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/