innactive lifestyles that they are living. Students will be expected to develop a personal fitness plan to fit their personal needs and record data such as fat percentage, weight, muscular strength, and cardiovascular endurance. I have also decided to follow up with a lesson that includes a blog page in which students will communicate with peers annonomously about things that did and didn't work and things that they did and didn't like. These activities, if they work as planned, should meet the needs of the students and fall under the standard set by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

My second goal to continue to incorporate different technologies in physical education could technically fall under several of the student standards, but standards one (Creativity and Innovation) and six (Technology Operations and Concepts) seem to be especially fitting. In these standard students are asked to use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues (1-c), understand and use technology systems (6-a), and transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies (6-d). The more technology that is introduced to students the further their knowledge will take them in education. Through this entire process I have decided that my main goal is to present my students with as many oportunities as possible in order to help them gain knowledge and put that knowledge to use in the technological world that we all live in.

References:

National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S) located at http://www.iste.org/.

Game Plan Revisions

It is time to look back at my game plan and take note of what I have done and what I would like to do in the future to include NETS-T standards in what I teach. For now I am focused on the NETS-T first standard, Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. This standard states that teachers should promote, support and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness. It also touches on engaging students in real-world issues and problem solving on the website http://www.iste.org/. Having students create fitness plans to meet their individual needs is a great activity to meet this standard. By educating students about the benefits of physical fitness and the increasing number of inactive youth, this lesson could be turned into a real life problem solving activity. Tracking progress through the use of heart rate monitors (HRM), pedometers, and spread sheet software ties technology into the lesson well. As far as meeting this goal, I feel very comfortable in how I will incorporate what I have learned in what I teach.

My second goal has changed. I wanted to learn more about digital responsibility and citizenship, but I don't really see this becoming an integral part of what I teach. My shift takes me to NETS-T standard 2, Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessment. As I continue to learn of new tools and software that could help students awareness of physical education I will look for ways to get them into lessons that I teach. I feel like technology has become a way to reach students who have not taken an interest in p.e. to this point. P.E. class should be something that students look forward to every day. The anxiety that many students have about physical activity can be reduced by meeting the need of individuals, and technology has made that task more of a reality than before. Tools such as fitness social networks provide support and feedback from individuals of the same background. One website that I have found that shows promise is http://www.meckids.com/. Another software program that gives information about individual fitness is Cooper Institute Fitnessgram (thanks John). This program gives comparisons to other students of the same age from around the country, and helps student set achievable goals based on their current fitness levels. The software also provides several assessments for students, which is another variable in the NETS-T content standards.

References:
National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at www.iste.org

The Cooper Institute, (2010) Fitnessgram. Retreived October 11, 2010 from www.cooperinstitute.org.

Game Plan Evaluation

Last week I began to take action to make the goals that I had set for myself a reality. I conducted research among p.e. teachers in my district, and online. I found many options to integrate technology into my classroom/gym that can and will enhance learning by incorporating goal setting activities and creative new ideas that should spark the interest of all students. Technology also allows to tailor activities in order to specify the needs of students of all body types and lifestyles. As far as, my comfort level in the area of digital citizenship and responsibility, I feel good about what I have learned. For the most part the thing that will affect my classroom most is the proper use and citation of resources.

My main focus from here is going to be incorporating technology into several different lessons. I do not want to narrow down the use of technology to one or two units. What I would really like to do is use technology somehow in most, if not all, of the units that I teach. Since my district has limited amounts of heart rate monitors (HMR) those will probably be distributed to a different group of students in each unit. If I am to accomplish this I will have to find more technology to use in different areas. I did find some toys to use in the Laureate text Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer suggest great tools like bioelectrical impedance devices that are used to determine body fat percentage (2009). This tool could be useful in that it takes much less time than calipers, and it is much less intrusive for the person being tested. Another suggestion in the the text is geocaching. "Geocaching uses treasures-the cache- that can be located anywhere in the world" (Cennamo, 2009) through the use of the Internet and GPS devices. After reading about this activity, I actually found a group in my town that does geocaching. This could be a great way to get out of the gym and try something new.

References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA. Wadsworth, Cenage Learning.

Game Plan Progress?

Well, I've done some homework on my game plan in the past week. What I have discovered is that I am not far off in my technology experience as far as physical educators are concerned. No, I still do not know how to use a Smart board, but after my last post I started to think about when it would ever be useful for me to do so. Because of this, I have decided to simply concentrate on the technology that I feel will benefit the content area of physical education. On the website, http://www.eschoolsnews.com/, I found an article that mentioned the three top technologies that are creating a "new p.e." are heart rate monitors, pedometers, and video games. These video games are not the same thing that I grew up with in the 80's. Dance Dance Revolution is a craze that is getting the students moving that might otherwise not be. It sounds a bit strange, but I was convinced of the power of DDR this past summer when the entire elementary school that I taught at played this game for two hours, and had a blast. Classroom teachers of all ages participated and seemed to have as much fun as the students(K-6). The game was used as an end of the year incentive that all students who met the criteria could participate in. There are also games out there, like Wii Fit, that help students with stretching and fitness skills.

Heart rate monitors are also a favorite among p.e. teachers. Not only do they give students an opportunity to personally track fitness levels, but they also can be used as a gauge as to how physically active students are during class time. Teachers are no longer left wondering if students are giving a full effort or not, thanks to the information given by heart rate monitors.

Pedometers are a part of technology that I am embarrassed to have forgotten. These devices count the amount of steps a person takes while wearing them. They are very small and relatively accurate. What a great tool for goal setting! Students can wear the tiny step counter and try to improve from previous days.

When talking with fellow p.e. teachers around my district I was informed that heart rate monitors and pedometers are used frequently. Pedometers more so at the elementary level, and heart rate monitors at the secondary level. All ages of students, however, use all three technologies.
As far as my quest to become more knowledgeable about etiquette in technology, I did have some success. In browsing the web to learn more about what is acceptable, I found that most of the etiquette that relates to education revolves around referencing and plagiarism. I did broaden my vocabulary by learning the term Netiquette (Internet etiquette). The main thing that I noticed about this topic was that individuals have taken it upon themselves to make grammatical corrections to blogs, Internet sites, and web sites that they come across. I guess that much of what is being said is not exactly constructive but very critical. What I have taken from this is that not everyone is perfect, and that it is not our job to correct small mistakes, but to be grateful for the information that is provided for us. This is much of the same type of good manners that we try to teach our elementary students. For the record, my feelings will not be hurt if someone finds some sort of typo in my blogs.

References:

Carter, D. (2008). Technology Brings "New P.E." to Schools. eSchool News. Retreived September 29, 2010, from www.eschoolsnews.com/2008/06/10/technology-brings-new-p-e-to-schools/

Continued Game Plan

In my previous post I stated that I needed to focus on modeling digital age work and learning (www.iste.org). I also said that I needs to develop my understanding of digital citizenship and responsibility. These two goals seem to go hand in hand, in that, if and when I begin to integrate more technology into the classes that I teach I will also educate students about the responsibilities that go along with using available technology. If I can meet these goals and get to a point that I am completely comfortable with all available technologies, then I will have the tools to reach all types of learning styles while promoting technology in a time that is often referred to as the "digital age".

The very first thing that I need to do to meet my first goal is to become completely familiar with all of the technology that is available to me in my district. The Internet, Smart Boards, ipads, ipods, spread sheet programs, and digital heart rate monitors are a few that I know about, however, I have not used them all. Smart boards are things that I have no experience with. They sound like one of the greatest additions to the classroom, but I simply have not been exposed to them, as I am in a swimming pool environment all day. This summer I taught elementary physical education and had the opportunity to see a smart board in action for the first time and loved it. Some of the classroom teachers were kind enough to let me play with the boards a bit, and they helped me understand quite a bit. Since the Aquatic Center that I work in is separate from any schools I do not have many opportunities to learn from teachers who use the technology each day. My second step in meeting the first goal will be to communicate with educators in my district about what they use and what is successful for them. Coworkers who have been through the struggles of learning new strategies can ease the growing pains for new teachers who need a bit of guidance. One more thing that I want to do is research via the Internet what other districts throughout the country use as teaching aids. Fortunately, I am in a program that has several of these teachers who have been very helpful thus far in providing guidance and feedback.

To meet my second goal of modeling digital citizenship and responsibility, I will rely on web research and coworkers as well. The thing about this goal that is a bit different from the previous is that I will be expected to use more of my own knowledge and common sense. I will take on the task of developing a list of web sites that discuss etiquette in technology and inform students of expectations as I develop a better understanding. With each new bit of technology that I introduce I will have researched etiquette prior in order to set a standard from day one.

Personal Game Plan

This week I have been asked to begin developing a personal game plan. After visiting the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) web site (http://www.iste.org/) I have become familiar with the National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T), and found that there are two that I feel very comfortable with. The first standard that I like is number one: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. This standard states that teachers use knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face to face and virtual environments. I think that any teacher who has chosen this profession should have the ability and accept the responsibility to promote student learning through inspiration and creativity. In a time of evolving technology it is the responsibility of all educators to prepare students for the future.

The second that I feel good about is the fifth: Engage in Professional Growth and Development. Considering that I am in my second year of graduate studies, I am a strong believer in the lifelong process of learning. There is no way to ever be completely competent in education because the world is ever changing.

The standard that is a bit questionable to me is: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning. This one is scary to me simply because I tend to be weary of the unknown. If I have plenty of time to learn something, there is a good chance that I will implement it. However, I have the narrow minded philosophy that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". The only way for me to open my mind is to force myself to try new things, and experience different types of technology in education. In a way, I am doing that now through graduate studies, but it has been tough at times. That is not to say that I haven't learned many valuable new strategies and skills related to technology. The next step I have to take is to actually implement the ideas that I have learned, and document the pros and cons of what I implement until I have the perfect concoction of educational tools.

The other standard that raised my eye brows was number four: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility. This one somewhat goes along with the previous standard that I had mentioned. Yes, I do enjoy having knowledge of technology, but I have not been in the world of technology long enough to know all of the etiquette that goes along with it. Obviously, there are common sense issues that anyone could understand, but there is so much more that could be learned on my end. Through professional growth and experience I will learn what is and is not acceptable in the world of technology.

Resources:
National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at www.iste.org

Reflection 3

Well, it is that time again in the master's program in which I reflect on the information that I have learned over the past 8 weeks. I know that I have abused this blog page, but I find it difficult to spend more time indoors throughout the summer than necessary.
I actually gained more confidence in myself as this literacy course developed. I have, in the past, been hesitant to break out of my comfort zone and embrace the significance of a large project. I have to admit that I also found some enjoyment in developing my own unit plan. I am currently in a position that does not allow for much creativity outside of the set curriculum. Students learn so many different life long lessons when literacy is incorporated into what they are learning. As a physical educator I have been skeptical about teaching literacy skills to students, but I now realize that there is not an area of education that could not benefit from the teaching or literacy in some shape or form.
I have realized that my biggest downfall as an educator is my naive out look on the impact that physical educators can have on students. I have always felt as though what I teach is very important, but I have not taken the time to consider the integration of so many other subject areas that could affect students positively. I continue to grow with each course that I complete, and intend to make an honest effort to include new subject matter and ideas to my every day mission to guide students through education in order to create confident, successful members of society.

Reflection 2

As this 8 week course comes to a close I find myself feeling as though I have gathered all kinds of useful information that will help me to improve my teaching style and understand the learning process of my students. I had learned of the different learning theories as an undergraduate, but the in depth look at each of them has truely heightened my knowledge. I can actually put a tag on my teaching style, and describe which theories work best in my environment. I have to say that I pretty much thought that my teaching style related mostly to the cognitive learning theory. As a p.e. teacher I like to relate student's ability to retain information to physical activity whenever possible. There are studies that prove that to be true, but I have found that there is much more to learning than simply retention.

Constructionism is a theory that takes knowledge that students already have and builds on it. What a great theory for learners in a physical education setting that builds on skills and puts them all together to develope a final product. Swimming is a great example; students first learn to float, then kick, then arm strokes, before putting it all together for a final product which is a full stroke. I have also learned to embrace the learning theoty of behaviorism. This "old fashioned" theory still actually has its' place in the classroom. Praise is a good thing, there is no way around that, but there is a fine line with students where they are either working for praise or working for knowledge. I guess that the one thing about my instructional strategy that will change after this course is that I will pull from a hodge podge of different stategies and theories, and I will more that likely use all of them at some point. Having an open minf about instruction and learning is the only way to reach every student.

As opportunities arise to teach health in the classroom I will have the ability to utilize tools to make classes more interactive. A white board that students may use to become involved in an otherwise dull lecture is a great way to keep their attention. I will also definately be using virtual field trips. The more that students can see, the more concrete the information is that we teach them. Virtual field trips a excellent for making information relevant and showing students the world without ever having to leave the classroom.

Social Learning Theory

This week's learning theory is the social learning theory. The idea behind this theory is that student's learn from each other and by working cooperatively. In the text "Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works" cooperative learning is described as a type of learning in which "students interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance their learning" (Pilter, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007). What I like about this theory is that students use their individual strengths in order to contribute to the efforts of a group to reach a common goal. Students learn from each other every day, and the thought that teachers can give some direction to help them take on the role of educator is very appealing to me. Society requires that people interact with one another and we are responsible for preparing young students for their future.

Some of the suggested activities in the text that caught my eye are Keypals and Web Site Creation. Keypals are an updated version of what many teachers know as pen pals. There are several web sites that can be used to communicate with students around the world, but with much less wait time (www.epals.com/ , www.world kids.net/clubs/kci , http://www.iecc.org/). Email and the Internet have made communication more accessible to students and teachers alike. Web site creation can be thought of as a research project. Groups of students work together to build a web site that has multiple pages that cover a subject given by the instructor. I have to say that I have never used either of these techniques, but I could definitely like to make room in my curriculum for something like one of these.

I am required to post a VoiceThread assignment that I worked on this week that is an activity that students could participate in while falling under the social learning theory. The page that I have been working on is http://voicethread.com/share/1040684/. The subject hat I chose to "try" and present on was spanish speaking students in the classroom. Regrettably I am not happy with how this project went for me because it seems like it could be a fun and educational activity. I did not get much onto the presentation partially because of my ignorance with the program and partially because time was very sparse this week. I definitely have work to do to understand this tool, but I like it enough to actually try it some more. My current frustration level got the best of me this week!

Resources:
Pilter, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandiria, VA: ASCD

Constructivist and Constructionist Learning Theories

In this week's video Dr. Orey stated that constructivism is when students "construct" their own meaning of something, while constructionism is when they build on something that they have already learned about (Orey 2007). I view constructivism as a theory in which students have the opportunity to get their hands into and actually build a knowledge base by being involved. Educators are fortunate in that there are several technological resources that make this learning construction possible. The first example given in the text "Using Technology With Classroom Instruction That Works" is spread sheets. When most of us this of spread sheet we think of a program called Microsoft Excel, but there are several different programs that have grown in popularity (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, p.204, 2007). When I think of spread sheets I have some anxiety. This tool can be very overwhelming at first, but with just a little training it may be used for seemingly endless possibilities. It can get you from point A to point B with out having to do all of the dirty work in the middle. I actually used a spread sheet in a class to track work out habits and caloric intake. It actually helped me to build a plan and a certain knowledge about energy intake vs. energy out put. What was most impressive to me was that I could create any type of graph that I wanted, so that I had that visual reassurance that my work actually had some positive results.

I believe that if students are actively involved and almost teaching themselves Then there is a high change for retention. Most students will remember their science projects from elementary school for their life time. The reason that they do is simple, because they had to develop a hypothesis and test it. The out come was not always what was expected, but the experience of actively learning about a specific subject was defiantly memorable.

Resources
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenowski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2007). "Constructionism and Constructivism". Presenter: Dr. Orey

Cognitive Learning Theory

Whenever I think about cognitism I think about brain activity and the brain's ability to retain and retrieve information. This week in my masters program I am learning to incorporate new learning tools in what I teach. I am currently working on a conceptual map(http://www.bubbl.us/) that will correlate with a virtual field trip. These tools are great for creating an interactive approach to new subjects that I may have expected students to read about instead. A concept map is sort of like a brain storm that starts with a central node or idea that is built upon based on what we want our students to learn. By using a concept map students may develop words or cues that will hopefully trigger memory receptors in their brain in order to relate to a central idea. The virtual field trip seems to me to be the icing on the cake. A visual and interactive activity to reinforce what ideas were developed within the conceptual map.
I love the cognitive learning theory because I can relate my field of education (p.e.) into the process. Based on several studies done on blood flow to the brain after physical activity, students reading scores are higher if they are physically active for 20 min. each day due to their ability to retain information. The University of Michigan has a good website with information relating physical activity to brain activity at
http://sitemaker.umich.edu/356.speregen/physical_education_and_school_performance .

Behaviorst Learning Theory

I have to say that in the environment that I teach, there is not much room for the behaviorist learning theory. In the aquatic environment, tutorials described by Dr. Orey do not have any real place. I do not use computers as a part of everyday lessons. Once in a while they are used to download information from heart rate monitors, but never really to teach new material. I do however use this theory as a disciplinary tool. Using praise to encourage student’s behavior and skill progression has proven to be very effective. The only problem that I have with this strategy is that I don’t know if students are simply hungry for praise or if they are actually being trained to do the right thing. I have to say that having read chapter 10 of the text “Using Technology With Classroom Instruction That Works” and reading the online article “Behaviorism Tutorial” from Athabasca University, I have learned of another way that I continuously utilize the behaviorist theory of learning. That area is practice. Within the subject of physical education, students are expected to perform certain skills at various times throughout their career as students. To narrow the subject down even more, when students are asked to perform certain swimming skills within a set amount of time, much of the unit is dedicated to practice and repetition. When I talk about using this method I feel like it sounds lazy or monotonous, but it actually works, and with a little bit of creativity students can practice skills without actually knowing it. I guess that my point is that no matter how badly educators want to push this theory to the side, I think that it would be difficult to find a teacher who does not use the behaviorist learning theory in one way or another.

Back to Blogging

I want to apologize for my lack of posts for the last couple of months. However, I have just begun a new course on my path to a master's degree. I will be required to post every so often so there will be something new for anyone interested in checking. I look forward to all of the discussions that will take place over the next few weeks!