Top 10 Tech Tools

The top 10 tech tools that I cannot live without are:

1. Laptop/Ipad

2. Microsoft Office

3. Hudl.com

4. Twitter

5. Graphic Document Makers

6. Ipod

7. Pandora

8. Gmail

9. Google Play Store

10. Gym Rat

Mobile Apps for Physical Education

Physical Education,  in general, is not a subject that normally incorporates the use of computers, smartboards, or other technologies.  I think one trend that could change that and increase the use of technology in P.E. is the large amount of students who have and use smart phones.  If students are allowed to use these as a technological tool in P.E., I found a few apps that could be of use.
The first app that I have found and love to use is Hudl.  This is an advanced way for students, coaches, and players to share video footage from contests.  Players are able to log on via smart phone or computer.  Coaches are able to monitor how much time each player spends watching.  The only downside is that the cost is a little high and is usually paid by the school system.  Another mobile I that I found that could be useful is the Gymrat App.  This is a workour planner and log with hundreds of different cardio and weightlifting excercises for students to try. The exercises are demonstrated on the app for the benefit of the user.  A third app that can be used in the P.E. class is the PE Plus app.  This app supplies the teacher with hundreds of new games and activities to try out with the students when they become burned out with the same old games.  The fourth app that I found to use in my classroom is SportyPal.  SportyPal is an app that uses the GPS of your smart phone in order to track and record the progress of the individual's physical activity.

Digital Citizenship

With so many people conducting business and interacting socially on the web today, I would say that maintaining good digital citizenship is just as important as one's everyday actions offline.  It is important to remember that everything you say, do, or type has consequences.  Those consequences can be positve or negative.  This is especially true once a person presses the send button or shares personal information.  The information you choose to share will have lasting impacts for anyone involved or mentioned. Personally, I have become much more aware of the information I share on the internet.  Talking about someone on facebook or twitter, or forwarding a dirty joke is just not responsible behavior.  It is important to not only think about your reputation, but all parties involved. 

The value of having a good digital reputation is just the same as having a good reputation in one's everyday life.  In both instances, if people cannot trust you, they will not interact with you.  I also feel that it is important to maintain a good digital reputation when it comes to an educator's employment.  It is very easy for a principal or school board to monitor what you post or share on the internet.  It is just not worth ruining a career or reputation to talk about a student or share a dirty joke.

Materials Generator

After reading about some of the available materials generators available to use in the classroom, I was  impressed and a little overwhelmed. I did not realize that they are broken down into so many categories.  I do not have my own classroom(gym) yet, but I saw a few of the generators that could be useful to me in the future. The first materials generator that caught my eye was the graphic document makers.  I could see myself using this one as a way to make awards and special recognitions for the students in my class as a reward for doing well in a certain sport or activity.  I could also use it to make flyers for fundraising efforts for whatever team I coach.  The second materials generator that I think would be useful to me is the worksheet and puzzle generator. I would much rather go out and play and teach an activity, but sometimes the weather does not cooperate or the students just become burned out.  Creating word puzzles and activities would be a great change of pace for them.  The third materials generator that interests me is the desktop publishing software.  I would be interested in using this software in order to allow my students to create something on their own.  For instance, if we are learning the game of golf, students could create a brochure or flyer describing the different clubs used or how the game is scored.  I think all three of these generators woul be a great asset to a Physical Education class.

5 Types of Instructional Software

In chapter 3 of our textbook, five types of instructional software are discussed. The first one mentioned is drill and practice.  This type involves directed skill practice where learners can receive immediate feedback on the correctness of his or her answers.  A sample website for drill and practice could be Monkey Business.  The second type of instructional software discussed is tutorials.  Tutorials act as human tutors by the fact that they give the learner all of the necessary info to master a topic.  An example of a tutorial about government can be found at congress.  The third instructional software listed is simulations, which models real or imaginary systems to show how those systems work.  A system showing how electricty works could be beneficial to a learner. Instructional games is the fourth type of instructional software, and it is pretty self explanitory.  The idea is to increase student motivation by adding game rules to assignments or practices.  A lesson about numbers would be an excellent opportunity to incorporate games.  The fifth and final type of instructional software discussed in the textbook is problem-solving.  This involves directly teaching the steps involved in solving problems. It can also help learners aquire the necessary skills to solve problems.  Some different games involving problem-solving can be found here

Computer 1, Jamey 0

Once again, the computer got the best of me!

Here is my bubbl for the last assignment we had.

Web 2.0 Assigment

I must admit that I was really dreading this assignment.  I thought that it would be difficult and honestly, a waste of time.  I guess everyone can be wrong sometimes.  I found this assignment to be quite entertaining and almost forgot that it was required work.  I could have finished the whole assignment rather quickly but instead, I was actually having fun creating the activities.  I was not too crazy about the concept map, but Glogster, Animoto, and the games were all very interesting.  I really think all of the websites provide valuable resources to a classroom teacher.  With technology being front and center of the modern day classroom, they provide teachers with unlimited ways to grab and maintain students' attention.  I really enjoyed creating the games for the free choice part of the assignment.  I will definitly be using these sites in the near future.
https://bubbl.us/
http://jamey1402.edu.glogster.com/jamey-cox/
http://animoto.com/play/0qbrpB7ILzAOLJDtwbd6Gg
http://www.classtools.net/education-games-php/dustbin
http://www.classtools.net/mob/quiz_86/Football_101_GdbXy.htm