Changes in time and a look at them goals

Well, this year has been super hectic! Our school has made the move from 52 minute periods to 75 minutes, meaning that some of my lessons have shrunk by 29 minutes (from a double session to a single) and some have grown by 23 minutes. At first I was a bit hesitant about the change as I've loved the lesson length of 100 minutes for practical lessons and 52 minutes for Health classes but 75 has proven to allow me to "trim the fat" from my practical lessons and to think smarter about what I really want to see my students achieve in all classes. It's been a steep learning curve this year as our school goes through an array of changes including the structure of leadership roles, class locations and the time length of classes and planning time allocation.

At the moment I can't help but feel that the goals I set myself at the start of the year have turned out to be fairly ambitious given the pressure I feel at the moment to keep up to date with the work load I'm under (I'm sitting next to 3 different piles of assessment tasks to correct). One goal was to create quality feedback and to be timely with my feedback to students. I still want to do this and in some regards have been able to do this already, however it is still a skill I've yet to master. Some things I've learnt however are:

• Set yourself an achievable standard. Don't get excited about marking and returning everything in a very short period of time. Whilst it's great, it does set an expectation that you will always be able to do this (when the reality is often very different).
• Video feedback is time consuming... I really wanted to film students performing a skill that they want to develop. I filmed them, then found it hard to find a way to provide them with a copy of the video, let alone the time to sit with each student in class to go over their video. I'm still trying to find a best practice for this method of feedback.

I'm currently happy with my tiered lessons, though I'm now flirting with the idea of differentiating some tasks, but will need planning time to plan these out well, before submitting them to my colleagues to see if they're interested (we all do the same "report assessment tasks").

As for my goal of continuing to work with technology, this year I've decided to set up a website for my Yr11 VCE class and I've been very happy with it's progress so far. I've used Weebly (free) and so far the students and I have gotten some great use out of it! http://vceoes12.weebly.com/ The most important aspect of the website has been the blog where I can outline everything we study as we study it, making it a handy revision tool come exam time (next week). 

Oh and I've started playing around with making videos... look out!

Back to school for 2014!

Well it's the start of the new school year and I've been busy plotting what I will be attempting to do in my classes for 2014. Last year I made the decision to not reapply for my role as head of department in an attempt to give myself more time to change my practice and to hopefully assist the HPE team in a more grass roots kind of way. I've set some goals that I will slowly map out at the start of the this term to ensure that they are successful! They are:

1.) To scaffold my lessons to provide a more challenging environment for more of my students. I'll do this by creating a variety of tiered assessment pieces that will provide students with choice when it comes to being assessed. The use of Stile will assist with this.

Example of how my classes look to me.
I can create lessons and then drag them up when I'm ready for students to do them.

Stile is a relatively new comer to the world of cloud based education. We had an opportunity to trial their system within our school last year and many of us loved it and asked for it to continue on so management ticked that box for us. In it's most basic form it allows you to create "online worksheets" for students to complete and once they have you can correct it online and send them individual feedback. I'm hoping to use it on the next level up though by creating a more "flipped classroom" look with explanatory videos to be created on a host of topics from healthy eating right through to how to swing a golf club. If I model the videos right... I'm hoping the students will make their own in return with the use of their iPads.

What a lesson looks like (mixture of introductory video and then exploratory style questions.

2.) To increase the amount of meaningful feedback being given to students and to do so in a timely fashion. My goal is to construct better tasks that assist me in enhancing the quality of feedback given to my students. I also hope to construct a series of self assessing items using various ICT tools.

I'm hoping to do this using a variety of tools including:

• Socrative
• Kahoot!
• Stile
• Email
• iDocieo (to record keep student progress)

iDoceo is an app I picked up last year. It's not a free app but it has been worth the money spent. It's everything in one for me in terms of a "teacher's chronicle" so much so that I didn't buy a hard copy book this year to record student progress and marks.

Example of iDoceo at work.

3.) To continue being a leader within my school when it comes to integrating tech tools in a meaningful way both in and outside the classroom.

I love being able to show my colleagues new and exciting ways to do something, as well as just introducing new tools. The main reason is because I strongly believe that we're more powerful as a team than as individuals and whilst I can think of how to use new tools I'm forever impressed by the new things I learn from my colleagues.

I have other exciting plans too but I might save them for future posts!

So what are your goals for 2014?

Teacher and Peer Assessing using Socrative

I did an activity today in class that I felt I should share with my fellow educators. It involved using Socrative to assess a series of student created videos on Sexually Transmitted Infections (S.T.Is)... I know fun right!?

In my last post I spoke about the web based tool Socrative and its usefulness in regards to gathering feedback from students to improve the content and skills we as teachers deliver. So now it's time to flip the idea on it's head and talk about how this tool can be used to provide feedback to students regarding their own progress.
In previous lessons my year 9 class had been exploring STIs and sexual health, this led into their main assessment piece which was for them to develop a video/cartoon/podcast that focused on one STI of their choice. They needed to cover signs & symptoms, treatment, prevention and how it could impact on their lifestyle. They also needed to introduce interesting facts or statistics regarding their chosen STI. Students were told that their finished product would be shown to the class with their mark coming from both their teacher and their fellow classmates.

Today was the day of their video presentations. Prior to the lesson I set up a quiz on Socrative called "STI - Peer Assess Quiz". I also had in the room their other HPE teacher (we share this class) and a Pre-Service Teacher. As each video played I would open the quiz on Socrative and students would vote through a series of key questions such as:

• Your name
• Name of the group presenting
• How engaging is this presentation?
• Have you learnt anything new?
• Does this presentation cover signs and symptoms?
• Does this presentation highlight how the STI is treated?
• Overall what did you think of this presentation?

Each question was multiple choice (except the first two) and students quickly filled out the quiz at the end of each video. At the same time as they filled their quizzes out my colleagues and I would tick our own marking criteria sheet and them compare our answers. I gathered all the marking data from my colleagues and was sure to email myself a copy of the students responses to each quiz.

Rubric with a combination of 3 scores two teachers (highlighter)

The student results came through as separate Excel documents so I placed the data into an easy to read grid (google document located here)that also turned the results anonymous. Students will receive both sets of mark sheets back in their next lesson.

What we found most valuable and interesting from the whole experience was that everyone was engaged in the process of reviewing and that everyone felt they had a chance to comment on what they thought was good practice and what was in need of improvement.

Other things we liked included:

• Instant cross marking and discovering that we had similar "marks" for each group presentation that we assessed as teachers.
• That students were honest in the process and marked their peers to a similar grade to what their teachers had done.
• Everyone was engaged.

I'm doing this again tomorrow with my other year 9 class, can't wait to see if the results fall similar again!

Exit Tickets for differentiation!

Using Socrative for Differentiation within your classes...

What is Socrative?

Socrative is a free web based application that has become very popular in education in the last couple of years. The best thing about it is that only the teacher needs to sign up for an account and students only need to know their teacher’s room number.

What does it do?

You can create quizzes that are either teacher paced or student paced. The quizzes can be Multiple choice, T/F or Short Answer in nature. You can also create Exit Tickets which are the main focus of this blog post.

So differentiation is involved how?

Exit Tickets gauge exactly where your students are at by the end of a lesson with a quick series of questions for students to answer. This information is compiled in a excel file for you to skim over at the end of a lesson or series of lessons. This will allow you to alter lesson ideas to suit students and their learning needs.

So just what is an “Exit Ticket?” you ask? Well in it’s simplest form it is a short survey filled out at the end of a lesson. They are becoming common practice at the end of most sessions at any PD conference to allow presenters and hosts to gauge how successful the sessions run were. Questions are usually in a poll or short answer form and are designed to be completed quickly by participants leaving your lesson.

So let’s have a look at how it all works.

You will need to create/sign up for a Teacher’s Account, and then it’s all systems go!

Students will need access to the internet and either the website http://socrative.com/ or they can have the Student version of the app (available free on both apple and android devices). I have both apps on all my devices in case I ever need to be a “student” as well.

When you sign into Socrative as a teacher you are greeted with this view:

Click to enlarge - Exit Ticket is 2nd from the bottom of image.

There is a standard or default Exit Ticket already available and does the job nicely (I use it). When you select it, it will become active in your "Socrative room" and students can now join your room to fill out their Exit Ticket. You get an overall live view that allows you to see how many Tickets have been submitted as they happen it looks like this:

The student log in is really basic, they only need your room number which is always visible on your summary page. I place my number (which never changes) on the board and ask the students to record this down in their diary or in a note on their device for future reference.

Student Log in view.

Students filling out the default Exit Ticket available will be asked the following 4 questions:

• Their name
• How well did you understand today's material? (Multiple Choice)
• What did you learn today? (Short Answer)
• Please solve the problem on the board. (Short Answer)

When they fill out the last question they have an option to just Finish the Exit Ticket or to Finish and then allow someone else to fill it in out after them. The flexibility of this meant that I could use this in a class with a limited number of devices or a class where everyone had a device.

The results are compiled and you have the option of downloading the report or emailing the report to yourself for later viewing. If you are using the mobile app you only have the option to email to yourself.

How would you like this data you have just collected?

The information is sent to you in an excel document with each question/answer in a column and each student/responder in a row, you can simply scroll across to see how a student went individually or scroll down to see an overall result for a certain question.

This works well in both theory and practical classes as the main aim is to assess whether students have felt that they have learnt something or have been challenged in their way of thinking. You might find in the first couple of attempts of doing this that students will be tempted to be silly or even untruthful in their answers especially if reflecting and reviewing their progress isn't a regularly occurring practice for them. Don't be put off though, instead ensure that this practice is a regular event and that it is always consistent. Students will come to develop self reviewing skills as a result and you will soon find that they are quite descriptive in their responses to the answers in their Exit Ticket, thus building on the class practice with you as opposed to waiting for you to just deliver the content and hoping that it is something that will engage and challenge them.

The great thing is it also provides feedback to the teacher instantly that may help them determine why a lesson wasn't as successful as they thought it would be when planning it.

Give it a go! You could be surprised at the results.

Handy Online Tools

So recently I've been exposed to a host of online tools in my quest for better tools to use in the classroom. My goal was to find things that can slide seamlessly into what I do in the classroom without having to spend a lot of time explaining to students how to use the application. So here's what I've found to be super handy!

Strawpoll.me
This website is handy when you want to get a quick response from students. The results are displayed as a pie chart and update as votes roll in. You can make the chart visible as students vote or you can show at the end of voting if you want to avoid number persuasion. Simply visit strawpoll.me and fill out the blanks.

Today's Meet
If you're looking for a way for students to quickly respond to a scenario and to briefly discuss, todaysmeet.com might be a great choice. It allows you to set up a room, create a name and to choose how long the room exists for. Great for revising something just covered or for introducing a new concept.

Powtoon
I've been wanting to make informative videos in my quest to ensure that important information delivered in class can be accessed by my students who are absent from key lessons. The website powtoon.com allows users to create up to 30 free videos which can be uploaded straight to YouTube. It's fairly flexible in its use and has a variety of templates to play around with for the less adventurous video maker. I trialled it last night making a short video on HIV for my students:

So what online tools are your favourite?
Props to @flattero  for introducing strawpoll and TodaysMeet to me at a recent PD.

How I keep student work - Digital Portfolios

So I'm back! It's been a very busy year this year with my school making some big changes but I'm here tonight to share what I've been doing in the classroom. I've been wanting a more permanent way to monitor my students progress as I work with them throughout the year, I also wanted to model a practice for my Year 9 students who each have access to an iPad.

I’ve started using  the app  “Easy Portfolio” which was developed by #pegeek MrRobbo. This app has changed the way I record student progress within my class. It did involve a little bit of setting up at the start (entering students/classes) but I’m so glad I took the time. Now I want to share with you all what I’ve been doing with it (see the comic strip below).


Firstly  I  created my  classes  as  “groups”  and  then  created  a  “portfolio”  for  each student  within each group/class. Now when I tap on a student’s name I’m presented with a portfolio that is broken up into file types (Video, Images, Audios, Notes, URLS, Docs). So when my year 9 or 10 classes submit work I ask them  to send  their  files as a PDF document  (Pages, Keynote etc will offer this option) and I save their attached  work  into  their assigned portfolio. This has been  fantastic as  I can monitor student progress whenever  I want  to. I can have students submit what they have done in the day’s lesson every time we meet or I can simply ask them to submit assessment tasks for me to save as a record.


When I mark a rubric  I save a copy of the rubric to their portfolio as well. As for my classes that don’t have iPads I just simply take photos of everything. I recently had year 7’s complete an assignment on Melanomas they all handed in their proudly constructed assignments and  I photographed  the work and then photographed the  hard  copy of the rubric I marked prior  to handing back to students. This ends up being a great resource when parent/teacher interviews come around.

Some of the uses of the Easy Portfolio App

What I really love though is that I can film my students performing skills in a variety of skill development lessons which I can then use to review one-on-one with the student. Video analysis is a powerful tool when used right and can correct technique issues faster than any verbal or demonstration style  instruction given by a coach. The goal for me is to film regularly enough to then hopefully capture skill improvement during a unit of work. I can then keep  this database of videos for reporting as well as parent/teacher interviews. The app also allows me to email any items in the portfolio to the student, parents or homeroom teacher. I can also back up my files using my Dropbox account.

So that's what I've been up to recently, tell me how you keep track of your students, do you have a great suggestion for us fellow #pegeeks? How important is it to track student progress in a Phys Ed class? What do you like to have on your table when meeting parents at interview time?

Stay tuned, my reporting period is nearly over and I aim to update this blog again soon!

Future focused fueled by feedback

Wow, okay! I went to another PD today with two colleagues (I know right two weeks in a row go me!). We went to see a multi campus school present to Professor John Hattie regarding the changes they’ve made within their school after developing a series of “Action Research Projects”. This school has been working closely with John and we were very curious to see what has been transpiring there.

I have to admit I’ve come away with my head loaded with ideas and thoughts on better practice regarding whole school approaches to change and if you get the chance to hear or read John Hattie’s work I recommend. All I’m going to do with this blog post is summarise the key themes that kept popping up during today’s PD.

Future Focus

The day was very future focused, each group that presented (there were 7 all up) asked “where to from here?” They reflected on their practice and avoided descending into the hang ups of what didn’t work, instead focusing on what worked and what could be improved. It was generally accepted that engagement and activity was a precursor for learning, yes it was needed but teachers were encouraged to ensure that learning occurred after “hooking the students in”. This train of thought is crucial when considering the use of technology in the classroom. Yeah iPads and smart phones are great ways of getting students engaged in the process but if those tools are not being used to gather further understanding of content being studied then it’s up to both teachers and students to determine their usefulness.

Feedback

The majority of the day was aimed at feedback. Whether it is gathering feedback from students regarding their understanding of a topic or gathering feedback of how the teacher was going in terms of delivering content. Feedback is important when done right because it lets the teacher know what needs to be done to assist those who need assistance, and also to know when things are done right. Most groups discovered however that questions need to be well planned in order to get quality feedback, and in most cases students needed to be explained the difference of providing constructive feedback as opposed to “good work Miss!”

What is Progress?

Another crucial point that was mentioned during the day was that all teachers needed to have a common perception of what constituted as “progress”. Often teachers have a vastly different view of what is progress and they share this view with their students either explicitly or subconsciously. When different teachers in the same school present different understandings of progress to their students it becomes a confusing affair not only for the students, but also their parents and other teachers within the school. The way this school was attempting to tackle the mammoth task of understanding progress and having students aware of their progress was through the use of visual spaces. They placed the VELS progression points around the classroom and students used avatars of themselves and stuck them to the progression point that they were currently at. Students then used “I Can...” statements to assist them in planning how to move to the next progression point. This process meant that students were aware of their progress as they moved through their course work as opposed to just being handed an end result as if it’s a signal that the learning has ended.

Senior teacher only?

An interesting point that came up was schools that place certain teachers in senior classes only, and continue to do so year after year. These senior teachers are also often not exposed to junior or middle year classes and therefore the earlier development of their potential future students. This has always struck me as odd. Why leave your best players out of the game until the last quarter? Why not give our senior teachers a chance to better prepare their students well in advance before they even step into their senior classes? Keeping key teachers in senior year levels can sometimes send the message to students that some teachers are more “expert” than others and sometimes this could be far from the truth.

All in or nothing at all...

It became abundantly clear that if you want to take on a whole school project that will eventually change the way things happen in your school then you really do need everyone on board. If not students fast recognise which teachers are moving with the change and which ones aren’t. We as teachers also need to recognise that as a professional in a profession we should be staying well read on best practices and implementing what we can to show that we are well equip to develop the young minds of tomorrow. In this day and age it is no longer acceptable to state that technology (in particular iPads/tablets/smartphones) has no place in a learning environment when it is clear that these tools are being used in the business world that we plan on sending our students into.

I’m going to close this long blog post with some key reflective questions that popped up during the course of the day that I found particularly powerful or interesting:

Who is asking the questions in your classroom? Is it you (the “expert”) or is it the students (The “learners”)?

What is success? What does it look like? Do we demonstrate to our students what success is?

How often do you receive feedback from your students regarding your practice? How comfortable are you about receiving feedback from your students?

Are you aware of your impact on students? As a result do you challenge them? Do you challenge yourself?

What I learnt from my day at the VITTA conference!

So today I had a rare chance to go off and get immersed in some Professional Development. I took myself across Melbourne to Caulfield Race Course to my first foray into the VITTA (Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association) Conference. I was to hear from two keynote presenters and from 4 other speakers on an array of topics all related of course to the use of technology in education. I was excited, I packed my iPad, my android phone (Samsung Galaxy III) and pen and paper (just in case). These are the thoughts that I came away with:

What I learnt from my day at the VITTA conference!

Factory Model is out... Creativity, global awareness and entrepreneurship is in!

The old model of marching students into class, having them sitting in rows, asking them to open their brains and teachers then attempting to stuff as much information as we can in before running a memory test is no longer an acceptable mode in which to prepare our young for the future. Instead we heard at the VITTA conference Professor Yong Zhao reiterate what we are fast becoming to accept is the ideal future for education within a school environment and that is a shift to developing individuals that are creative, passionate and globally competent. Individuals who are confident in their abilities, willing to take risks, able to connect with others to develop friendships and of course be alert to their world in order to make the best decisions possible. As we make work places more and more efficient we lose more and more jobs so those students we prepare for the "factory" life will find it harder and harder to find long term employment.

The factory model prepares worker people for the unlikelihood of gaining a job.

Twitter really is a big deal...

Every serious presenter had a twitter account and used it. This is how the world is interacting and we need to embrace and accept this. In fact as we were sitting in our conference listening to key speakers the twitter world was afire with conversation regarding the Mars Landing. The first keynote speaker discussed using twitter for Professional Development and networking. The next presenter I saw discussed it in a similar way, and also for using with a class. The next presentation I went to was about the global classroom and a teacher from a rural school discussed how she used Twitter to network with teachers across the globe to enrich her classes (and in the process her school). Through twitter this teacher was able to connect with teachers overseas as well as professionals in a variety of fields to match what the students were learning, including an explorer in Antarctica.

Mobile Phone / Tech Policies need to be revisited/revised...

Every few years we as educators take the time to review the resources that we are using (usually textbooks) and we make a decision to upgrade/change/develop those resources to best suit where the students are at. Some schools have even decided to introduce iPads/tablets or netbooks to their change. One thing that became abundantly clear from the sessions I sat in was that there were many passionate teachers who had brilliant ideas on how to engage their class using technology, only to be hampered by restrictions and policies. Many were whispering in the corners of conference rooms how their students aren’t allowed mobiles at school “but I ask them to bring them in and use them anyway”. These confessions could be construed as naughty teachers breaking the rules and not supporting the “policy” and maybe some are being deliberately cheeky but knowing this is happening just means a bigger question. “Why are so many teachers encouraging students to SBYOD (Secretly Bring Your Own Device)?” The answer if you haven’t already figured it out... is because it is obviously resulting in engagement in the lesson at hand. No teacher is going to invite more distraction into an already over stimulated environment (I’m assuming that all teachers are endeavouring to have engaging, interesting and challenging classes to begin with). Students and teachers alike should consider exploring and understanding Digital Citizenship and what is a responsible use of online capable devices so they can then begin to develop an agreement that will allow more flexibility in regards to bringing mobiles into the classroom.

Do you SBYOD?

The classroom is not square...

As teachers we’ve always known that learning doesn’t just occur in the classroom, however the way our schools are designed, planned and budgeted for often leaves us designing lessons that fit a timetable of so many lessons per week for x amount of minutes. Students are expected to walk through a door and instantly switch onto their subject. They’re expected to remember what was discussed previously and in some cases prepare for a future moment in the week when they will have a chance to revisit the subject again. In some cases we attempt to assist this behaviour with “homework” which may or may not be completed by the student and may or may not result in any actual “learning”. A constant underlying message during the sessions at today’s VITTA conference was that the classroom can and most likely should be extended outside the confines of the square room that we use to gather with our students. This can be done a variety of ways including the use of online collaboration tools for outside class hours, to the use of communication tools to connect with the world outside of the classroom/school/state/country. So if you’re not too sure, start small... get your students on Edmodo, use twitter or even explore what your school already has and start designing an online version of your class. Invite a colleague to “guest teach” via skype or even better just record your own podcast or start a blog for students to follow.

All in all I found the day a great exercise of the mind and it was nice to know that I wasn't the only one finding the I.T policies and procedures in my school challenging. It was great to connect with a few people through twitter and hopefully I can take back what I learnt from the day to share with my colleagues and develop more exciting and interesting dialogue.

Peace!

QR Codes in PE

So... QR Codes (quick response codes) are basically a matrix style barcode that allows you to store information to be shared with others. The information can be anything from an image, a web address, a calendar event, a phone number or just some plain old text. The great thing about these little fellas is that they are cross platform... meaning it doesn't matter if you're using iPhones/iPads,Windows or Android systems. The most common use of QR Codes in the world at large appears to be linking the user to a website. Examples of QR Codes can be seen in magazines, newspapers, on shop front windows and on advertising images. So in short a QR Code looks like this:

Scan to go to It Inside PE Outside

As you can see if that little square matrix is placed on the corner of a big picture advertisement for say Nike, users could scan (using a device with a camera and a QR scanning app) the code which could have been generated to link people to the Nike website, or even to a specific page on their website (Mid year Sale anyone?). Sounds great you're thinking... but what use have I for that in my PE class? How do I even make my own QR Codes? Good questions worthy of an answer!

How QR Codes could be used in PE classes:

• Station work. 

Rather than printing sheets of paper that explain what students should be doing at each station, why not generate permanent instructions/information that exist either on a website (school Intranet) or as just plain text instructions/information. Create codes for each station and then just print and place those at each station. Students can then move from station to station and gather the needed information to complete set tasks.

How might this look? 
PRACTICAL LESSON: How about we use fitness testing as our example? Have stations set up around the court (such as vertical jump, sit and reach, ball-wall toss) and place a QR code on the wall beside each test. Students move to the station and scan the code. The code then provides them with all the information they require to complete the test correctly. You could even have a second code underneath for them to scan after completing the test to see where their results fall in relation to the scale.

THEORETICAL LESSON: How about we use the sexual health unit as our example of how QR codes can be used in a theory based lesson. Put together small web pages of information about each Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI). Develop QR Codes that will link students to each STI individually. Place these around the room and provide generic questions on the board. Students can then move about and develop their own "Fact Sheets" on each STI. Generic questions can be as simple as "how is it transmitted? how is it treated? how is it prevented?" etc.

Stations could be self run

• Orienteering.

Create an orienteering course that uses QR Codes at each point to provide the next clue/direction for students following the course.

How might this look?
Create plain text clues that provide students with the next point on their map. When they make it to the correct destination a QR Code could be visible for them to scan providing them with their next coordinates.
Have students in pairs develop their own codes and trails for another pair in the class to then try out.

Scanning for the next coordinates?

How to create QR Codes:

So you've got some ideas but now you want to know how to create these little pixelated squares of fun! Well truth be told there are a variety of ways... all depending on whether you're using a phone, an iPad or your PC... so lets explore!

Android phone/tablet then check out:
 QR Droid
This little app allows you to scan QR Codes, create your own, decode codes and keeps a history for you as you play.




 
iPhone/iPad then check out:

Qrafter

EasyQR

Qrafter or EasyQR (there are also loads of free "scan" apps so be sure to find one that allows you to create codes as well as scan).








 
PC check out the following links to assist you in making QR Codes:
http://qrcode.kaywa.com/
http://www.qurify.com/en/
http://www.qreasy.com/


Each of the above platforms work in a similar way, you type or select the item to be turned into a QR Code then allow the app/website to create the code, then you simply save the code as an image and then it's ready for you to print or to email etc


So there you have it, that's QR Codes in a nutshell (ok in a website that looks nothing like a nutshell but you get me). The advantages of having QR Codes is that more information can be delivered at once than if you were to stand in front of the class and just talk it out. It means you can mix up the lesson and students can work at their own pace, and it also means you can mingle with your students and take the time to assist them where they need it most.

That's all I have on this for now, but if you've got a great QR Code idea let us know! You can add it in the comments section of this blog
Peace out fellow PE Geeks!

A digital classroom?

So sometimes I find myself questioning whether homework is really worth doing in PE. After all our subject is predominately practical skill based and aside from planned assignments or projects what else is really worth setting as homework?
I personally am a big believer in the fact that work set for students to complete needs to be worthwhile and meaningful. When we as either teachers or students can see the value in completing a task we're more likely to devote our attention to that task and in turn become fully engaged in the process of learning a new skill or developing new knowledge.

So with that in mind I started reviewing the topics we cover in our class (mainly Health related topics as our school combines Physical Education and Health as one subject for junior levels right up until VCE). I also reviewed my teaching methods and also how much time I dedicated to theory related lessons versus practical related lessons and I found that it was difficult to strike the perfect balance of time devoted to properly unpacking and exploring theory topics and time devoted to skill development and "just getting out there" with my students. As for teaching methods, one of the most common things I found occurring in my class was discussion based activities. Discussion based activities make real sense in PE classes considering the topics we cover (drugs and alcohol, sexual health, health of Australians and risk taking to name a few). That's when it dawned on me... why not have our discussions outside the classroom sometimes? So after doing some research online this is what I have discovered and started implementing in time for the new term.

First I signed up for my own page at Collaborize Classroom which allows me to create my own online discussion forum which is very student and teacher friendly. I was given the option to create a name for my page (so I called it "PE with Ms M") and from there I was able to start customising the page for my classes.

Screen shot of my digital classroom

If you check out the screen shot I'm sharing with you of my digital classroom you'll notice that I've altered the colour scheme by simply hovering my cursor over Manage and selecting Site from the drop down menu (1). i then just selected the colour scheme I wanted.
After that I tapped on the little pencil beside the heading Categories (2) and edited the sample categories already in existence renaming them as my classes (you can later manage these making them either visible or invisible to different classes if you wish). I then clicked on Start a Discussion (3) to create a topic "thread" where I posed a question to my students to then answer. Then all I had to do was provide each student (via email or paper slip) the address (URL) of my page and I invited them to come join the page. The neat thing about this site I guess is that they wouldn't need an email address to sign up.
I instructed students to use their real name or a shortened version when signing up and to create an appropriate username as well (the real name isn't visible to anyone but me, others only see the username they select).

You may already even have a discussion forum style tool on your school's intranet system, if so it is much easier to set up, but if you don't then having something like this means being able to create a brilliant space where students can answer a set question, then respond to their peers and even be encouraged to re-evaluate what they have written after reading everyone's posts and provide a new post using facts or information/ideas/view points from others to back up or change their opinion or understanding of the topic.

Overall an online discussion can allow you to capture the thought process of your students as they plan responses, evaluate and re-evaluate etc. Through setting this page up I hope to hit two birds with one stone... one being the minimising of homework, and two ensuring that discussions aren't restricted to the limited time available in class time. The other beauty of having a site like this running means that if a student is away sick for a period of time, they can still be involved with the class.

Other sites that do similar stuff include:

• Edmodo (looks and feels like the nerdy sister of facebook making it appealing to teens and powerful fun for teachers... imagine notifying students to remind them to bring their PE uniform).
• Schoology (similar to Edmodo)
• Go Soapbox (a real time interactive tool where students can share with their teacher how they are going with any set task given).
• Socrative

 What I have planned here, could be the beginning of introducing the "Flipped Classroom" model to my classes, who knows!

Next week I hope to tackle amongst other fun things.... QR Codes!!


Stay tuned and share the blog! Leave me a comment if you have a suggestion on what I should look at next!

Peace out!

Top 5 PE Apps worth your time

There are so many blog posts floating around the blogosphere recommending this app or that app that often it's hard to determine which apps are worthwhile getting, and which apps are just being promoted by the app creators. The other killer is that there are so many apps that are similar to one another that it makes it even harder to get something worthwhile at all.
As teachers, we're far too busy to sit down and try out app after app until we find one that does the job... we also don't have the time to learn how to use the app... only to then teach students how to use the app too. So to help ease the world of apps a little allow me to share with you the top 5 PE apps I have used in class and therefore know work well!

1. iMuscle ($4.99)

This is a killer app! Forget your Anatomy textbook... this app smashes it out of the ballpark! It can be used as a standard "okay let's look at the muscles in the leg" tap on and read the label/name of the muscle... or it can be used as a powerful resource that demonstrates complete with moving clips how to exercise each muscle. So whether you want to use it to explain muscle movements (flexion/extension) or you want to show your star athlete's why they are doing the exercise that you just prescribed to them... you just know visually this app just makes sense. Professionals in the medical fields are loving this alternative way to demonstrate things to their clients too by the way.

The App in Action

2. TimeMotion (Free)

This little app is simplistic in design and functionality. The app is used simply to record how long a player spends doing the following: Running, jogging, sprinting, walking, standing etc. Have students monitor someone in their class as they participate in a game. All they need to do is tap whatever is occurring as it occurs. When the game ends they hit "Stop" and ta-da! an instant break down of how long their player spent doing each movement type. They can record the data and discussion can then take place on the value of knowing how hard players work in a team environment.

The app in Action

3. Nike Training Club (Free)

Want to punish your students? Want to make them work out but allow them to select their own say 15 minute work out? Then this app is fantastic! But be warned for those who aren't involved in regular moderate to vigorous exercise the workout can prove to be brutal. The great thing about this app is the majority of exercises to be completed in any workout require minimal to no equipment. You can preview the list of exercises in the list prior to engaging in it to allow injuries or weak spots to be protected or targeted. You can select how long the workout will go for and the best thing is each exercise comes with an instructional video demonstrating the exercise. Students love the freedom of selecting what they want to work on, they can even play music with the app to keep them motivated as it counts down the time left.
Apps like this one are great discussion tools too in regards to whether they really are beneficial for people wanting to build on fitness, the risk of uninformed people using the wrong apps in the pursuit of weight loss and dealing with body/self-esteem issues is a worthwhile conversation to have.

The App in Action

4. AIDSinfo (Free)

This app is brilliant when it comes to looking at health related issues on a global scale. Information is updated and relates of course to the AIDS epidemic including life expectancy, risk of infection rate even education regarding AIDS. Just tap on the country of interest to find the facts and figures. Have students compare countries/continents. Great way to create discussion and debates can result with great use of factual information.

The App in Action

5. Tap Roulette (Free)

This is the best app I have in my bag of tricks and it's best when it comes to picking who gets to go first, who starts with the ball, who gets to be captain, who gets to start on the bench and so on. This app beats flipping a coin because it allows for you to incorporate more than 2 teams in the picking. I often have my class split into three teams with one team resting on the bench/umpiring/scoring whilst the other two teams play (great strategy when you have too many players for games like basketball, netball, handball and indoor soccer). All teams select a captain who then meets me with my iPad on the court. I ask all three captains to place one finger on the black section of the screen and I hit "Pick Finger" The app then randomly picks one of the fingers to highlight. The captain belonging to that finger can then inform their team they're on the bench first.

The App in Action

So there you have it! These are by far my favourite apps at the moment as they're easy to use and act as the perfect tools without becoming cumbersome... and the best thing... you don't need to "learn how to use the app".

Keep checking back, subscribe and tell your PE friends I'm planning to keep the ball rolling on this bad boy of a blog!