Class Monitoring Apps

This article discusses to role of 360 Class Monitoring applications. The role of applications are important to keeping constant feedback and open communication with students and parents. According to Razak, Abdurahim, and Mashhod (2016), “the application enables effective and prompt communication in terms of updating parents on students’ school work and assignments as well as school activities.” Teachers will post assignments on one of these apps and the they will trigger an email notification to alert parents. This technology is constantly being upgraded to fit the needs of those involved. Different ways to notify parents are being discussed to create instant access to notifications.  They are also working on ways to keep calendars easily veiwed to make the concept more user friendly.

There are many different applications that help monitor classes and keep communication between students, teachers, and parents so it is imperative to find the one that works for your culture and class. This article examines several of these applications. One app that has drawn my interest is Class Dojo. “Class Dojo is developed to enable the teacher to track student’s behaviour and provide instant and positive encouragement” (p. 11). This would be essential in the PE setting because behavior can be an issue. This feedback to parents about behavior is also helpful to the teacher so the parents can have discussions to reinforce positive behaviors. The app, Class Dojo, also has students incentives, “students are rewarded by allowing them to customize personal avatar every time they achieved a specified milestone or show positive behaviours” (p.12).

Razak, S. F., Abdurahim, B., & Mashhod, F. (2016, 12). Keeping Parents Involved Using 360-Class Monitoring Application. International Journal of Modern Education and Computer Science, 8(12), 10-16. doi:10.5815/ijmecs.2016.12.02

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Technology in PE: Pedometers

This article, Current Technology Trends and Issues Among Health and Physical Education Professionals, researched technology tools a health and physical education (HPE) teacher could use in class.  The purpose of this study was to identify the current trends and issues surrounding technology among HPE professionals, as discussed in a professional online forum. The most commonly discussed technology included: activity monitors, mobile devices, and social media. The data analysis revealed five major themes: networking and sharing resources, implementing technology for teaching, data collection and management, logistics and settings, and technology selection.

One tool that I took away from this article was the use of pedometers. According the Krause, Franks and Lynch (2017), “a female elementary PE teacher with 15 years of experience from Oregon sought suggestions for which pedometers to select.” The thread did it’s work and the teacher received many ideas not only on which pedometers to select, but also ideas on how to implement and manage them. “In our grade books each student is assigned a pedometer number and they use THAT pedometer all year long” (p. 175). These ideas are helpful in how to use the pedometers, but also go beyond that. They help students understand their activity level and how they can get more steps. “At the end of each unit the students can begin to compare the step counts as to their activity level and see which activities give them more movement (p. 175-176). Not only do the pedometers help the students self-assess they also help the teachers assess their program. “The pedometers we use also have TIME in ACTIVITY which becomes very important when assessing the students and gives us feedback as to how long the class as a whole is active each PE period” (p. 176). This is a tool that offers students the ability to be held accountable in physical education classes. It keeps them motivated to be constantly moving and helps them understand how to get more movement. We need our legs to carry us through life. Why not use them more?

Krause, J. M., Franks, H., & Lynch, B. (2017). Current Technology Trends and Issues Among Health and Physical Education Professionals. The Physical Educator, 74(1), 164-180. doi:10.18666/tpe-2017-v74-i1-6648

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Globalization of PE

This article informs us technology is playing a vital role in unifying our world. The specific concept they were using was global link. This global link makes distances between foreign countries and our backyard seem minimal. It discusses globalization and that it is key for 21st century learners to understand how to interact with those of different cultures. According to Bomna, Boswell and Yoon (2015), “understanding cultural differences and developing abilities to respond appropriately have become critical to the success of students.” One student commented on his daily life after this experience,”I feel comfortable interacting with other people from other countries after this (global) link. I can educate my children on the things they do that are very similar to what children do miles away on a whole other continent (p. 374).

The authors performed a study with intentions designed to examine the development of intercultural competence. They connected physical education (PE) graduate students with Korean students through video conferencing, emailing, and on-line translators. They found four themes through their research: openness to other cultures, expanding cultural knowledge clarifying cultural views and accommodating behaviors. 

21st century learners have the world at their finger-tips. It makes the world a small place to live, but what is missing here is globalization. Just because I can view our existence through the computer does not mean I have valuable interactions with those that make up this planet. In PE technology can be scary. How do I use these tools efficiently and effectively? How do I engage students in something meaningful? This global link, video chat and idea of intercultural competence can be a very valuable concept to use specifically in my classroom. It is something that can bridge cultural differences. I think it would be an interesting project for my students to connect over video with another country and culture. Ideas are flowing, but one that seems exciting now involves students teaching PE specific games of our culture (kickball, four-square, flag football, maybe let the kids decide) to those of another culture. Hopefully they could return the favor as well. 

Bowman, K., Boswell, B., & Seok, Y. (2013). Developing intercultural competence through global link experiences in       physical education. Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy, 20(4), 366-38. doi:10.1080/17408989.2013.837441

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