Power Down Day

I chose to do my power down day yesterday, April 17th 2011.  It was a Sunday and I had the whole day free with nothing to do.  I ended up getting a lot more things done with out technology.  I spent a lot more time with family and I got a lot accomplished.  I was outside a lot more as well.  The weather wasn't the best but it was nice enough to go out for a little while.  Not having technology shows me how much time I actually spend using these things. Some aspects of the power down day were harder than others.  I found that not being on my phone or email was the hardest.  The video games, and TV didn't bother me too much.  My emails I had missed was over 10, and I had missed several phone calls and texts as well.  Not as many as I thought I would have though.  I would recommend this to anyone. Its not something you do every day or hear of people doing to much, but it does teach you a lot. Its very different and difficult at times.  You feel like you want to peek at your phone or a computer at some points.  I couldn't imagine life with out these great things everyday.  It was a lot more calm with out the technology because I didn't have to worry about checking anything.  I enjoyed it overall and it puts things into perspective for me, and shows me how much technology I actually do use and maybe even take it for granted most of the times. 

Physical Activity Pyramid

This is a great activity pyramid for PE teachers to have posted.  Not only PE teachers, but all teachers because everyone should really follow the rules.  Of course there are exceptions to some of the rules.  Like playing video games, they are fine to play as long as it is a whole body movement. It is always good to be outside playing as well though. PE teachers could find ways to integrate technology into these daily activites students should be doing.  It would help give them more options to staying active and make it easier for them to do. 

Video games in PE

Video games are now being integrated into PE classes. They are not only played with thumbs today, but with whole body movements. Every system on the market today have some type of whole body movement integrated into them.  The Wii is all whole body movements, while the Xbox has the Kinect and the PS3 has the move attachment. Students already play these games and enjoy them so teachers should use them to their advantage, they know the students will respond great to them.  Along with getting healthier they also enjoy doing it.Some students are not involved in sports or any other physical activity, PE is the only place where they exercise. Some people enjoy PE, while others do not. PE teachers constantly try to make their class interesting and engaging for all students. It seems odd, but video games can make PE fun and still promote being active.

Non traditional PE class with technology

This video is a great demonstration of how technology should be used in the PE classroom.  This could be used for students who don't particularly like the regular PE classes.  Some of the activities they have are punching bags with lights and sound.  They also had a racing game with the students pedaling to go.  Also a snowboarding game.  The possibilities are endless and students would really respond greatly to this.

Skype in PE Classes

Skype can be used in almost any classroom if used right. It can even be beneficial to Physical Education teachers.  The PE teachers can not only use it to conference with other teachers and administration but they can integrate it with the students as well.  Two classes could be in two different buildings, cities or even states and they could still interact and compete against one another.  The classes would play the same game or sport, and could compete against another class.  For instance in basketball, classes could have free throw shooting competitons against each other.  In football students could have throwing competitions.  Its another way to get the students to compete and have fun all while using technology.  The students would even make new friends and would get to compete and play with other students other than who is in their class. They not only benefit from the PE, but they also learn about technology as well.  A lot of students who might not interact as much in gym, might do so if teachers used this.  They would think its fun and would motivate them to interact more.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION CAMPAIGN

This is a great video for Physical Education as a whole. It's a campaign to keep PE in schools.  The video states reasons to keep it in our schools and is very inspiring. Its a great arguement for those who want to keep PE in our schools.  It states a lot of great facts and is backed up by many stats as well.

Heart Rate Monitros In PE

Here is an example of a typical heart rate monitor.  I discussed before about these in my first post and how teachers are now starting to use these in Physical Education classes.  They can give the teachers and students many benefits.

Technology in PE classes

I found a website that is doing research on technology in Physical Education classrooms.  They have been researching many topics, and have quite a bit of information.  I am surprised as to how much technology is actually in the gym classes.  The study showed that more than 10,000 schools across the country are integrating technology into Physical Education classes. I figured this number would be way lower than this.  I didn't really expect the number to be any where close to this. I honestly didn't figure this many teachers would integrate the technology into their PE classes.  They are doing a lot of this by encouraging their students to use video games to exercise.  With systems like the WII and the Kinect it makes it easier for them to do so.  Why not have your students exercise and play video games?  They are going to play them regardless so you might as well make it use full to them.  The teachers think that the technology is helping to enhance their curriculum.  With the rise of obesity and all the technology advances it only makes sense to join the two together to try and beat obesity.  This is especially true for the younger kids.  Some teachers are also using ipods and music devices in their classrooms.  This can help motivate and get the kids moving to stay physically active.  Another technology I have personally seen in the class is the microphone.  For larger classes the teacher has more control and the students can clearly understand the teacher.  Also the gym is a big place and it can sometimes be hard to hear from one end to the other, the teacher could lose their voice if they had to shout every class period of every day.

Monitors in PE Classrooms

There is talk of using Heart rate monitors and pedometers in Physical Education classroom.  Also teachers could use digiwalkers or even combination monitors that monitor several different things. Teachers would actually have proof of why students got the grades they did this way instead of just using their attendance, and the teachers observation.  These monitors would also be a motivator for students because they would know the teacher is tracking them and would look at them after each class.  This is a great way to use technology in the gymnasium.  Just like a lot of technology, this could help make the teachers job easier.  This would also make the class room run smoother and more efficient.  The students would know what is expected of them and would almost be forced to participate rather than play the hiding game from the teacher.  It also shows the student how active they really are.  They could also set goals and they would be easy to be monitored.  Students also like technology and would think it would be fun to wear the monitors and look forward to class more than just regular old gym class. I have actually used the HR monitors in a class and they actually worked and we logged all of our information. They were good supporting evidence for our teachers and they did use this for part of our grade.  Teachers now could even easily print out the information so the students are responsible for nothing.  I believe this would be a good way to monitor students other than observation and attendance. I would still use that as part of a grade, but this would allow for another part of the students grade.  It gives the teacher supporting information and proof if they are questioned by a parent or someone.