Follow Through

This blog is a follow-up to my previous blog working with students in Physical Education class and implementing technology to improve skill development.

My most recent activity unit in my Physical Education classes has been teaching my freshman how to golf. This is a new unit in our curriculum and it has been a lot of fun for the students and for me as a teacher. I was able to use the Flip Video Recorder to record students skill development throughout the progression of the unit. During the class I was able to record students working on chipping a Birdie Ball towards various targets. Each student was given a basic lesson on their stroke, and each student would continue to work towards mastering this skill. While students were working on chipping, I walked around helping students, and videoing them. After I recorded a student striking a Birdie Ball, I would then call them over to review the video. I would tell them where they need to change parts of the skill to improve the stroke. Once the student saw themselves perform on video, it became much easier for them to see what they needed to change to hit the ball with more accuracy.

Below is video demonstrating chipping in my class.




Below is another video of a student working on his stroke in class.




The video recordings have been a great tool to help students improve their golf stroke skills. The video creates an instant visual aide, in which the student can see what they are doing incorrectly, and compare it to what they should be working on to gain better accuracy.

I am thankful for the use of this technology, and am so glad that it works really well to help improve our students skills, confidence, and enjoyment of my discipline.

Throwing Assessment

I have recently been 'gifted' a Flip Video recorder for my Physical Education classes. My curriculum director, Daniel Sutherland, had purchased some of these educational tools for this school year, and I was a fortunate recipient of one of these awesome devices.

My plan for using the recorder is working out well. I am teaching a Flag Football unit and a Tennis unit this marking period with my freshman Physical Education classes. So, I thought I would try to video my students as they were working on developing their basic skills in these units.

Above in the video, you will see a young man who is throwing a football. I am able to analyze all the components of the throwing skill that can help him throw accurately and correctly while using proper form. The video lets me and the student see their own progression and improvement through each skill also. The football unit will end next week, and I hope to video each student again to demonstrate their improvement from the beginning of the unit to the end of the unit.

This piece of technology increases the learning curve in each activity. When a student sees themselves in this video, and has a teacher that can break down the components of the skill, it helps the student learn the skill quicker, and more efficiently.

I have downloaded the videos onto a website, so that I can erase them from the recorder, and have them permanently stored for analyzing.

Overall, this new tool has been fun for me, the students, and it has made me a better teacher.