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.