HyPE 2.0

Senior C

2009-12-20T11:04:00.007-05:00

We have adopted a new curriculum in our Physical Education classes. The new curriculum has been added to our Senior classes, and has been a huge success. I am teaching one of the new curriculum classes this year and I am really enjoying it.

The seniors, when they were juniors, selected the type of PE that they wanted for their senior year. They had three choices: Senior A (traditional), Senior B (competitive), or Senior C (individual). I am gong to discuss the Senior C classes because this is what I am currently teaching.

Senior C curriculum haa been based around the development of the individual within the context of an activity. The activities that the class takes will work on their individual skill development rather that the team concept. The activities that are offered are non-competitive oriented activities.

During the year the Senior C's take two marking periods of the individual activities, one marking period of Health and one marking period of the traditional PE. The individual fall activities include activities such as, tennis, golf, fitness, and outdoor recreation games. The winter activities have included yoga, pilates, cardiovascular fitness, and Wii.

We are currently in the middle of the second marking. We have been doing yoga for 4 and a half weeks, and the class has really enjoyed it. We ended our yoga unit with a guest yoga instructor named Mr. Rick Leonard. Mr. Leonard is a Sparta resident and owns Black Bear Fitness in Jefferson, NJ. He has given our staff in-service yoga classes, and is a huge advocate of education. The picture above shows Mr. Leonard with one of the Senior C classes.

The yoga portion of the new curriculum has been a huge success. The students have enjoyed learning the physical poses, breathing, calmness, and increasing their flexibility. They have all learned Sun Salutations and many other Hotha poses. It has been a lot of fun for me as a teacher also. I have enjoyed learning yoga, and about yoga. I have also enjoyed teaching a variety of new activities in our curriculum.

Follow Through

2008-10-21T12:28:00.010-04:00

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

2008-10-02T11:42:00.010-04:00

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.

Improvement

2008-09-29T12:33:00.009-04:00

Utilizing technology in Physical Education class is becoming more feasible. Our school is under major construction this year, and we are learning to be extremely flexible with space and time. Even with the strains of construction and inconsistent space each day I am still trying to incorporate some technology into our PE classes this year.

The first part of the technology implementation has all occurred because of a generous gift to the high school PE staff. Last year Judy Earl, a teacher at the Alpine Elementary School, attended the NJAPHERD convention in February. During the convention they raffled off the newest and latest Dance, Dance Revolution (DDR) game and Playstation. Judy won it! She retired at the end of the year, and offered it to the high school PE staff. This DDR set-up is worth over $4000!! We are so fortunate to have received this.

On Friday we ran our first Fitness Dance, Dance Revolution classes, and it was a huge success! The whole class was participating, and was really into the music and dances. There are two stomp pads that are hooked up to the Playstation. Two people hop onto these, the teacher picks the level of difficulty and music, and then hits play. The rest of the class is behind these two following the screen ques and doing the exact same footwork, on practice pads, as the two in the front on the stomp pads. When the song ends two new people step up onto the stomp pads and we set it up again and go. The students did not want the period to end. All the students increased their cardiovascular fitness, balance, rhythm, and had fun doing it.

I look forward to adding more technology into our curriculum. Maybe the Fit Wii soon!!!

NJAPHERD Conference

2008-03-08T16:46:00.011-05:00

Last week, I attended the New Jersey Alliance for Health and Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (NJAPHERD) annual conference. I had not attended this conference for 14 years, and felt that it was time to get re-inspired and involved on a local level again.

This conference was so inspiring and motivating. There were over 800 Health and PE Educators that attended from New Jersey. It was the most attended conference they have had. The keynote speaker, Christine Brennan, spoke to a standing room only crowd of intent listening physical educators.

The conference ran from Sunday afternoon through Tuesday afternoon, from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon. Every hour during the conference there were over 8 sessions being offered. I attended over 12 sessions in the time I was there, and each session provided me with hope and inspiration in my field of study. To witness the passion and message that different instructors, teachers, organizations, and vendors provided was truly motivating. Some of the sessions I attended involved marketing our discipline, nutrition and PE technology, HPV lessons, Adventure game activities, and dance, dance, revolution lessons. There were so many sessions that I wanted to attend, but could not because they were running at the same time as the ones I felt were most applicable to my district.

The conference has rejuvenated me, and provided some long lost hope that I can make a difference in what I am teaching. Whether people acknowledge that my discipline is one of the most important subjects or not, I realize that I need to continue fighting for what I believe. I take my job seriously because I realize the importance and positive affect it can have on our youth. I am glad that I attended this conference and I look forward to implementing what I have learned, and going back next year to attain more knowledge, rejuvenation, and hope.

What I Found Out...

2008-02-18T14:01:00.004-05:00

Well, it sure has been a while since I have posted. Somehow my life got so busy that I wasn't even checking my own blog site.
Anyway, I thought I would just jot some information down regarding my heart rate monitor experience.
I invited faculty members to wear an exercise heart rate monitor during the the work day. I had thirty teachers sign up. They were very enthusiastic. I only have 15 monitors so I ran the testing on two dates. Mixed in with the teachers I had one Vice Principal and a school secretary.
All of the candidates filled out their pulse as many times during the day as possible. They also recorded when they felt stressed, told me the activity they were doing at the time of the pulse check, and if they had any caffeine. The results were interesting, and the teachers were fascinated with what they learned about themselves. Most teachers hovered around 78 beats per minute. There were a couple of outliers though. One of the teachers realized that her heart rate was really high during the day. She followed up with her general practitioner and she found out there is something going on with her heart (it is speeding up at random times during the day). She is having more tests done and will let me know exactly what is going on. Many of the other teachers realized that they need to bring exercise back into their lives. Over 10 of the candidates involved have joined a gym and or hired personal trainers. They told me that wearing the heart rate monitor gave them incentive to "get moving" again, and that it made them realize that they were not happy with the way their readings came out.
I also gave each participant a two-page document on what all the readings meant, and what different things they can do with a heart rate monitor. Two of the teachers went out and bought their own monitors for their new exercise regime.
So, in summary, I am really glad that I did this experiment! It was a lot of fun for me, and I was really glad to see the high interest level. I am also glad that this experiment has motivated a handful of people to take matters into their own hands and re-start an exercise program. I also am very thankful that the one teacher whose heart rate was really high went to a professional and found out why her heart rate was abnormally high.
All in all, it turned out great. Thanks to all those who participated!!

Image Credit: www.recipestoday.com

Trial and Error

2008-01-03T08:29:00.000-05:00

I am sorry it is taking so much time to get the results regarding the Heart Rate Monitors experiment. Part of the problem is that during the original "trial" experiment, I discovered an "error" on my part. I realized, after the fact, that the data taken needs a baseline which to compare it to. I forgot to incorporate a baseline comparison number. So, after the students took their heart rates, I had to go back and get each students Resting Heart Rate (RHR). The RHR is what the "test-taking" heart rates will be compared to.
I have also involved another teacher in getting the comparative results back, since I am unfamiliar with this area. One of the math teachers, Jim Jarrel l, is having his AP Calculus class try to find any correlating data from our experiment.

In the meantime, I have decided to take this experiment a step further. Mike Gregory, the Principal at Mohawk Avenue School, suggested having staff members wear the Heart-Rate Monitors during their work day. Teachers go through various levels of stress during the school day, and I am hoping to see this represented in the fluctuation of their heart rates. I am hoping I can get twelve teachers to volunteer for this experiment. I will have each teacher record their own RHR, and then the day they wear the monitors I will have them try to record two times a period, during the nine-period day. I am also going to have them record the subject and material they are covering, and they are going to let me know if this was a teacher-centered lesson or student-centered lesson. Each teacher will also record their "mood", and any "excitable" moments, which will indicate why the heart rate decreases or increases. There are a lot of variables in this experiment and it should cause a variety of fluctuation with each teachers heart rate. I am looking forward to the teachers' experience and any correlations that are discovered.

Image Credit: www.istockphoto.com

Travel

2007-12-28T19:55:00.000-05:00

create your own personalized map of the USA

I came across this website for the second time this year, and thought I would add it to my blog. I know it is not Health and PE related, but I think a great part of learning occurs when you are able to travel. I believe when you travel you see so many things including people, nature, and cultures. You learn by listening to different people, dialects, stories, and the history in the area. The experience gained by traveling is something that is difficult to match in a classroom, and therefore, I wanted to recognize this aspect. Above are the states that I have visited, I hope to get to them all someday, and revisit so many that I have already been to. I have been fortunate enough to travel to 34 out of the 50 states and I believe being able to travel has helped me expand my knowledge and education in so many different ways. Traveling reminds me that we are all connected in some way.

Smoking PSA

2007-12-12T08:42:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to follow up on my last blog regarding Public Service Announcements or PSA's. I just completed my first project last night, and wanted to put it up on my blog. It is longer than I would have liked (1:34 seconds), but would love to hear any input on the video.
My plan is to have my students' create their own PSA's during their Health marking period, and have them post them to my wiki page. I will keep all posted as to how this goes.
The following PSA is on Smoking:

Public Service Announcements

2007-12-09T19:21:00.000-05:00

I have been taking a Professional Development Class with David Gorecki, called Digital Storytelling. David, our school districts' Elementary Technology Teacher, has helped me design a project in the class that I am going to have my students also do in their upcoming third marking period Health classes. The students are going to create a Public Service Announcement (PSA). Each student will select a provided topic, such as, drugs, alcohol, high blood pressure, or cardiovascular disease, to name a few. They will then use a program called Photostory 3 to create their one-minute PSA. The process to create this project has been really fun to do, and can drive a point home using visual media. Each of the students will then present their PSA to the class once completed.
The class has taught me a great way to bring a different type of technology into my classroom, and I am very excited to see how my students' projects turn out.

Keep it Beating

2007-12-02T19:09:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to add to the topic that Angela Delucia-Davis had talked about in her blog from last week. Angela, welcomed my idea of putting heart-rate monitors on students during a stressful situation i.e. a test. We put this offer to task last Thursday.

Ten of her students showed up in my office at 7 am to put on their heart-rate monitors. They were excited to start their day, and their heart-rates' demonstrated this. I gave the students a sheet to record their heart-rates during their English test and to record throughout the day. I had them record two times during each period. Jim Jarrell, Angela and I are going to compile the data, and Jim's AP calculus class is going to analyze the data and give us some feedback on the the heart-rate information collected.

The really cool part about this experiment is throughout the day other students' got "wind" of what we were doing and wanted to be a part of it. So, Miss. April Wisniewski's, third period Intermediate Algebra class gladly volunteered to wear the monitors for their test they were taking on Friday. After their test they wanted to then wear them the rest of the day also. The students were equally as excited to be a part of the experiment. As the students turned in their monitors at the end of the day, they each told me how it made their day more interesting and they were really into monitoring their heart-rates. Some of the students' recorded their beats per minute many more times than I had requested, and really liked to see the recovery of their heart-rate after walking from class to class, or how it dropped or raised during an exciting moment in class.

For me as a Health and PE teacher, it was really fun to do a cross-curriculum lesson with Angela, and April. It added a really exciting part to my day and to our students' days. It was very motivating to watch the students throughout the day as they wore their monitors, and see their interest level perk-up when it came to the beats of their heart.

Educating and Tryptophan

2007-11-23T13:56:00.000-05:00

As the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving has come and gone, I could not help but think about how some of the "traditions" of this holiday related to my teaching world.

Thanksgiving is a holiday where families and friends get together, share laughs, and eat way to much food! I feel as if my classroom shares some similarities with this scenario, especially when I am using lecture format. My students get together in my classroom, share ideas, and often listen to me use lecture format to overfill them with information (food) they will need. I believe that lecturing is still an awesome way to teach students, but I also think that mixing it up once in a while is an even better way to reach them. Some of the methods I am going to utilize this year, along with lecture are as follows: Photostory 3, Digital Storytelling, Skyping in other educators (like Ryan Lollgen and Steven Schels just did this past week), blogging, and using a wiki page. I am hoping using some of these tools will add more to a students "learning plate". It gives them many different ways to learn the curricula I am trying to relay, and it can really help multi-intelligence learners. It also keeps me on my toes, which makes my material more interesting.

After eating all day on Thanksgiving, I laid on my couch in a "tryptophan food coma". It made me think that if I were to lecture in class the majority of time it would create the same "coma affect" for my students. That head-bobbing, drowsy, day-dreaming look that I feel after eating to much turkey is the same look I see on many of my students faces as I teach them via lecture. This year my goal as an educator is to bring in some alternative teaching options, and try to get my students more involved in the learning process.

Sink, swim, or tread?

2007-11-20T12:32:00.001-05:00

Does the word "technology", create anxiety or fear for you? Do you feel as if you can't compete in this world, so why bother? Is this ever changing world too overwhelming for you?

I was in a Professional Development Class this week, and one of my co-workers reminded me of how challenging it can be to try to implement all this technology. She also helped me remember that being willing to take the risk is half the battle.

I remember feeling this way when I first started. In fact, I still feel this way many days because there is so much to learn, and relearn. I realized that if I wanted to learn about The Web 2.0, that I just needed to jump into it! I mean, how much could it really hurt? So, I decided to just jump in, and I have not looked back ever since.

Patrick Higgins has helped me feel confident in entering this world. He has helped me extend my walls, and it has become a powerful tool for me. I am a teacher that wants to learn more and do more for my students and colleagues. I truly feel that understanding the tools that are available to us can be a great ally to our teaching strategies. I work in a field where activity prevails and writing and reading are not the main focus, but that does not mean I can't embrace the tools out there to try to make my field more educational and inviting.

So, some days I swim, some days sink, and some days I tread in the water waiting for something or someone to help me swim again.

Matters of the Heart

2007-11-11T18:23:00.000-05:00

So, in my field one of the best and really cool technical assessment tools is a heart rate monitor. This tool is used to let you know if you are working within your training heart rate zone when during exercise. When you train in this zone you are working your heart at the optimal level to burn calories, and train at the proper beats per minute. We have a few of these monitors in our department, that are implemented during our classes.

The heart is obviously the most important muscle in the body. It is always operating, and in so many different ways. Everything we do affects this organ, especially stress. So I thought it would be interesting to utilize the heart rate monitors during classes other than Physical Education. I am interested in using the HR monitors during academic classes where students are taking a test, or when a student has to do a presentation in front of the class. I think it would be really interesting to see how the beats of the heart rise and fall during stressful times of a students' day. I would like to gather statistical information on this topic. So, if anyone is interested in trying this experiment out with me and your class please let me know.

Team Building

2007-11-06T09:02:00.000-05:00

Two of my classes have just finished up our Team Building and Adventure Games unit. It has been really fun to watch them progress through this unit. The units' purpose is to help students build relationships with their classmates on a "team" level, but it does not involve sports.

This form of PE is "non-traditional" to say the least, and is one that mature students enjoy the most. I always get extremely positive feedback from this unit. This type of PE does not involve athleticism. It involves problem-solving, trust building, and reaching a team-oriented goal. It helps define leaders and teaches students how to hear other people's thoughts on meeting problem-solving challenges that are presented.

This unit is taken and modified from Karl Rohnke, who is one of the creators of Project Adventure. It is one of the lifestyle units that we have incorporated into our curriculum, and it is one of the most applicable to life. Students move from Adventure Games to a Low Ropes unit, and then proceed to the High Elements Course. All of these units help develop the mind, body, and socialization process of our students, which is an extremely important part of development for students. Especially because much of our focus is on technology, which can tend to leave these important developmental stages behind.

PE Today?

2007-11-06T08:54:00.001-05:00

What kind of technology do you think of when you think of Physical Education? Do you picture wiki's and blogs being a part of it? Do you still imagine PE being about a lifetime of bad memories and demeaning experiences?

Physical Education, today, incorporates different types of technology than most academic classroom settings. I am not saying we can't incorporate blogs, wiki's, and internet searches in PE, but it demands a different type of technology at this point. PE is a performance class. In a PE class students have to physically perform skills, exert physical effort, sweat, and be an active participant during the class period, everyday. Students can not sit and hide behind a desk. Assessment involves movement and if they are not moving, it is very easy for their grade to drop, and drop quickly. We as PE educators need to make classes motivating and challenging in a different way than classroom teachers. If we could bring in some of the latest PE technology, it would help motivate students to incorporate movement and wellness into their daily lives.

So, what kind of technology are we talking about? Well, if you have been to a "gym", YMCA, or fitness center recently you have probably seen or utilized this technology. Items such as treadmills, ellipticals, heart-rate monitors and fitness-testing systems, which measure flexibility, blood pressure, body composition, upper-body strength, and cardiovascular health, to name a few. These items and many others are in the facilities mentioned above. They are also in many of our spare rooms and basements collecting dust or being used as clothing trees. The point I am trying to make is if we can start to build our PE repertoire of technology "toys", teach our students how to utilize these pieces of technology and make them a part of their daily lives, it will enhance their quality of life.

PE classes, today, need to be about developing a healthy lifestyle, and not focus on how to throw a baseball or make a jump shot. By teaching our students how to improve cardiovascular health through the use of the available technology we can help them develop healthy lifestyle habits.

Thinking "Outside the Field"

2007-10-28T08:12:00.000-04:00

I was so excited and honored when Patrick Higgins invited me to be an author on Tech Dossier. I have just recently begun to explore the world of Web 2.0, and the reason this has occurred is because Patrick has been so willing to introduce this world to me and our district. Another huge excitement and positive push to become more involved with technology has been the program for the Tablet PC's. Having my own Tablet PC has really given me the freedom to explore new avenues as an educator.

I am a Health and Physical Education teacher at the high school and I have really been trying to move my thoughts and discipline into this fast-moving computer age. My field is extremely health and wellness oriented. Health is something that is changing everyday, and it is difficult to keep up with. Just this past week the "MRSA" virus has taken over the media, and our high school has had to create a plan of action to avoid this virus from entering our school. Wellness is an area that my colleagues and I have to really work at to get students involved. Getting our students, and our nation to understand the importance of keeping our bodies in good physical condition can really be a challenge.

In this day and age, students are more sedentary than ever. It is difficult to motivate the majority of our nations' student population to step away from our electronic world and step into a world that will strengthen their hearts. There is significant empirical evidence that students' sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits are dramatically affecting their quality of life.

Barry Bachenheimer is an adjunct professor at Montclair State University. One of his students, who's name was not given, created this video below. I wanted people to see it because I think it demonstrates the empirical data well, and puts our nations' health issues into perspective.

It is important to keep our students' on a healthy track in life, so that they can meet their potential in all the other important aspects of life. We as educators have a captured audience. I would like to try to bring technology into my "field", and get the most out of that captured audience. I am hoping, by getting my thoughts out there, people will see the importance of my discipline, and help contribute to making it more of a priority.

Technorati

2007-10-25T12:18:00.000-04:00

Technorati Profile

Fitness Friday

2007-10-25T08:44:00.001-04:00

Our department has come up with the idea of having every Friday be a "Fitness Friday". Each Friday we take all our PE classes to the track, and the students run the half-mile. Their goal is to be consistent or improve their times. Their times are based on the first time they ran it, which was for the Presidential test. They are allowed to be within 30 seconds of this time. It can be 30 seconds slower, or 30 seconds faster, but it must be within this time frame in order for them to maintain their effort and participation grade. Fitness Friday is run during first marking period, and during fourth marking period.

I teach freshman, and I am pleasantly surprised at their level of motivation and effort to try to be consistent or improve their times. It is refreshing to see them work so hard and see their level of excitement when they lower their time!

I record the students' results each time we do complete the event. I have a lot of empirical data that could really be used to mark the level of improvement or decline for each student. I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to where or what I can do with all of this data? Should I be entering it into a computer program that generates a graph for each student? Should the information be sent to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for their statistical analysis? If anyone has any information on this matter, I would greatly appreciate some direction or suggestions.

Technorati Tags: fitness friday

Half-Mile in the Fall

2007-10-20T19:22:00.000-04:00

Here are my students preparing to run the half-mile. They run the half-mile every Friday. It was particularly beautiful with the fall foliage in the backdrop.

Is PE important?

2007-10-17T10:14:00.003-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBfJeO_dGu0

This video gives us a glimpse into the importance of Physical Education and Health. We need to get everyone "on board" and to help people understand the impact that this educational discipline could have on all of our lives.

Sketchcast Message

2007-10-08T20:07:00.000-04:00

Patrick Higgins introduced this new website, Sketchcast, during our in-service yesterday, so I thought I would play around with it. Here is what I came up with.

It seems like this can be a way to get a point across with a drawing and you can add voice to it. I did not get as far as adding voice to it yet, but will work on that aspect.

Directions

2007-10-03T09:34:00.000-04:00

Earlier this year many faculty members were able to sign up and receive a Tablet PC. It has been a gift to my education process, and in turn, has helped me become a more innovative and creative teacher.

The direction that our PE program would like to head is one that involves all of our students in an activity that they enjoy doing AND are working their cardiovascular endurance. Today, while working with Patrick Higgins, he showed me a link to a video that shows a PE class involved in an activity. It is exactly the direction I would love to see our PE program head in.
Below is the link to the video clip that Patrick sent me. Take a look at it to see where PE programs of the present are:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6995365.stm

After viewing this clip, you can see that it involves many students, creates a cardiovascular workout, AND they are enjoying what they are doing. It is wonderful to see this type of activity occurring. Obviously, this system is very expensive.

We have no problem investing needed money into the academic portion of our students, wouldn't it be nice if we were to invest this type of money into our students' physical health.

Physical Education Fitness

2007-09-25T10:56:00.000-04:00

I am writing this blog to reach out to all PE teachers. I am looking for input on what your high school curriculum and classes entail in regards to fitness.

At Sparta High School, we put the entire student body through the Presidential Fitness Challenge. We do this twice a year. Once in September and again in May. The events that we use are the mile, half-mile, sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, sit-and-reach, and the shuttle run. We also have all of the students run the Pacer test, which is a product of Fitnessgram. It is a good indicator of cardiovascular endurance.

The fitness portion is time consuming, but students seem to work hard at each event, overall. Many students try extremely hard to reach the Presidential and National Standards that are listed.

So, I am curious what other schools do in regards to fitness curricula, lessons, and classes. I am looking for different ideas to incorporate into our program that will make our students more successful and enjoy what they are doing. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

The 'Dreaded' Mile

2007-09-20T11:06:00.000-04:00

Today in our PE classes our students are running the 'dreaded' mile. Each student attempts to reach the Presidential times for their age, while they huff and puff through their four laps around the track. As students, give it their all I can't help but think, have I as a teacher helped encourage them to exercise or given them the idea that it is a chore or a punishment? I am hoping it is the former, but I have a feeling it is the later. During the course of the academic year, I teach them about the importance of cardiovascular exercise and how they need to incorporate this into their daily schedules. As the end of the year approaches, I often feel I have been able to "reach" many students. Students tell me how they have incorporated exercise into their lives.

As the school year comes to a close, the 'dreaded' mile has to be run and recorded again. No matter how much all of my students have learned, they still dislike this timed event. Although, as each of them crosses the finish line, I see their sense of accomplishment and relief that they have completed this physical challenge, and this makes me smile.

HyPE 2.0

2007-06-16T16:30:00.000-04:00

The title of this blog comes from the idea of generating "hype" for Health and Physical Education by using the tools the Web 2.0 has to offer.

Goals

2007-06-16T16:23:00.000-04:00

I am hoping to find educators that want to take Health and PE into the future. I want to utilize the Web to bring in ideas and help students become a part of the process. I want the students to participate in creating the knowledge and pass it on to each other as well as me the educator.