Week 5: GAME Plan
I believe that I have started taking action in reaching my goals for learning about technology and technology resources. Especially after reading the chapter in the book this week by Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer, I feel even more confident is using technology into my physical education classes. Before this week’s reading I was struggling on trying to find the tools that would help me and benefit my students the most. Some of the technology tools that were listed in the course text I knew about, but there were many that I did not and am very interested in trying to incorporate these into my teaching. I have learned so far that even in a non-classroom environment such as a gym where technology is very limited, that with a little encouragement and by taking risks you can turn the gym into a technology friendly environment.
There are still a lot of things I need and want to learn. My main question which is still very relevant to me, is how to engage my students and get them excited about using these different types of technology tools, without taking away the required time that we are to give students in physical education away? Some new questions that have come to me, is what do you do when you work in a title 1 school and the money that is given to your school is geared more towards academic classes and getting technology tools for them, how do you persuade your school to give some money to physical education and health classes? Today there is so much emphasis on math, reading, etc, because that is what students are tested on at the end of the year and the schools future depends on those test scores, many classes such as physical education, art, music, etc. are pushed under the rug and all the focus is on those academic classes.
I do not think my plan is going to need much adjustment; I just need to do more research and figure out more ways and innovative ways to incorporate technology into my teaching. I also, due to the lack of funds, am going to have to find ways to be innovative and use what little technology tools we do have to incorporate that into my classes.
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Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI, too, enjoyed this week’s reading. I was glad to read specifically how technology could be utilized in a physical education class. I have seen the ActivityGram when I have used the FitnessGram program but I have never explored it. After reading about it, I plan to investigate how I can use it with my students. Have you ever used ActivityGram with your students?
Funding is becoming a BIG problem for teachers. Just last week, my principal and I were talking about the possibility of writing grants to help in implementing year round physical education at our school. Part of the needed funds would cover the cost of additional pedometers and heart rate monitors for the increased number of students that would be in our classes. I have never written a grant, have you? I will definitely be checking into them after the holidays.
Terri
Coach McDaniel,
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone. I know how you feel; I am a related arts teacher too. At my school, we are sometimes referred to as “professional baby-sitters,” sad, but true. One way to get them excited is to turn something like “the mile run” into a competition where students have to track the amount of time it takes them to run the mile each week. Students can make charts and graphs using excel. Just a thought. I was told by a former teacher that we have to utilize what we have in all aspects to the best of our ability. Good luck!
-Farena
In my school we spend a lot of time working at combining the different curricular areas in order to target the same learning objective in different classes. Personally I would use this as a talking point in any attempt to procure funding. If you can demonstrate that you are working closely with the math classes or with other academic classes then the administration may be more willing to allocate funding. I teach tech ed which is not a priority like math or ELA. However, I have found that as long as I connect my objectives and such to the ELA or math courses taught in each grade I have little trouble getting admin support for my lesson plan ideas.
ReplyDeleteHope this helps!
--James
Coach McDaniel,
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I think will be very innovative for a Physical Education class is doing a lesson involving video taping. There is a lot of physical education that require "proper form." Exercising with proper form would be very helpful for students so that they do not develop bad habits which usually leads to injuries. Anyways maybe having a semester long project that allows students to demonstrate by video proper form on how to do squats or how different form stimulate different muscles. That is something that I wish that I knew until this day. Good luck with your GAME plan.
Bryan
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteIs there a computer lab that you can access for a small portion of your students? Or a few mobile computers that your students could access during your class? An interesting way to incorporate your content material and technology, without taking too much time away from the very important physical activity the students need might be to have some sort of a blog with a posted video or article for students to read and reflect upon. You could have a rotation of 3-5 students working on that particular assignment every day; enough to give everyone in the class an opportunity to interact on the blog. This would mean that you would have to plan and post some sort of content material (article, video, Voice Thread, chart, etc.) for each class/grade you teach, prior to the beginning of the week. You could also do this per unit/topic you teach. It might be a good opportunity for students to integrate those literacy and math skills into PE/health content, while requiring students to think about the content you are teaching, and therefore making deeper connections with it.
Good luck with your plan. There are grants out there, if you look hard enough! Check out ING Unsung Heroes. Deana suggested it to me, and it looks very promising!
Julie