Sunday, December 11, 2016
StudentBook
StudentBook is a Google Chrome application that allows teachers to post exams, homework, and share due dates and other important dates in the course. I would use this application for posting homework assignments if I had any or other supplemental assignments for the course. I would not choose to use it for exams because I believe they should be done in class where I could observe the students, If I was to use it for exams I would have to take the class to a computer lab or reserve enough laptops to be able to keep an eye on the students to make sure they wouldn't cheat. A possible limitation is that even though all the assignments are posted online students may not have access to a computer when they are due. Also not having a hard copy of the homework or assignment could lead to some students missing assignments.
Saturday, December 10, 2016
TeacherTube
TeacherTube is a Google Chrome application that allows teachers to share videos, documents, audio and photos with students. I can use this in both my Physical Education and Health classes. I like the idea of using this as a tool to teach my students the information before class in a reverse lesson way. By putting videos and note documents on the website I would be able to have them do either projects in class or jump right into the physical activity for the day. I understand that not everyone has the time or ability to watch and digest tons of information at night, so I would keep videos short and give handouts of the note documents the day before.
Pew Survey Results: Teens, Social Media, and Technology
After reading the study the results that most resonated with me is the teens and their use of smartphones as a primary source of internet usage and that they use it several times per day. Having coached and worked around high school children for a good amount of times it is easy to see how much kids are attached to their phones. It seems like they interact more through social media and texting than actual human to human.
The most surprising result that I found was how Facebook dominated the social media platforms. I understand that the article is over a year old and that things may have changed but even with that the high percentage of Facebook users and low levels of other platform users is interesting. From my experience it seems that teens were most interested in Twitter and Snapchat, When I was coaching the kids would always be talking about who was snap chatting them or how many people they were connected with on the app. Also from experience it seems as if Facebook is becoming more used by parents and older people compared to the younger generation.
The least surprising out of all the results was that boys were more likely than girls to own and play video games. I believe this is more of a result of societal expectations than any other factor. Also the creators of video games tend to create games more widely appealing to guys then girls. They tend to be violent or based on male sports.
When it comes to how I will apply the results to my teaching, it mostly comes down to that the use of the internet and social media is key to reaching the students. I could do this by creating a class Twitter and Facebook page which detail what is being taught in class as well as other websites and internet resources that can be supplemental and helpful. As long as they follow then they should get notifications and never have an excuse not to know the details of assignments and due dates.
The most surprising result that I found was how Facebook dominated the social media platforms. I understand that the article is over a year old and that things may have changed but even with that the high percentage of Facebook users and low levels of other platform users is interesting. From my experience it seems that teens were most interested in Twitter and Snapchat, When I was coaching the kids would always be talking about who was snap chatting them or how many people they were connected with on the app. Also from experience it seems as if Facebook is becoming more used by parents and older people compared to the younger generation.
The least surprising out of all the results was that boys were more likely than girls to own and play video games. I believe this is more of a result of societal expectations than any other factor. Also the creators of video games tend to create games more widely appealing to guys then girls. They tend to be violent or based on male sports.
When it comes to how I will apply the results to my teaching, it mostly comes down to that the use of the internet and social media is key to reaching the students. I could do this by creating a class Twitter and Facebook page which detail what is being taught in class as well as other websites and internet resources that can be supplemental and helpful. As long as they follow then they should get notifications and never have an excuse not to know the details of assignments and due dates.
Working as a Team
Ms. Cope delves into a practice that is an important part of the Physical Education course, teamwork. She speaks of teaching the importance of being a productive member of a team and the best place to show this in the school setting with instant results and consequences is Physical Education. By playing team sports it shows that to be successful all members of the team need to be involved and working together. At the high school level where I want to teach most of the games and activities are team related so it should be easy to instill the values of teamwork in the students.
She also talks about how she uses the division of responsibilities within a group to show how important all members are. I can use this lesson in my health classes when giving projects out. I can go over broader subjects and have students do projects where each member of the group is responsible for a different part. This forces all members to become masters at their part of the topic and creating an end product that helps other students learn the information. Also the ability to teach is the best way to show if the students have a firm knowledge of the information they need to know.
The Work of Play
In this video the teachers describes the struggle of maintaining a balance of work and play. She started off by stating how depriving children of play can stunt their growth. Being a future PE teacher this is a fact that I will take pride in. The fact that there is so much room for play and providing a somewhat mental break from the hours of book work and notes throughout the school day.
Another issue raised is that of sharing but not calling it sharing. I like the way that the teacher in the video phrased it by instead of telling the students they need to share that instead it was an issue of kindness and respect. I feel like that approach works better because children need to know what respect is and how it is displayed as well as kindness, and sharing falls under the umbrella of those qualities.
A third idea I pulled from the video is that of being able to choose what they are interested in that day. So instead of being tied down to one activity or idea allow the students to choose what they are interested in that day to make it better and more productive for them. This could be implemented in such a way as offering the game that is currently in cycle or the ability to go to the weight room for that day, or allow for a fun Friday type of model where on Fridays or a certain day of the week there can be multiple activites going on at once with a choice of which to participate in.
Another issue raised is that of sharing but not calling it sharing. I like the way that the teacher in the video phrased it by instead of telling the students they need to share that instead it was an issue of kindness and respect. I feel like that approach works better because children need to know what respect is and how it is displayed as well as kindness, and sharing falls under the umbrella of those qualities.
A third idea I pulled from the video is that of being able to choose what they are interested in that day. So instead of being tied down to one activity or idea allow the students to choose what they are interested in that day to make it better and more productive for them. This could be implemented in such a way as offering the game that is currently in cycle or the ability to go to the weight room for that day, or allow for a fun Friday type of model where on Fridays or a certain day of the week there can be multiple activites going on at once with a choice of which to participate in.
Monday, December 5, 2016
Flipped Lesson
I chose to do my flipped lesson on the basic rules of football for multiple reasons. The first reason I did chose that topic was because it is what I did my padlet on so I had a foundation to work off of. The second reason I chose this topic is because I coach football and played it so I am knowledgeable when it comes to the game and the skills that are required to succeed in it.
After the students watch and do the flipped lesson we would move right in to the activity that the lesson has given a background for. In this case instead of having to give an abbreviated lesson on the basics of football before learning throwing and catching, we could go straight to learning those skills and have more time to improve them.
After learning about and creating a flipped lesson I am extremely comfortable with the idea and am interested in using it when I become a teacher. In Physical Education classes specifically I like the idea that I can present the students with lessons where they can gain knowledge of activities and skills beforehand. This allows me to use the period more fully and only have to review skills and activities and allow for more time to work on them and play games to keep the students entertained.
After the students watch and do the flipped lesson we would move right in to the activity that the lesson has given a background for. In this case instead of having to give an abbreviated lesson on the basics of football before learning throwing and catching, we could go straight to learning those skills and have more time to improve them.
After learning about and creating a flipped lesson I am extremely comfortable with the idea and am interested in using it when I become a teacher. In Physical Education classes specifically I like the idea that I can present the students with lessons where they can gain knowledge of activities and skills beforehand. This allows me to use the period more fully and only have to review skills and activities and allow for more time to work on them and play games to keep the students entertained.
Monday, November 7, 2016
Using Padlet to Plan a Unit About Football
I chose to make football my unit topic because it was my favorite activity in PE when I was in high school and is still my favorite sport. It is the sport that I played and currently coach so I am very familiar with the intricacies of it and could make it a very fun and interesting unit.
I developed my essential question from the fact that I personally believe that football is a great activity for utilizing and excising the entire body. It not only makes the student look into the sport of football and possibly open them to a new hobby or interest. But even if it does not appeal to the students it still allows for learning about the positive health benefits of going out and doing similar activities has for individuals.
The goals I selected were chosen because I wanted the students to get a basic understanding of the sport. Football is a prevalent part of american culture so it would not hurt for them to know a little bit about the rules and the game itself. Also tracing back to my previous point about health, It allows students to better understand their bodies and how it works while they are exercising.
I chose to use the Sketchpad and Exam Time apps as my technological aids. Sketchpad would allow students to see a visual of the field and be able to see how all the moving parts would work during a game as well as see distances for penalties and draw up plays if they got to that point. Exam Time is a good tool for learning the rules of the game, positions and other pertinent information. This is true because it allows students to make digital flash cards and other visual aids that they could share with classmates to better understand the rules or prepare them for an assessment.
I developed my essential question from the fact that I personally believe that football is a great activity for utilizing and excising the entire body. It not only makes the student look into the sport of football and possibly open them to a new hobby or interest. But even if it does not appeal to the students it still allows for learning about the positive health benefits of going out and doing similar activities has for individuals.
The goals I selected were chosen because I wanted the students to get a basic understanding of the sport. Football is a prevalent part of american culture so it would not hurt for them to know a little bit about the rules and the game itself. Also tracing back to my previous point about health, It allows students to better understand their bodies and how it works while they are exercising.
I chose to use the Sketchpad and Exam Time apps as my technological aids. Sketchpad would allow students to see a visual of the field and be able to see how all the moving parts would work during a game as well as see distances for penalties and draw up plays if they got to that point. Exam Time is a good tool for learning the rules of the game, positions and other pertinent information. This is true because it allows students to make digital flash cards and other visual aids that they could share with classmates to better understand the rules or prepare them for an assessment.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)