What Works for Me

This week I’m going to discuss the technologies I use in my classroom.  The applications or software I share is useful with students, for assessment, organization, or professional development.  I will share my experience with these pieces of tech and some general features.  Websites, links and pictures will be added so you can check them out for yourself.  There are plenty resources out there that will help you integrate technology into your classroom ‘With Purpose’.  It is about using your resources, connecting with colleagues, and attending training/conferences to further your knowledge.  You cannot wait for your district to bring and present the tech to you.  You may pick something up and then put it back down when you find it doesn’t work or when you find something better.  You are not alone on your journey.  There are plenty of us out here doing the same trial and error.

Plickers, https://plickers.com/,  has been one of the most beneficial pieces of technology I have used in my classroom.  Physical education and what is expected to go on during this class has changed drastically over the years.  The push is for other forms of assessment besides just observation and checklists.  Assessment now must be more measureable and we must tie in more core content.  Plickers is an amazing tool to get a measurable grade and can be used quickly during the course of the class or as an exit ticket.  You are able to create questions based on your lesson and even add images to create an assessment tool.  The teacher, a student helper, or students themselves can scan a card to record their answer.  The application keeps data for each student as well as the class.  This data is such a help when updating your gradebook.  This is also a nice way to see how well your students received your lesson.  Once you view your data you can simply touch base with the couple of students that need further help. It is quick and once you make or purchase your cards the rest is easy.  

Voxer, http://voxer.com/,  is the next tool that has had a big impact on my classroom.  This technology comes with many benefits.  The most helpful is a professional development tool.  Voxer is a communication tool that allows you to chat with one or more people instantly by sending voice or text messages.  You can send pictures or videos as well.  The Physical Education community has a huge presence on Voxer.  I belong to chats for General PE, PE Technology, ColonialHPE, The Kinesthetic Classroom (professional book club chat), Plicker Peeps, Sportfolios, espechat, PE Geek Members, as well as a #delachat Voxer group.  These groups/chats are an excellent place to kick around ideas, ask questions, troubleshoot, or share lessons.  People will come onto the chat and ask for suggestions for an upcoming observation or unit and other chatters will pose ideas to help.  This link, http://midcareer.gse.upenn.edu/eduvoxers, gives more information and resources about Voxer that may help with your content area and needs.  Voxer isn’t just for professional development.  My principal uses Voxer to give immediate feedback to staff.  She may jump on Voxer and leave a quick voice message after walking through the halls and see your student work or walking through a classroom.  This is a benefit for the administrator as well as the teacher.  Teachers can also use Voxer as a communication tool for parents.  Teachers can skip the long emails or weekly paper updates.  Most parents have smartphones or internet access and can sign up for a Voxer account.  This application allows you to communicate with parents regarding progress or even immediate feedback for minor behavior issues.  This gives parents the information without calling a job or cell phone.  What is even better is Voxer can be used to celebrate with parents.  Teachers can allow students to leave a message for parents when he or she begin identifying words or advancing with multiplication tables.  

Reflector, http://www.airsquirrels.com/reflector/, is mirroring technology that allows you to stream your smartphone or tablet through your computer screen.  This makes makes it simple to project the content for your class to see.  Many of the PE applications I use are on my phone or IPad and this is easy and mobile but I needed to find a way to make this available for the entire class to view.  I was able to project hook videos, exercise apps, heart rate apps and even Plickers information onto a screen or wall to bring all students into the lesson.  Reflector is not free software but does have a free time-limited trial.  The cost if you decide to purchase is very reasonable at $14.99 for a single computer.  Reflector has additional features that may be a help in your classroom.  

iDoceo, http://www.idoceo.net/index.php/en/, is my latest piece of technology that has made grading and keeping a gradebook so much easier.  I adopted this gradebook just a few weeks ago.  I haven’t even been able to dig completely into all of its features.  You can create your gradebook from scratch or upload a template with skills assessed, standards, and grade weights.  I was able to connect with a PE teacher from Colorado that shared this app at the National PE Institute.  He sent links to his templates based on the national Physical Education Standards.  I have been able to add class lists and pictures for each student.  I have also added a grade for each lesson where I used a Plickers assessment as an exit ticket.  I have been able to make seating charts and the best part is you can add images or videos to your gradebook.  This will work great for student portfolios.  I can video skills being met and add it to the student’s name.  This is great for the gym because I use my IPad for this app and it makes it very mobile.  This technology is definitely on my top list for my classroom.

I will briefly add a few comments about Google Drive and Twitter.  I will not dig too deep into either of these applications because during this program we have worked with both.  Google Drive is useful in any and all classrooms.  The organization benefits of this software is such a huge help to me.  I do all lesson plans and creating in Google Drive.  All training materials are created in Google Drive.  I can go from work, to home, and even my phone or IPad to work on my product.  Google Drive also is great for online portfolios for students.  Student work, images, videos, etc can be added to a student’s file at any time.  Students can be given access and add the work from any location.  There are multiple options in Google Drive.  One of my favorites is Google forms.  I can set up an IPad, Chromebook, or laptop at a station during a lesson and have students flow through that station to quickly answer questions for an assessment.  Twitter, https://twitter.com/, is the piece of technology that really pumped up my PE program.  This is where it all started for me in early 2015.  I discussed my Twitter story in my last post.  Twitter is full of ideas, resources, and connections that will step up any teacher’s classroom.  My school also uses Twitter to post what is going on in the school and to connect with parents, #wilburinspired.  Also, Delaware teachers, on Thursday nights at 8:30pm teachers and administrators from around the state get together for a Twitter chat.  Every week there is a new topic with new questions.  Hop on and check us out if you get a chance.  This chat can be found under #delachat.

My hope is that some of the software and applications I shared will be able to help you on your journey to purposeful technology integration.  Please feel free to share any that you think would be helpful as I continue to learn.  I believe there are many ways to get to the same result and it is just about finding the way that fits together best for you and what you are trying to achieve.  As students in the Wilmington Applied Tech program, we have the opportunity to help each other grow by connecting, collaborating, and sharing.  

My Journey

With purpose…  What does that mean when discussing technology in education?  

This past year has been such a huge time of growth for me as an educator.  Last school year I decided I needed to step up my Phys Ed teaching style.  While I believed my lessons and units were completely solid, I needed more from my teaching.  I love gadgets and try to stay current with Apple products and some video games so I decided to find ways to add technology to my lessons.  I thought technology would reawaken my classroom and be relevant for my students.  There had been so much talk about integrating technology into classrooms I figured my gym could use some tech as well.  When starting this trek I thought I was on a roll.  I attended the National PE Institute over the summer and started this program in the fall which has opened my eyes to so many more possibilities.  I’m sure tons of us start something and learn quickly we can do it so much better.  I’m guessing others can relate to my quest, my ups and downs trying to find purpose behind technology integration.  

I started this journey with Twitter and I must say this was a great decision.  During the last snow storm last school year I started my school or professional, Twitter page.  (@CourseyJen)  Social media was nothing new to me but I had never used it for work purposes.  There were a few trainings for Twitter in my district but I never thought too much about it.  Once I joined I searched for Physical Education teachers and coworkers.  What I found amazed me.  There were hundreds up PE teachers using Twitter to collaborate and share lessons on the regular basis.  I started to connect, ask questions, and research which led to creating new lessons or pieces to my lessons.  I requested a projector and a screen, learned about Reflector, and started using technology in my gym.  My first few technology lessons included background videos and slides about the history and geography of sports and games.  The students were learning and I was using technology in my classroom, but it just didn’t seem like enough.  I wasn’t satisfied yet.  I continued to dig into Twitter and became almost obsessed with finding new ideas.  I found Twitter chats, webinars, podcasts, and so much more.  One of my biggest finds was Voxer.  I think Voxer is an amazing source for professional development and collaboration.  I am part of a number of chats, e.g. Delaware Technology, PE Tech, PE Geeks, General PE, Plickers.  Voxer has a continuous stream of collaborative messages, pictures, videos, and shares.  I began to do a lot of research and professional development used my new resources.  I came across a PE teacher concentrating on integrating technology in Physical Education.  Jarrod Robinson, The PE Geek, has created applications for Android and ios as well as Google.  I was able to find workout applications, timers, video analysis applications from attending his online webinars.  The technology lesson I felt enhanced student learning the most by the end of the school year was a video analysis lesson I used for student to rate the technique of their jumping jacks as well as the jumping jacks of classmates.  Students were able to dig in and pick out what was right and what was wrong.  The were able to tell and show where changes needed to be made.  Besides Voxer and video analysis my biggest find was a website dedicated to connecting Physical Education teachers around the globe, https://physedmap.com/. By the close of the school year I really felt like technology had helped me breath new air into my gym.

Over the summer I attended the National PE Institute in Asheville, NC.  I felt like a groupie when I walked into the conference on day one.  The PE Geek was the keynote speaker and I considered him somewhat responsible for all of the new technology I was introducing into my classroom.  There was so many great lessons, shares, and sessions during my three days at there.  Many of the keynote speakers referenced the use of technology, social media, and connections as key ingredients for a successful physical education program.  Great conferences always make me feel inspired.  Nathan Horne presented a session titled The 4C’s of Meaningful Technology Integration in #PhysEd:  Create, Collect, Celebrate, Connect that really stuck for me.  I heard so much truth in what he was presenting.  You can find his resources on the presentation at http://www.iphys-ed.com/npei2015.html.  Along with all of the QR code lessons, portfolio software, videos, and technology shares I took away a very important piece of information.  Don’t just use technology!  Use Technology WITH PURPOSE!  Those two words made me think about how I was using technology and if it had purpose.  Am I enhancing learning?  Does this technology have purpose?  

When the new school year started I was all set for a year full of new lessons with useful and PURPOSEFUL technology.  I was ready to use video analysis, Skype PE classrooms across the world, create a library of Brain Boost videos, and many other new ideas.  I was already signed up to start this Applied Technology program and I was feeling like this school year was going to be completely new and innovative.  One of the very first assignments in this program dealt with use vs. integration.  I saw examples of my lessons and activities on each side.  This was eye opening because the difference was made clear.  I could see where I was just using technology and that was not good enough for what I wanted to do.  I do feel there are times use is all you are going to be able to do because of the lesson.  You just cannot rest there.  I want to continue to push over to the integration side.  Technology is what students know.  It is what is relevant for them and what is going to make them ready for college or careers when they graduate.  I attended the Colonial Technology Conference in October because I wanted to see the ways people in my district were using technology in their content area.  Collaborating and learning more technologies will allow me to use or integrate technologies in my classroom with more purpose.  I hear from other PE teachers in my district and teachers in other content areas how difficult it must be integrating technology in a Physical Education classroom or gym or how it is taking away from activity time.  I want my classroom to be where students are engaged and learn on a higher level so I’m okay with working a little harder to find ways to make that happen and right now my answer in technology.

(Rao, 2013)

I give so much credit to technologies such as Voxer, Twitter, and educational applications for bringing me to the point where I am now.  This program has made me step up also.  There is so much purpose in Flipped Learning, Screencast, Google Drive, Podcast apps and other technologies I have picked up during this program.  A fellow PE teacher in my district, @lmwppeh, was instrumental in helping me see the possibilities.  She does some amazing lessons at the high school using technology in a variety of ways.  

I really hope some of you find this post relatable to your technology integration journey.  I know I wish I had someone to tell me it doesn’t have to be perfect the first time.  It’s about growth, trial and error and with technology always changing there will never be a stopping point.  Next time I will touch on what technology I think has purpose for my students.  Some of the software / apps I use would work in any classroom, in any content area.  Come back to ‘With Purpose’ and check me out in a couple of weeks.  

Welcome to 'With Purpose'!  I will be sharing and reflecting about my struggle to integrate tech with purpose in PE.