The Best and Worst

This class was a great refresher from my undergrad educational technology class.  I did learn some new stuff like Prezi and Google Blogger (and a lot of other things) which I really enjoyed.  I found that for the most part it was very similar to the class I took during undergrad.  The worst part of the class was having to complete the TPA portfolio/website.  The only reason this was my least favorite part is because I already have a Kentucky version of the TPA.  Although it was nice to shape up and learn how to use the KompoZer program, realistically, I will never use this software again.  The best part of the class was the professor!! He has been fun, easy going, and very personable.  I enjoyed the flexible dead lines and being able to work on my own.  He understands that we are teachers and have a lot going on outside of this class, which was nice. : )

PLN

I found a blog I am really excited about! It's called, Physical Education Update Blog, and has a lot of cool updated PE stuff.  There are ideas for the classroom, updates about what is happening in the nation when it comes to Physical Education.  It is refreshing to find a blog that actually gets updated regularly.  The majority of blogs I looked at head not been updated which was a let down.

Maybe I will create a health and PE blog... : )

Others Blogs

I enjoyed looking at the other blogs and reading their responses.  I was most interested in the way the set their blogs up and how everyone made them their own.  I enjoying reading Jennifer's Blog, Life as a Business Teacher, because we are good friends and it was funny to read her blogs! I think it is neat that we were required to respond to others blogs because otherwise we might not have read them : )

Portfolios as a Valid Assessment Tool

Having completed a portfolio myself in college to graduate with an education degree, I can give an honest opinion about whether or not I feel they are vaild assessment tools.
I do feel they can be a great and also not so great when assessing people.
First of all, it is a good way to see a persons best work.  Portfolios give people the opportunity to show professors/employers "what they've got". However, they can also be a good way to "fool" a person into thinking you can do great things, with the chance of possibly not living up to the portfolio expectations.  Last, in my experiences in education, very few employers actually look at student portfolios because they know sometimes it is nothing more than "fluff".

Being a 21st Century Teacher

When it comes to being a 21st century teacher... I'm not 100% sure where I stand.
When it comes to physical education I stick to the basics and do not use a ton of technology.
I do believe I prepare my students for the world outside of school when it comes to health and fitness and keep them up to date on the changes and developments in the world of health and fitness. 

Free Write

I am really excited about a recent opportunity I have been presented with!
Since graduating from college with a degree in K-12 health and physical education, I have always wanted to teach elementary physical education.  This is where I have always pictured myself and for the past 4 years I have kept all of my elementary ideas tucked away for the day I finally landed my dream job. 
In the mean time, I have taught high school health and P.E., periodically checking for elementary openings in the area.  I have interviewed twice for positions in elementary schools,  but unfortunately have had the "experience card" pulled on both occasions.  Because of that, I realized my dream job wasn't going to be as easy to  land as I had originally hoped....or was it?
In class last week, my principal knocked on my classroom door and asked to speak to me.  She told me she had something I might be interested in.  She let me now our school had hired a new baseball coach who happened to be a PE teacher at an elementary school in our district.  Because he was coaching at our school, he was interested in teaching here too.  She offered me the opportunity to swap him positions.  I couldn't say yes fast enough!!
My mind has been full of fun ideas I will be able to incorporate with elementary jobs since that day and I can't wait for next school year to start!!

Seeing and Hearing Myself on Video

Welp... seeing myself on video was pretty much what I expected!  I thought I sounded silly and hoped I didn't sound like that in real life! I think watching myself being serious and talking to a class was entertaining, but the outtakes were even better : )

Plan for Teaching a Video Lesson

I will be doing my video introduction on a lesson for my health class.  The lesson is about bullying, and my students will be creating Public Service Announcements to bring awareness to bullying and/or promoting others to stand up for victims of bullying. 

Article Response

Obama wants schools to speed digital transition

Reading this article leaves me wondering what schools will be like in not only 5 years, but 15 or 20 years from now.  If all goes as planned, I'll still be teaching in 20 years, and it freaks me out to think about all of the things that can change between now and then. Who knows the kind of things we will be experiencing!

The article explains President Obama's hope for all schools to be using digital textbooks, or e-textbooks, by the year 2017.  This sounds like a pretty logical idea considering the ways technology has taken over many of our lives.  I know students are more in tune with technology now a days, but I am not convinced it is the best way to get them to learn.  I personally am not a fan of reading on my iPad.  It is hard on my eyes, uncomfortable and awkward to hold while reading, and very fragile (this is my second one, after my screen was cracked as a result of being carried in my school bag).  The thought of all reading being done on some sort of device like the iPad or Kindle has me dreading the excuses students will have for not doing their homework.  Forget about the good ole', "my dog ate my homework" excuse.  We will soon be hearing, "The internet connection was bad", or "I didn't have enough memory to read the chapter". Right now, we cant even give extra credit opportunities to students online because all students do not have internet at home and it is considered unfair.


In the article I didn't completely understand if the school would be providing the e-devices, or just the programming or full test books to go on the device.  When thinking about loaning all students an iPad, it makes me a nervous wreck!  How many kids are going to sell them for money, break, or lose them?  What will be the consequences for not returning them?  There is a significant difference between a $60 textbook fee and a $499 iPad fee.

I know a lot can change in 5 years, but for now I just don't see the benefits for all students having e-textbooks.  In my school district most of our students already have access to more than enough technology and for the ones who do not, we have enough technology in our schools  to provide them with plenty of experiences. In the end, the money might be a good benefit, and sure students respond well to technology, but we have sat in classrooms with text books for many years through all of the changes our society have endeared.  I personally am not a fan, but let's be honest... who am I to make this decision?  There are other people who get paid the big bucks to make these kind of decisions and I will jump on the bandwagon and trust them when the time comes.

Legal Concerns as a Physical and Health Education Teacher

Gosh... where do I begin?!  There are many legal concerns for me everyday!  
First, the most obvious, in the gym I have to worry about students getting injured.  PE teachers have to take all precautions  possible to ensure the gym is safe.  Anything that happens in my classroom is my responsibility, and at the rate people are suing these days, anything a parent can dig up is what they will take and run with.
Surprisingly enough, in my 3 1/2 years of teaching, I have had more than one parent phone call about concerns with me weighing their child or measuring their body composition. Some parents do not believe this is important and accuse me of making their child insecure or embarrassing them.  This is something I can see striking a nerve with the wrong family.  Who knows what could become of this situation in the future.


When it comes to Health, my main concern is teaching Sex/Abstinence education.  Sitting in on one of my classes can make just about anyone blush.  We have very open conversations about a lot of "inappropriate" topics. (I say inappropriate because in any other classes these topics would be 100% off limits).  Even though I feel like this is the most important unit where students probably learn some of their most useful information, some parents think otherwise.  Many parents have issues with me teaching their kids about the birds and the bees.  It is just a law suit waiting to happen!

Presentation Tool

I have recently been forced to learn a new presentation tool and Prezi was my weapon of choice.
I am not completely sold on it just yet, as PowerPoint is what I have always used in the past.
I have not used Prezi in my classes yet, but do see a few ways I might use it in the near future.
I have old outdated PowerPoint presentations, that my kids probably dread, which I could possibly update with the new creative Prezi presentations. Right now, I don't think I have enough experience with the tool to do this right now, but maybe over the summer I will find the time to spice my lessons up a bit!!

Journal Article 1

Technology in Physical Education Article

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Test Blog

Hi

Why I Pursued Teaching

At the beginning of my college career, becoming a teacher was certainly not something I had given much thought to.  I dabbled around in communications, human services & counseling, and sports management, but ended up discovering none of them were for me.  One night while helping a friend complete a bulletin board for her elementary education class, I finally realized what I wanted to do.  Everything about teaching was perfect for me.  I loved being around kids, I loved making things and being creative, and I most importantly I loved helping people.  More specifically, I decided physical and health education is where I would be most effective.  Being very active my entire life, I wanted to share my passion for health and physical fitness with students. 
Being a teacher now, my ultimate goal is to ignite students passion for physical fitness and health.  I want them to understand the importance of taking care of their bodies and making good choices.  I am in a position where I can positively  influence a lot of young people and plan to do this to the best of my ability!!