Forgetting Phys Ed. strip.

Hi guys,

In my EPHE 443 (phys ed) class the other day we spoke about some consequences about children who leave or forget their gym strip at home. I'm a little concerned because we had some consequences like having them write a report during the period, docking marks, embarrassing them with ugly awful spare gym strip, so they remember to bring their own. And then of course we have the lost and found or they can borrow it from friend’s. Sitting in this class was pretty hard for me not to just open my mouth and start spurting out what we have been speaking about in Allen's class about making it fair and allowing everyone the right to participate in sporting activities.

I think that at the beginning of the semester we need to outline the expectations of what we are looking for. State that gym strip is expected for each class, and state that if you cannot afford it to come and talk to you during a private time. Tell them yes everyone forgets their strip every once and a while, you won’t be punished however you will be expected to participate with or without strip. If it becomes the norms and they are constantly missing their stuff then speak to them about other options for strip.

What do you guys suggest doing? I don’t like the idea of punishing them but once it becomes a regular occurrence what other ideas do you have?

A good example of what not to do at a school pep rally

If you check the link at the bottom, you will see a good example of what not to do in front of your entire school while you are a teacher. If you are too lazy to click the link, its a video where a male teacher basically gives another (female) teacher a lapdance during a pep rally in front of everyone.

Figured I'd use that to jump into a discussion about knowing when to draw the line when it comes to getting carried away during events at school or for that matter, anywhere. This video is just another example of the fact that video cameras are everywhere in our society. Basically every cell phone comes with one built in. As teachers, we need to be setting example for our students at all times, not just when we are at work. You never know when someone with a camera will show up and videotape you if you are doing something stupid, then it gets posted on youtube and suddenly you have lost all credibility with your students and your peers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOplTIvAJaA - Link to Two Teachers One Chair

Videogames....are they more then just a scourge for PE teachers?

Given the rise of videogaming as a dominant form of media in today's culture and my own zeal towards the playing of them, I can't help but wondering if there is not some way that teachers can be using them as an effective means of engaging children. A quick googled survey showed that many kids reacted positively to the idea, so there is student enthusiasm behind the idea (be honest, how many of you didn't love playing Oregon Trail on old macs as children). So why do we see this medium barely used in schools? Can we use videogames to teach children art, history, music, english, or dare I say it...PE? I think it may be possible.

At the bottom of the post, I have included an example of a history channel program that used a modified Rome: Total War ( a popular series of historical strategy games) game engine to show a recreation of the battle of Thermopylae. This is one instance where it would be very easy to take this game and set up a learning station where students could attempt various battle strategies and see the outcomes. To take this to PE realm, it is possible to use the play creators in NHL (I believe the madden series also has this now for football) to demonstrate various plays and their benefits. You could also encourage students to take the tactics they have learned in your class and try them out against their friends in their sports games (if you want to encourage the gamer in your class that might not be so much into sports). For music, the rockband/guitar hero series could potentially be used to teach children drumming as the game actually does a good job of replicating the real experience. See a link at the bottom to see what I mean.

I am by no means suggesting that this be a primary method of teaching that you use every class. But there are many children out there that are far more comfortable in a gaming session then in a gym, music room or a class room, and if you can get them to be a little more comfortable in your class by engaging them in a familiar way, why not? I know some of my PE colleagues will have some reserves about this, given the negative connotation videogames have with fitness, but I think that ignoring this realm entirely because of that is not the way to approach this issue. Rather, by integrating this into your class, you set up a great opportunity to touch on the idea that gaming should be something done in moderation.

Anyways, Ive talked enough, does anyone have any thoughts on this?

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/26782 - the googled survey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lEKf5qXnko - History Channel program.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWi3g-5Xa3E - NHL 2009 Play creator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzBVOuGXv54 - GH Drumming

Stress Classes in ART/PE?

Due to recent events... Reading Break and the added work/exams/papers/sleep my stress levels have been raised. This has me recalling our stress lesson a few weeks back with Allen. This has had me thinking about some of the material taught that day and how beneficial it would have been to potentially have learnt some of the techniques to deal with stress in high school. Here's my thoughts:

Physical activity is proven to help with depression and stress, I also believe that art can have the same affect on our students. Is a "Stress Lesson" something that we can incorporate into our teaching models? We add things like nutrition into Phys Ed because they fit well together and it "makes sense." Would something like stress management and stress relief be something that we could teach in our Art or Physical Education classes? In my opinion this is a yes.

What do you guys think?

No School is an Island

I have been considering the role of the community within the public school system. In the private art gallery world, community involvement is key to fostering the local art scene and enriching not only the clients experience but the artists experience as well. The gallery can act as a bridge between the community and its local artists.

This started me thinking about a schools relationship with the community that it is in. Often schools are alienated from the rich community around them. Teachers are bogged down with large classes and little financial support. Do we as teachers have a obligation to our students to actively involve their community into their education? Do we as members of our community have an obligation to give back to the schools that educated us?

In my years in business I have realized that there is a wealth of talent and support for the arts when it is actively pursued. Event planning, fund raising and sponsoring events that support charities within the community could be incorporated into a curriculum to add richness and context to the student's education. How can students get creative about reaching out to their community?

How do others feel about our role as a possible bridge to the community beyond the classroom? What other ways can we utilize our communities and create a more collaborative environment for our students to learn in?

Digital Arts Alliance

Check out this link :

http://www.digitalartsalliance.org/partnerships/dlf/hlc_sanantonio.html

I found this video and thought it was a idea to apply to the classroom. This practical application of technology allowed students to create a documentary that showcased their own school's fine arts academy. This is a great example of a project that got students really involved and excited while developing specific job skills that will carry out into the professional world.

Digital Arts Alliance

----"The Digital Arts Alliance delivers innovative educational experiences right to students and their teachers, providing fully funded and fully equipped digital arts programs to middle schools, high schools, and community centers across the United States. These programs help participants develop essential skills they will need as they apply what they know to the kinds of collaborative, team–based projects that will shape their future".-----

Best commercial ever!

Gendered Education in Canada

A self-professed fan of both debate and current issues in education, I would like to invite some discussion about your, the future of education's, opinions about the issue of gendered education. For another class (The Psychology of Classroom Learning) I recently started some preliminary research paper about the arguments for and against all-boys schools, aka gendered education.

At the centre of the ring in Canadian education, the Toronto School Board recently announced that it was considering opening an all boys public school. Thus far I have found the following articles:

1. "It's time to accept that males and females don't necessarily have the same learning patterns" from October 2009 Globe and Mail
   

   
    

   http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20091023.escenic_1336528/EmailBNStory/Other/LYSIANE%20GAGNON
   

   
    

2. "All boys school fostering achievement culture" also from October 2009 Globe and Mail
   

   http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/family-and-relationships/all-boys-schools-foster-achievement-culture/article1332995/
   

   
    

3. The most recent Globe and Mail article about this subject was headlined: "All boys' school requires more study" was published in February, 2010. Unfortunately I was not able to re-access it on-line after reading it once. Essentially it said that the plan is currently on hold while the issue and current research are being reviewed.
   

It's an issue that I believe we will all have opinions about and that will continue to be explored as school districts continue to focus on student success and declining enrolments. Thoughts?

PBS: Digital Nation

After watching this PBS documentary, Digital Nation, I am more confused about where I stand on the issue of technology in education, than I was before I watched it. There are nine sections to this one and a half hour show, but each section is only 10 minutes or so.

There is a rich variety of both controversial subject matter and interesting unanswered questions presented in this documentary. There are results from current brain research regarding: attention, multitasking, and MRIs of brain activity while Google™ searching compared to reading.

Most relevant to the ongoing questions generated in class was, Section 4: Teaching with Technology. It presents a variety of ways in which some entire schools and teachers within their classrooms are implementing technology into their teaching.

This series reminded me that the debates about technology that have been generated on this blog, in our class, and in our school communities, are part of a much bigger picture. It reminds me that we are in the midst of a rather profound revolution.

I highly recommend watching PBS Frontline: Digital Nation

It can be found @ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/view/

Technology and Touchy Issues

Just the other day I had the lucky experience of being on the bus home when it got hit by the after school rush. I’m sure we’ve all experienced being on the bus and having it swarmed by loud, rambunctious middle school and high school students. It is this time that I absolutely dread but at the same time I really do enjoy, for I often finding myself overhearing the most interesting conversations that give me an insight at today’s youth and reminding me what the main concerns for adolescents are. (Something that I think is a valuable thing for teachers to have) On this particular day I was sitting near the back by a large group of young boys-probably around 12 or 13 who were animatedly discussing issues they had ‘learned’ about via YouTube. I know that the use of technology has played a large role in discussions in our class, so I found the conversation particularly interesting. My interest was especially peaked when the boys started discussing videos they had seen in regards to drugs- what a druggie is and what a drugger is, and videos that point fun at homosexuality- what ‘makes’ you gay, and why. The conversation that I was listening to became somewhat concerning to me as a majority of the information being passed between the kids was incorrect and misleading. Of course young kids are always going to use media and technology to ‘learn’ things that are often not addressed by parents or in schools and that invalid information will then be passed on amongst themselves but what WE are going to do about it is the real issue. I believe that as future educators it is our responsibility to look at these forms of technology and harness them as a tool to properly educate students for this opens an opportune venue to teach without students realizing we are teaching. I would be curious to know other people’s opinions on whether you think this would be a good way to use technology to educate students on touchy issues.

IPhone May Refine Definition of Art

Check out the future of art and technology. David Hockney is a well known British painter, printmaker, photographer, designer who has started to use the IPhone to create art. Check out this website if you are intersted in learning more: http://iphonepaintings.com/?p=23

E-portfolio

Does anyone know the email address of Nikola? the computer tech?? I still can't get on eportfolio

ONLINE PHYS ED.

Yesterday I went to do my observation session in the classroom for the EPHE 452 class. It was so amazing, and such a great feeling to be involved in the school.

However, during this session, on of the young girls brought up that you can now do online PE! WHAT?!?!? I don't know if this is as surprising to you all as it is to me, but how is that possible.

Here is a link to it http://ce.byu.edu/is/site/courses/description.cfm?subject=Physical+Education&course=AEROB45Aerobics

I am shocked... This is just for an aerobics course in PE, there are all kinds of other courses... Golf is one of them. How do you learn how to golf on the internet? And more importantly there is no way someone who is doing it online is participating unless they are already an athlete. This is giving students more of an opportunity to opt out of PE. The levels of participation in physical activity are already significantly low.

Any thoughts?

Teachers connecting teachers

Hey all,
Sorry to you art guys but this one is more for the phys ed. people, but you might want to check is out anyway its pretty cool!
ThePhysicalEducator.com, is a web site that a friend of mine is starting out of Quebec. He is doing a fantastic job of connecting educators across the country and providing a data base of resources.
He is just getting started and it is already starting to take off.
It is also on facebook, just search thephysicaleducator.com.
Hope you find it interesting,
Tyler

Please view with the goal of discussion of implications next seminar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrtANPtnhyg

The sixth sense address - compulsory viewing
http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html