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Technology Helps Community Elementary Students Improve Fitness Level
Beau Eden and Carla Thurman

This has been a very exciting year for the Physical Education Department and students at Community Elementary School. The effort of using technology in this special area of learning has been very successful. Each year additional technology is being used to help the students be aware of the importance of regular exercise and the development of health-related fitness. These awesome additions to the Physical Education Department improve student knowledge and evaluation of their fitness levels. Many of the additional pieces of equipment are used to promote physical activity and physical fitness for a lifetime, aiming to develop the lifelong patterns needed to live a healthy lifestyle. Adding the use of technology to the existing intense curriculum emphasizes physical activity and physical fitness for EVERYONE regardless of age, gender, or ability.
The use of IPAQ’s was started last year. The IPAQ is used by the instructors to record the results of the Physical Education Fitness Test given twice a year to the students in grades third through sixth. Teachers, students, school nurse and parents evaluate results of this fitness report card. The Fitness Gram Test measures six fitness areas of the individual student. These areas consist of Aerobic Capacity/Endurance (Pacer Test), Body Composition (BMI), Muscular Strength (Abdominal-Curl Up and Upper Body-Flexed Arm Hang), Flexibility (Trunk Lift-Back and Sit and Reach-Hamstring). This testing tool is also consistent with promoting all Health Areas of Fitness. Health Related Fitness Gram Longitudinal Tracking Charts are used to track the individual fitness level results from year to year on each student. The use of the Activity Gram portion of this software will eventually be implemented to log the type of activity and levels of activity a student will do in one given day. Thus, giving the student the feedback to evaluate daily activity levels and duration of daily activity.
Exergaming is a very exciting way to get children moving. This is a new technologically based approach to promote fitness. This opens the mind to new ideas of exercise in all areas of life and promotes optimal physical development during childhood and adolescence. Dance, Dance Revolution (DDR) is the way we are implementing “exergaming” into our Community Elementary Physical Education curriculum and the lives of our students. The first objective for this project is to operate within the Kansas State Standards for Physical Education. DDR covers motor skill development, applies movement concepts to learning, achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical fitness, helps exhibit a healthy level lifestyle, promotes responsible personal and social behavior in the physically active setting, and helps each student understand that physical activity provides an opportunity for enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and interaction. Implementing DDR into our curriculum will have positive results on the health of our children. This is a teaching aid the will help improve our student endurance scores on the Fitness Gram Test and should help decrease Body Mass Index (BMI) scores. This will result in more of our children scoring in the Healthy Fitness Zone on the fitness test. This is another great tool to help model a healthier student that will make better learners.
Step It Up Program is designed to encourage increase physical activity through increasing daily steps while walking. Walking is one of the best ways to encourage physical activity that is a lifetime activity. Another new technological tool being used this school year is the pedometer. The pedometers we will use also have the heart rate monitor. This will allow the student to evaluate and document not just the steps taken each day but evaluate their Target Heart Rate Zone while exercising. Monitoring Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) and their Target Heart Rate Zone (THRZ) is a way for each student to see the benefits of each activity and their level of performance. The use of the pedometer is a useful tool, along with the Power Panther Program to promote a healthier lifestyle through exercise and nutrition. The added use of the pedometers will help promote and evaluate the results of exercise on the body and help improve personal BMI’s. With childhood obesity being the national #1 health problem, anything we can do to get children moving is a big start in producing healthier children.
Another additional tool being used is the Cup Stacking Time Mats. The sport of Speed Stacking is an exciting individual and team sport where participants stack and unstack twelve specially designed plastic cups in a pre-determined sequence. Stackers race against the clock for faster and better times. Each student will use their own mat to time their ability in performing the Cup Stacking Cycle for competition. The sport allows each student to work to success at his/her own level and also allows him or her to reach the competitive level. Speed Stacking increases bilateral proficiency (equal performance on both sides of the body) develops a greater percentage of the right side of the brain which houses awareness, focus, creativity and rhythm. It enhances motor skills such as hand-eye coordination and ambidexterity as well as quickness and concentration. Each mat has a memory feature which allows you to store and recall your best times and dates. When children experience success in physical activity, their interest in physical activity grows.
Shootout Basketball is a computerized basketball game used during Coordinated Activity Station Day at Community Elementary. This game is a competitive shooting game that has an electronic scoreboard that times and keeps track of shooting skills.
Incorporating technology into the Physical Education Department at Community Elementary School is something that will help advance the program to where it should be. Technology is a wide-open field with continuous innovations. Our challenge is to learn how to use and implement these innovations to best meet our needs and the needs of our students. PE in action

United Streaming

UnitedSteaming is supported by Discovery Education and is the only digital video-based learning resource scientifically proven to increase academic achievement. UnitedStreaming is a collection of more than 50,000 video segaments among 5,000 full-length educational videos. Teachers can search digital video content, by curriculum standard, keyword, subject area, and grade level.

In the 7th grade science classroom Mrs. Ellis uses 5 minute video clips to demonstrate experiment techniques. Recently when teaching students about the elements, there was some confusion of the difference between an element, compound and mixture. Using a quick download from United Streaming a 10 minute video clip could be shown that explained and showed students the differences through compare and contrast. A graphic organizer was easily completed of the compiled information.

UnitedStreaming offers students quick accessible information in a clear concise manner that appeals to their senses. Video clips can be used as great discussion starters for students. With ease the teachers can access the information from United Streaming. The benefit? Students are learning!

 

 

Clickers

The new buzz around USD 445 is all about Clickers. They look like remote controls for a television set but when put into action, they engage the students in classroom discussions and other learning activities.

The Clickers can be utilized for classroom testing, academic games, surveys and a multitude of other ways while providing instant feedback to teachers and students. For example, the teacher directs a question to the class. In a traditional classroom one or two students might raise their hands while the remainder of the class is despondent. In a Clicker classroom each student answers the question using the wireless remote. The software tallies the results and the feedback encourages discussion because everyone has ownership of their answers. It also provides the teacher with valuable information concerning the students’ understanding of the subject matter.

 

 

Blogging About Books

Technology is being utilized in and out of the High School Library. Mrs. Barriger has started a Technology and Books Blog. A blog is short for Web Log which is much like writing in a journal or diary. Many blogs are subject specific and they provide a way for participants to share their opinions and thoughts.

During Teen Read Week the students were challenged to "read for the fun of it" and Mrs. Barriger encouraged students and teachers to write reviews of the books that they'd read. Each time a review was written the students' names were placed in a drawing for various prizes that were given away at the end of the week.

If you have a read a book and you'd like to share your opinion about it visit the Technology and Books Blog.

 

6th Graders Use Intel's Visual Ranking Tool

Gretchen Amos, 6 th grade teacher at Community Elementary utilized Intel’s Visual Ranking Tool with her students. They had been studying geometry and how it is used in various careers. The class brainstormed a list of careers most likely to use geometry. Then in small groups they ranked those careers in order from the most likely to the least likely to use geometry on the job. When the ranking activity was complete the students were able to compare their ranking with other groups including a group of adults working outside of the classroom setting.

Since students were required to state reasons for the way they ranked each career, the activity encouraged discussion, improved higher order thinking skills, and it enabled them to see things from multiple perspectives. Click here to see the students at work.

Another Blog Story

Chris Young, French teacher at Field Kindley High School uses blogging as an important research tool for his students. He incorporates photos and videos along with text so that his students learn about French culture along with the language. There is no right or wrong answer to the questions that are posed on his blog, however the students are required to provide support for the opinions they post. To visit his blog click here. 

Global Positioning Units

USD 445 has 10 GPS units available for teachers to use for classroom instruction. These are great for teaching about latitude and longitude as well as satellite operation and can be checked out through the FKHS Library.

One activity that is a lot of fun to do with teachers and students is called Geocaching. It's basically a high tech treasure hunt that is popular worldwide where "caches" are hidden and the participants are given "waypoints" (latitude and longitude coordinates). The seekers or "Geocachers" input the coordinates into their GPS unit and go in search of the hidden cache. Once the cache is located the finder signs the finder's log and may take one of the trinkets that are inside the cache. The general rule is that if something is taken, it must be replaced by something else. Click to see pictures of Roosevelt Middle School teachers learning about Geocaching.

This is an activity that is enjoyed the world over by young and old alike. If you would like more information visit Groundspeak.

 

Metaphors and Similes

Sixth Grade students were given the task to create a page of a metaphor or simile to be included in a class book. They were to choose a metaphor or simile in which they had to depict the meaning by using a photograph or clip art. The students then brought items in they wanted to take a picture of using digital cameras. The pictures were downloaded into their student file and from there the creativity began to flow. Using Publisher, the students retrieved their pictures from their files, cropped the pictures to fit the spot they wanted them on their page. They chose coordinating font and colors that would complement their pictures. Some even figured out how to layer pictures on top of other pictures. By doing this project I could tell that the students really did have a better understanding of metaphors and similes. They also learn a great deal of technology too. Please enjoy our creative work. Gretchen Amos, 6th grade teacher Community Elementary School.
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