My favorite assignment....

OK, teaching cyber school physical education is unique in itself. Certainly the assignments we post are different in their own right as well. I was thinking how I enjoyed our recent "exercise unit" that we just wrapped up this week. One of the assignments I issue pertains to the 6 factors of exercise (a PA state standard). You know what they are: finances, access to equipment/facility, motivation, physical benefits, personal challenge and self improvement.

My assignment simply asks the students to choose any 3 out of the 6 factors that relate best to the way they go about attaining physical activity each week. In addition, students are required to select any exercise they like and perform and dcoument 4 different days on their own.

If it sounds simple, it is. The students like this assignment as well. They can be introspective here and have the freedom to choose whatever exercise suits them best. You can imagine that finances and access to activity shape the way teenagers exercise these days.

I like to post the following comment to students after the submit this particular assignment: What would you do for exercise if you had unlimited resources?

I know I would work out at the YMCA every day and meet with a personal trainer at least once a week. I would probably get in a tennis game once a week as well as a good swim a few times a month. Wouldn't it be cool to access DDR and Wii systems whenever you felt like it? How about climbing a treadwall? Would having perpetual up to date statistics on recent workouts come in handy?

That would be just the tip of the ice berg for me. I get a wide variety of suggestions from students on this question. Some choose only what they know but others seem to get the big picture and dream big. Some day I would like to get them all to think that way.

PE Field Trips?.....

Teaching in a cyber school does not allow much face to fact contact with students. So, one way to develop a repoire with students would be to arrange a "field trip" of some sorts in the area.

Last year, our school held a trip at the Pittsburgh Science Center. We did take in the Sport Works as well. Although we did not get as many students to attend as planned, it was a successful outing nonetheless.

Next month, the PE department, along with select teachers, will be chaperoning dozens of elementary and middle school students at the Mellon Arena to take part of the Pittsburgh Penguins visit practice day. Interest in attending was fast and furious for students that age.

Our department, as mentioned on other blog posts, is planning on taking high school students to the Camp Guyasuta Ropes course next spring. Interest amongst the students part appears to be favorable with the previews given to them so far this school year.

We are also considering a YMCA invitational type of day as well, if we can find a cooperating facility.

So, have any of you taken your PE class on a field trip? Where and how did it go?

Hey, how about those PITT PANTHERS tonight!

OK, this post does not have much to do with PE or teaching but after sitting through an emotional game like I did today....I had to comment about it.

PITT beat ND in South Bend today in 4 over times. It was a very long game and it could have gone either way. Sure this isn't a great ND team, not a great PITT squad either, although not bad. But a shout out to the boys in Oakland that came back from a 17-3 half time deficit and put it into OT and gutted out a 36-33 win. You don't have to be a panther fan to appreciate what they did, and there are many local sports fans that do NOT like the panthers. Give credit where it is due.

Hail to PITT!

How do the live classes work?

You might be wondering if we ever interact with our students beyond email messages. Well, yes, as a matter of fact. I hold live classes for my students each week. In fact, I conduct a few during the day and one in the evening to give the students that work during the day, or have conflicting schedules, a chance to meet as well.

I can talk to the students and they can hear me. They can talk to me, too. We can text chat as well during the session. I can show them pictures to help illustrate key points. I can post several different kind of questions to guage their understanding of various concepts as well as to get an opinion on important matters. I can play music, I can open up additional browsers for students to review as well as video clips. Teachers at our school will eventually utilize webcams attached to our computer to make yet another visible connection. At this time, students do not have this capability. However, with advent of laptops with built in cameras, we probably will be experiencing something comparable to a face to face video conference in the not so distant future.

For our purposes, nothing beats the meeting in gymnasiums but this is a start and chance for students to connect a little with each other and the teacher. We have been experiencing great live class attendance this year. It is a start and we see things getting better.

Gym teacher, the movie?

Did anybody see this movie on Nickelodeon last month? Kind of like the 1970's without the wide lapels and side burns.

See for yourself in this short clip: http://www.nickatnite.com/gymteacher/

I watched it this evening. It was humorous and kind of interesting. It was also massively stereotypical as well.

Sure PE teachers are known to wear the long white tube socks, the tight polyester shorts, carry the whistle and be all about sports, dodge ball and climbing ropes.

Perhaps most of us still are but we go about it in a different way these days. We now focus on more fitness oriented lessons and as well more student centered instruction. Whistles are not so important these days and we dress to be comfortable and not to fit a dubious image. We don't even refer to ourselves as gym teachers anymore, although many parents still consider as as such.

We also use technology now more than ever to augment instruction and student participation. Heck, we even have preceptors nowadays that practice our craft via use of the Internet.

Well, if you have not seen the film yet, give it a whirl. Just don't believe everything you see in the movies!

The topic of physical education has been featured in many motion pictures over the past couple of decades. What movie reminds you most of PE or gym class?

Student work....

Somebody asked earlier this month if it was possible to show some cyber school PE student work. Well, after securing permission from the students, I thought I would post a few worthy projects. Now granted these are two of the better submissions I have received recently but worthy of mention.

11th grade PE submission for the Interval training assignment:

"1. Describe what activity you selected and performed for this interval training assignment?
(examples: running, swimming, biking, etc….)

I chose lap swimming because I’m already on the team and we do interval training already.

2. How did you incorporate intervals in your activity? (an interval is a period of time where did the activity. Another interval is when you took a rest after the activity)

Since we are still at the beginning of the season we did 2 sets of 5x100s on two minutes. The faster we did the 100s the more break we would get.

3. SELF-EVALUATION: Explain, illustrate or summarize what your experience was like during your interval training activities?

It was alright. When our coach makes us do sets like that it tires me out really easily, but I feel the burn more and it makes competing in the actual races easier because if me work at it hard it slowly conditions me so that I get better without really realizing it."

12th grade Example for the Isometric, Isotonic, Isokinetic activity:

"List an example for each “iso” activity: (use the links on the blackboard)
3 pts.

Isotonic: lifting free weights

Isometric: hand wall press

Isokinetic: swimming


Try to do some of these activities on your own. What did you do for each one? 3 pts.

Isotonic:
Sit ups, getting up from squat position, lifting objects over head, throwing a ball, walking

Isometric:
Curling arm while applying pressure with the other, wall pushes, chair leg extension, Hand Press

Isokinetic:
I wasn’t sure what to do…most of the exercises said machines were needed…

Cite an example for both of the following: 2 points

Concentric contraction -
Bicep curl

Eccentric contraction –
Running downhill

Take a look at the principles of exercise glossary terms (overload, specificity, progression). You can find them in the glossary on the PE blackboard.

Which principle would you apply to isotonic exercises and why? 6 points

Principle:

Specificity
Definition:

Principle of exercise that says: Specific kinds of exercises must be done to develop specific aspects of the body/ fitness.
Why did you select this:

Isotonic exercises are suppose to enhance certain parts of the body like the chest, without going at an extreme pace or gradually increasing (progression); or having people exercise under high intensity or going exercise crazy (Overload). So, I chose Specificity since it seemed to fit the bill.

Matching: (review the ISO video for insight) 6 points

A. Isotonic B. Isometric C. Isokinetic

1. Which one is most likely to be used in therapy/rehabilitation? (swimming?)
2. Bench and leg presses are most likely which type of Iso activities? (up and down motion)
3. Which of the three offers the least amount of concentric and eccentric muscle contractions? (which one pushes against the wall)

Letter Number
C1
A2
B3"

Check out these video clips.....

Check out both of the videos posted below. As promised in my last post, I would show the videos of yours truly in action as soon as I got them. So here goes...enjoy.

It took me a little longer than planned to get up the wall but I made it. The zip line was just cool drop.