Final Reflection

Since the class is now over, it seems appropriate to reflect on what I have learned this semester. Each of the assignments brought something new that I had not previously thought of or tried before. Learning to make a website will definitely come in handy one day. Even if I don't use that ability for teaching PE, it may be more accessible for a different class that I may be teaching. I can't see myself using Studiocode for anything else other than college assignments or critiquing my own teaching one day, but it will definitely be very useful for the next year and a half. IMovie, however, I can see myself using for years. The potential for making videos to teach skills to students (and then post it to a class website) seems the most applicable for PE purposes of all the technologies learned in class, and I would almost guarantee that I will be using it again.

This class has also changed the way I think about teaching and technology. I really struggled to think of applications for teaching with technology before this class. I really thought the only practical uses would be in a computer class. Now, I know of several uses for technology in addition to the aforementioned ones. Students can use a class website to post suggestions on readings, take surveys, and edit content. My views on technology have changed as well. Thanks to Dan's "teach the process, not the program" motto, I believe it is best to learn the process rather than taking a class that just teaches a program (that I know I'll forget in a week anyway). I am not so overwhelmed by unknown technologies anymore because I know I can learn how to do things correctly. It's been a great class, one that I know I will use for years to come.

The Future of PE: Is the Apocalypse Upon Us?

As I searched the web to find technologies and websites to blog about, I happened upon several articles that piqued my interest. The articles discussed ways that PE teachers are using technology in the classroom, mostly with heart rate monitors and pedometers, which are excellent ways of qualifying and quantifying physical activity, respectively. However, these technologies are not particularly new, as they have been in use in physical education for at least a few years now, though they are beginning to catch on more and more. What interested me the most, is (in my mind), the horrible proposition that technologies such as the Nintendo Wii's Wii Fit and the game Dance Dance Revolution could become commonplace in the gym or classroom for PE. Here are some things that I've learned over the last several years: youth today love video games. I worked with a group of Boy Scouts for about a year and a half, and getting them to do anything that didn't involve video games was like pulling teeth. I also know that people need physical activity to help with disease prevention and many other things. So, if people need physical activity and love video games, games like Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution should be the perfect storm, right? Well, I still have a hard time believing that one day I will have stations set up in the gym (or what's left of it) for teaching a PE class using a Nintendo Wii or a similar technology. Does it have a better chance of providing health benefits than just sitting in a chair playing a video game? Of course it does, but I don't know if it can ever beat good ol' fashioned health-related fitness activities and games. Can it?

PE Central

Not to be too self-promoting for BYU, but one of the best websites for PE teachers out there is a site called pecentral.org. As we learned about Web 2.0 two weeks ago, I remembered a plug that our Advocacy teacher, Dr. Todd Pennington, made about a website that he and a colleague had created back when most people were still figuring out what the web was. PE Central is a site that PE teachers can use to search for and add content to to help other PE teachers throughout the world who may be short on ideas for their classes. From its small beginnings of two grad students in 1996, it has grown to a site that utilizes over 175 volunteers and has tremendous resources. The site contains links to online stores where you can purchase physical education equipment, ideas for practices, a section for adapted physical education, bulletin boards to bounce ideas off of other teachers, and much more. As a teacher, I could see myself using this site when I am out of ideas, to look for job openings, to reference PE journals and research, order equipment, and find media to use to teach. The website is an excellent example of user-editable content and something that teachers in a field that is not typically linked to technology can use.

Web 2.0

I still don't know much about Web 2.0. Sure, it's user editable content and is a way for everyone to be involved in a web page, but are there really any practical applications for it? I'm not entirely sold. Teachers could use it as a way for students to post different opinions on subjects and assign coursework, but do we really need all that? Can't we just show up to class? I think Web 2.0 has a lot of potential, but the social networking aspect of it is one I am already sick of, so I think my opinion has soured already. I think dispensing assignments and such will be the preferred avenue for me for now, but we'll see what the future holds. Maybe it's already time for Web 3.0.

Studiocode Stupor!

Okay, so actually it wasn't all that bad. It was a bit tedious to code every aspect of instruction and management that we wanted to look at, but the actual program is fairly straightforward to use. There were some hiccups throughout the process, namely the preview picture freezing about every two seconds of video, but it went smoothly thanks to Dan's step by step instruction.

So, what did I learn about management and instruction from the Studiocode project? Well, my classrooom management skills leave a lot to be desired. In the class on the video, I could have varied the formations more often. I think I only had 2 formations that I used in the lesson, so even counting them leaving their places to warm up, there were only really 3 different instances that you would even notice formations. In this lesson, I also could have used my whistle a lot more for the signals. I used it a lot at the beginning, but tailed off once the "dancing" started.

In reference to instruction, in watching the video again and reliving the lesson through Studiocode, I know I could use a lot more cues to teach. In this lesson, I feel like I did an excellent job with demonstrating the steps, but there could have been more cues for them to remember and to describe the steps. I also learned that dance is a tough lesson to give individual feedback without someone asking a question. General feedback is easy, but it can be hard to see the individuals struggling without watching it on video. In a real classroom setting, those students would be kids in my class that I would see again and offer feedback to.

Next semester, I know I will grow as a teacher and do a lot of things differently. I will focus more on giving more and better cues, try to be better at giving specific feedback, and try to vary the formations (just to change things up). I know Studiocode will help me find things to work on every week as we film and evaluate our lessons. We'll see how that goes.

Self-Help Through Video Analysis

The next task for us in IP&T 286 is to use Studio Code to analyze our own teaching. Sure, most of the time I'd care to not have to relive my teaching experience for that day, but supposedly it's good for me. I could probably go through a list of criteria and tell you what I did wrong and what I did right, but if it's on film (or digital video as the case may be), then my teaching is at least immortalized to poke, prod, overanalyze, and laugh at for...well, forever. However, I will say this: when I watch my teaching on video, I actually find a lot of good things among the bad and can improve from those things as well. Haha! Take that, self doubt!

iMovie Final

Here is my iMovie project about stealing a base in all its finished glory. Please, hold your applause 'til the end. I think as an actual coach, baseball is the most practically applicable use of iMovie to actually teach skills. Baseball skills are very intermittent in the games themselves, so batting, pitching, fielding, and baserunning can all be easily taught and captured using video. As I get faster using the program, I know I'll be able to more effectively use it throughout my career and my life.