Wicked Problem Project

My Physical Education classes have never been bigger. With larger class sizes, I need to change activities to make sure that all students are participating in a safe and meaningful way.

My technology-integrated strategy is to use audio visual equipment to present an interactive Elementary Physical Education curriculum.

I am going to need hardware, software, and content to make this work. I plan on using a laptop, a LCD projector, a P.A. system, and videos from the internet and videos that I self-produced to solve this problem.

My research started last November, when I met Tom Root, CEO of HOPSports Inc. Tom Has connections. Tom works with professional sports teams and he works in Hollywood. Tom told me that evaluation in PE is all about using technology. Tom also said something to the effect of, "teachers that continue to teach sports skills will be fired."

I had a productive weekend, I also met Gary Gray, from Grayinstitute.com. Gary is a Physical therapist and many say that he is the best in the world. Tom and Gary just got back from China where they were setting up brand new schools(full of technology). Tom told me that schools in China are based around the gym. Gary invented a new way of describing and teaching movements, He calls it "The Literacy of Movement". Gary and I talked about how to make Physical Education more like the Kahn academy, where students have to show that they have mastered a skill before they can move on to the next. Gary is a pioneer.

Generation M2 - Media in the Lives of 8 - 18-Year-Olds
A Kaiser Family Foundation Study - JANUARY 2010
by: Victoria J. Rideout, M.A., Ulla G. Foehr, Ph.D., and Donald F. Roberts, Ph.D.

Cardiovascular Fitness is Associated with Cognition in Young Adulthood
by: Aberg, Maria A., PNAS, 8 Dec.2009:vol.106, no.49

Inclusion in Physical Education: Changing the Culture, Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Volume 78, Number 2, February 2007 , pp. 1-58(58)

By observing student participation I will know if my solution is successful.

• Indications of a successful project

Indicators of a successful project would be 100 student percent participation without student injury.

• Relevant resources and citations

Interactive Video Games in Physical Education, Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Volume 78, Number 5, May/June 2007 , pp. 1-58(58)

A bit out dated but the ideas behind this article are still relevant.

 

Application of TPACK

All students are different and learn differently.  Some students learn better with visual information, others learn better with auditory stimuli, and others learn better through movement. I think I learn best when I am moving.  I think some concepts are best learned through movement.  I think most movements are best taught at a slower speed and then the movements speed and efficiency can be improved.

I think teachers should use a combination of teaching styles to help all students understand content.  The ways and more times you can display information the better students will grasp a concept.  My students are learning about rhythm in my class. Technology allows me to incorporate auditory, visual, and kenistitic learning styles into my lessons.  I am not a dance expert but it is in our curriculum.  I decided to use the video footage from the game Just Dance(1, 2, and 3), for the Wii.  Students were able to see the dance moves on the wall, student were able to listen to the beat of the songs along with my verbal cues, and all students were able feel the beat while moving and participate in the activity. 

Some of my younger students were having difficulty learning different dance steps, so instead of using the Wii, to produce the multimedia experience, I used a program called Virtual DJ to play video files recorded from the Wii.  Using Virtual DJ gave me control of the speed of the videos. I was able to slow down videos for younger students and once students mastered the movement sequence I was able to speed up the videos to keep challenging students.   I was also able to eliminate any loading time.  Using Virtual DJ I was able to Cue up the next song and even mix it in on beat to keep students on beat. 

The content I decided to use was dance.  I decided to use technology, to record Just Dance videos from the Wii game onto my computer.  I wanted the whole class to be able to see the dance content so I used computer and a LCD projector to display the game on the wall. 

 

My project of a technology-integrated physical education class was not implemented as planned. I was unable to get heart rate monitors.  Instead, students learned about how to find our own pulse.  Elementary age students, finding their own pulse, and getting an accurate result is very difficult. I did use audio visual equipment in 100 % of my classes over the last 4 weeks.  

Success:  

      After seeing over 700 students, for 1 hour each week, for the last 4 weeks, I did not have any injury's.

      After seeing over 700 students, for 1 hour each week, for the last 4 weeks, all students participated 100  % of the time.


If I was to try another project like this I would make videos available online so my students could log on, at home, and see what they were going to be doing in gym for that week, so, I would not have to explain how each new activity works, and what was expected of them. This is a "fliping the classroom" idea I got from the Kahn academy and Gary Gray who I met in November.  Now that my students know how to use the new technology like video delay I plan on incorporating it into new skills.  

When we play other activities (like Duck Duck Goose or Basketball) students sometimes have to take turns because of the lack of space. I think students will enjoy the fact that everyone participate in this activity at the same time because all students have their own personal space. 

Professional Learning Plan

My school district often has professional development days where attendance is mandatory and everyone usually sits and listens to a speaker.  Most of the professional development content, I am forced to watch, is not useful for a Physical Education class.  If I want to develop as a professional, I have to seek information on my own.  Looking for technologies used in the Gym is becoming easer and easer.   I have learned a lot of tricks from my grad classes about how to find technology sources online. P.E. tech blogs are popping up all over the place.  I now actually, find out about most P.E. tech blogs by looking at my blog stats and seeing that others are finding my blog through other blogs. 

            I have always been active in the P.E. world, online sharing my lessons.  One online P.E. community is PEUniverse.com.  Recently, I have been sharing my technology lessons online and have received a lot of feedback.  In November, I was elected Vice President of Physical Education for the Michigan Association of Physical Education Recreation and Dance. I was recently asked to be on the Technology committee for MAPERD.  I plan on sharing my knowledge with other physical educators around the state. I am hoping that I can get some leaders in P.E. technology to come to the next MAPERD convention.

            I don’t want my lessons just to be a novelty and look cool, but I want them to be designed in a way that increases learning.  I will always be thinking about how to use TEPAC to improve my lessons. 

            I have found many things about P.E. technology so far in these Masters classes.  Actually I read “How do you envision the state of K-12 physical education in 2020?” from Februarys Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.  Most of the articles, technology predictions for 2020 were already behind what we are doing in my gym class.  One person wrote about “the future should be designed with virtual equipment that provides instant feedback to students and teachers. Technological advances such as video recording, movement and target sensors, and screens for instant feedback”, All things I am already doing.  I want to continue to be ahead of most taking my teaching to the next level using technology.  I am in the technology Masters program at MSU and look forward to continuing with a Masters Degree as my goal.

Another goal is to finish my interactive game I started for CEP 810

Group Leadership Project

     Our group wanted to use a piece of software that one would not normally think of using in the classroom.  We decided to use Virtural DJ Software.  Before I started the Educational Technology Certificate Program I used a lot of music in my classroom. Using Virtural DJ has really increased my control over the music.
     We both used iMovie to create our video because it makes things simple.  I was the first to complete my section of the video so I uploaded it as planed to Vimeo so that, my partner, Jason could download it and insert it into his section.  We ran into a problem where the Vimeo file I created was in a format that was not easily imported into iMovie so I re-encoded it into a more traditional file format at a lower quality.  The file worked but was at a lower quality then the original. 
     We decided to make a video because the viewer can easily pause and replay the video to understand how to use Virtual DJ Software and how to incorporate it into their classroom.  I will be sharing this video with other physical educations because I believe that a program like Virtual DJ can have a big impact on a physical education class.
      If I was asked to make another presentation I would repeat the steps we took to make this one except save the video file in a different format.  

Wicked Problem Project: Part D - Findings and Implications

My project of a technology-integrated physical education class was not implemented as planned.  I was unable to get heart rate monitors.  Instead, students learned about how to find our own pulse.  Elementary age students, finding their own pulse, and getting an accurate result is very difficult. I did use audio visual equipment in 100 % of my classes over the last 4 weeks.  

Success:  

      After seeing over 700 students, for 1 hour each week, for the last 4 weeks, I did not have any injury's.

      After seeing over 700 students, for 1 hour each week, for the last 4 weeks, all students participated 100 % of the time.


If I was to try another project like this I would make videos available online so my students could log on, at home, and see what they were going to be doing in gym for that week, so, I would not have to explain how each new activity works, and what was expected of them. This is a "fliping the classroom" idea I got from the Kahn academy.  Now that my students know how to use the new technology like video delay I plan on incorporating it into new skills.  We used it for throwing but it can be used to help students learn about their performance in any movement. 

No Texting in School!

At the elementary level, right now, my students do not have cell phones.  It would be interesting if each student had a cell phone, but for now they don't.  I could see a lot of accidents with students running while texting.

I set up a Classroom 2.0 account and am waiting on approval.

I set up a poll using Polleverywhere.com  I do not really see myself using PollEveryware for an elementary P.E. class because we spend most of our time moving and do not do much lecturing.  If I ever move into secondary education I would diffidently use it.

I help coach the MSU Triathlon team and I created adventure race.  Students used cell phones to answer question that I created.  I used a web site called Scvnger. Scvnger helps you make a scavenger hunt that uses text messages on a cell phone.  An admin sets up a scavenger hunt by writing questions and putting them online. You can make the hunt random or linear. 

You can add clues and assign different point values for each question. Players start the hunt by texting a specific number. Almost instantly players receive their first question. For example, a question could be, “Where does MSU play Basketball?” If the player responds with the correct answer (Breslin Center) they then get a new question like. “Good! Go there and complete this statement: Always a ______” I have not yet used this with any of my classes, but I have used it with the MSU Triathlon team for a team building workout.

CEP 812: Part B – Storyboard and Script

Storyboarding seems like the hard part.  I am sure our storyboard will improve the effecency of our project.  Our group used Google Documents to work together on our Storyboard.  We had three sectons to each shot. 

Part.Screen #, Speaker, Text

Image, Description

Effects/Misc.

We both decided that Jason would introduce the program's features and I would show How I use them in my Physical Education class.

We both plan on using IMovie to make are respective parts.  Our plan is that, who ever is first at completing their part, will upload their video to Vimeo, so that the other partner can download the file, and add it to their part and save the finished video file.

Because Jason's expertise is in music he will be adding the background music. 
Our storyboard can be found on the Google Doc page: Virtual DJ Storyboard & Script Link

Podcast Part C

http://www.kinesitechnology.com/podcast.mp3

Video Feeback Delay

Part B: There's Is an App For That

CEP  Application of TPACK

All students are different and learn differently.  Some students learn better with visual information, others learn better with auditory stimuli, and others learn better through movement. I think I learn best when I am moving.  I think some concepts are best learned through movement.  

I think teachers should use a combination of teaching styles to help all students understand content.  The ways and more times you can display information the better students will grasp a concept.  My students are learning about rhythm in my class. Technology allows me to incorporate auditory, visual, and kenistitic learning styles into my lessons.  I am not a dance expert but it is in our curriculum.  I decided to use the video footage from the game Just Dance(1, 2, and 3), for the Wii.  Students were able to see the dance moves on the wall, student were able to listen to the beat of the songs along with my verbal cues, and all students were able feel the beat while moving and participate in the activity. 

Some of my younger students were having difficulty learning different dance steps, so instead of using the Wii, to produce the multimedia experience, I used a program called Virtual DJ to play video files recorded from the Wii.  Using Virtual DJ gave me control of the speed of the videos. I was able to slow down videos for younger students and once students mastered the movement sequence I was able to speed up the videos to keep challenging students.   I was also able to eliminate any loading time.  Using Virtual DJ I was able to Cue up the next song and even mix it in on beat to keep students on beat. 

CEP 812 Part A

Meeting Youtube Screen Cast  

     

Our brainstorming meeting went well.  Once we finally decided to use Skype instead of anything else we got right to it.  All two of our group members were in attendance.  The smaller the group the easier it is for everyone to be in attendance.  I tried to set up my computer for Skyping before the meeting and had to use a different one last minute, due to software issues. 

Personally I think it is easier to use a phone rather then skype, unless, you need to show your desktop to your partner.  Skyping means you are stuck at a computer and wait for an incoming call.

I really like how my group was receptive of my idea of using Virtual DJ as the topic for our project.  I thought it was a good idea because it is a program that we can use in both our classrooms.  And a program that we both understand. 

The video screencast was recorded by my partner Jason.

It might be easier just to find each other on chat roulette.

In my CEP 812 Class we are working in groups on projects.  We were asked to try out new web conferencing software.  I have a lot of experience with Skype but it is always fun to try out new things.   
 
My group didn’t want to pay for any software.  We actually worked talking on Skype while downloading and signing up for new conferencing software.  I was working on a G5 Mac but the newest Skype is not supported so I turned on my PC.  The first conference service we tried was Web Huddle but we were unable to create accounts.  Next we tried Yugma.  After signing up and installing Yugma I started a meeting but my partners could not connect with their brand new Mac.  It may have been a firewall issue.  

After talking on Skype about how we didn’t like any of the other software we decided to use Skype. 
One thing I liked about Yugma was its ability to record.  I had two monitors going and it recorded both of them at the same time.  


I have been working on trying to set up Skype meetings with other Physical Educations classes.  I talked to three teachers at a Michigan Physical Education conference about Skping the two physical education classes.  One problem is each school is on a different schedule and some gyms don’t have internet. 

No Student Left On Their Behind

No Student Left On Their Behind

• The educational need or opportunity

My Physical Education classes have never been bigger. With larger class sizes, I need to change activities to make sure that all students are participating in a safe and meaningful way.

• Your technology-integrated strategy

My technology-integrated strategy is to use audio visual equipment to present an interactive Elementary Physical Education curriculum.

• Logistics of solution

I am going to need hardware, software, and content to make this work. I plan on using a laptop, a LCD projector, a P.A. system, and videos from the internet and videos that I self-produced to solve this problem.

• Research which supports your strategies

My research started last weekend, when I met Tom Root, CEO of HOPSports Inc. Tom Has connections. Tom works with professional sports teams and he works in Hollywood. Tom told me that evaluation in PE is all about using technology. Tom also said something to the effect of, "teachers that continue to teach sports skills will be fired."

I had a productive weekend, I also met Gary Gray, from Grayinstitute.com. Gary is a Physical therapist and many say that he is the best in the world. Tom and Gary just got back from China where they were setting up brand new schools(full of technology). Tom told me that schools in China are based around the gym. Gary invented a new way of describing and teaching movements, He calls it "The Literacy of Movement". Gary and I talked about how to make Physical Education more like the Kahn academy, where students have to show that they have mastered a skill before they can move on to the next. Gary is a pioneer.

Generation M2 - Media in the Lives of 8 - 18-Year-Olds
A Kaiser Family Foundation Study - JANUARY 2010
by: Victoria J. Rideout, M.A., Ulla G. Foehr, Ph.D., and Donald F. Roberts, Ph.D.

Cardiovascular Fitness is Associated with Cognition in Young Adulthood
by: Aberg, Maria A., PNAS, 8 Dec.2009:vol.106, no.49

Inclusion in Physical Education: Changing the Culture, Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Volume 78, Number 2, February 2007 , pp. 1-58(58)

• A plan based on research for implementation, indicating the portion to be completed during this course and after it is over

I am going to record students heart rates while using my technology solution and while participating in other traditional Elementary Physical Education activities to see how they relate. After the course I would like to see how my new and improved tech-based P.E. program has increased MEAP scores for my students.

• Indications of a successful project

Indicators of a successful project would be 100 student percent participation without student injury.

• Relevant resources and citations

Interactive Video Games in Physical Education, Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Volume 78, Number 5, May/June 2007 , pp. 1-58(58)

A bit out dated but the ideas behind this article are still relevant.

Angry Birds

After playing angry birds and seeing it everyware I wanted to create a P.E. game out of it. I used bowling pins as the pigs and soft gator skin balls as the birds. For the sling shot I used a net ball launcher.

Students stand in a hula hop and launch their ball twards the target. They then retrieve their ball and any pins that they knocked down. And give their ball to the next person in line.

The team with the most pins wins.

I had 6 teams 2 balls for each team,

CEP 812 Introduction

CEP 812 Introduction from MatuliSurfboards on Vimeo.

Standing up for public education and public school employees

First rally I have ever been to. I stand in solidarity with the people of Wisconsin, where Republicans want to strip public employees of their collective bargaining rights.

Old and New

Multimedia from MatuliSurfboards on Vimeo.

Video I made using a G5, a Canon t1i, a turntable, a whiteboard, a LCD projector, a 8mm film with projector, showcasing some of my projects.

Human Movement Input Computer Interaction

Trying out rear projected human controlled interactive computer. My students helped me test and calibrate. System used a Laptop, a LCD projector, a Nintendo Wii remote and Bluetooth adaptor and Johnny Lee’s whiteboard software. Johnny’s software is free at his website.

http://johnnylee.net/projects/wii/

TEST

Photo Attribution:

Original image: " IMG_0729"
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by: Joe Matulis

Released under an Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

I take a lot of pictures. I really didn't think much of other people using them until I started to talk to my photo journalism friend. He was really upset that some of my pictures were being used by a city without giving me any credit or even asking if they could use them.

I post a lot of pictures on facebook and about once a week I will get a message from facebook telling me that a fried of mine has used one of my pictures as their facebook profile picture. This does not include those who first download the my picture and re-upload it to facebook. I don't really mind. If I wanted to keep more restrictions on my photos I could use a sight like Flicker. At the same time any picture that is viewable can be stolen. I post pictures for my friends to view. I am not trying to make money off of them. ...more later

Safer web surfing

Organizing your desktop:

A lot about making new folders to organize your desktop. Documents, applications, photos. Sort files and move to the correct folder.

Adding buttons inside folders in windows for frequently used folders.

I use a Mac most of the time so a lot of this info was not very interesting or useful to me.

Safer web surfing:

Using Firefox instead of internet explorer. For its privacy options.

I learned Firefox can save passwords and they can be viewed by anyone using your computer if you do not increase privacy settings.

Avoid popup and popunder ads.

Wireless network Safety:

Make sure you change your routers default password.

Use WEP as your encryption.

Disable ssid so people can not see your network.

Radically Really Simple Syndication

Stories about Egypt seemed to take over my RSS Google reader this week. That is why I made this posts picture about Egypt. I read an article in my reader about how Social Media was shut down in Egypt for a while and people who wanted to transmit information had to via a fax machine.

I am on Gmail all the time, so I decided to use the Google reader. It was easy to add different feeds to web sites I commonly visit. Instead of going through my bookmarks each day I can open up Google reader and see what has been added to my favorite sites.

Google reader allows users to share articles by clicking a share button. If you would like to see what I have shared you can go to http://www.google.com/reader/shared/970surfboards

Trends allow users to see what when and what you are reading. I think Google uses this information to supply you with relevant ads and to make recommendations for specific users. It looks like I do most of my reading on the weekends.

I did not find too many feeds specific to P.E. I did subscribe to sport news sites. I can always uses stories about sports to inspire students or to help students think about topics like sportsmanship.

I made some comments on my favorite surfing blog. For more info you can read the earlier post. I used the comment feature to reader commenting on President Reagan’s Lifeguarding.

I just learned about Social bookmaking. I found a bunch of new, to me, P.E. web sites. I first bookmarked my favorite P.E. site then by looking at other users who also bookmarked that site. I then looked at other bookmarks that other users bookmarked. You can see my bookmarks at http://www.delicious.com/matulisj

Twittering

After my first few weeks on twitter I can see what it is all about. I do not really see myself using it all that much. It reminds me of facebook status posts. My brothers made fun of me when they saw me using it. I did not let it bother me, it was kind of funny. I like how you can post right from your phone using a text message from anywhere.

Getting Things Done

I teach at 4 different schools. This means I have 4 different offices, 4 different principals, 4 different physical inboxes, and 4 different secretaries. Each school has its own events and schedules. On top of all this I have a work voicemail and a work email.

Before working on my process I read Kelly Forrister’s blog post on GTD. I started to think of what I carried to school with me and how I could implement some of David Allen’s ideas. The only think I always have with me is my cell phone. I also have computer access at all of my schools and at home.

Collecting seems like a difficult task when I am always on the move. I want to get everything into on inbox. All of the school mail gets routed through one building and then out to individual schools. I could talk to the mail room and get all of my mail routed to one signal building. I know that this would not reroute the local in-school mail but it would streamline most of my mail. I am going to make my School Gmail account my only inbox. All my mailboxes have a copy machine that can scan a document and email it. So when I collect something I plan to process it goes to my Gmail.

I also found out that I can Email myself through sms on my phone. So if I have a task to process I can send it right to my inbox.

Processing. The main thing I learned from this section of Kelly’s blog was to make decisions about things when things first show up. If the task takes less then 2 min do it.

When things are in my inbox I can than organize them. I made different folders in Gmail where I can send tasks. Using the ideas from Kellys Blog.

Reference - no action, you just need to hold on to it.
Someday/Maybe - no current action, but you want to incubate it for possible later action.
Projects - a list of your current outcomes that require more than one action to complete
Next Actions - one list or sorted by context, to manage your physical, visible next steps (project related and not)
Waiting For - actions that require you to track that you are waiting on someone or something.

Steps Review and Do just fall into place by looking at my new gmail folders and deciding how much time I have.

I do think this process will help my mind rest a little knowing that I have everything in on place and I will no forget about things. One problem, I just realized about my system, what happens if Gmail goes down?

My first time through everyone was wondering why I was using the copy machine. I think I will get my mail later in the day when Everyone else in their classrooms except me so I don’t have to wait in line to use it. Also, coworkers keep wondering who I am always texting.

I could see my self sticking with this. The more you do something the easer it gets.

First Blog Comment

I was doing this back in 2001. Had I had a blog I would have written about it. Anyway I gave some info about the foam commenting on another comment.

Social Networks

I often use social networks to help my teaching. I am a member of PEUniverse.com and use it often. PEUniverse.com is a little like youtube and facebook combined where users post videos of there lesson for others to see and comment on. LinkedIn seems like a more for the business world. I am a member of MACUL Space and it seems well made and easy to use.

I tried to make my own social network, just for fun, but the MSU AFS didn’t meet the requirements for buddypress.

Personally, I use Facebook everyday to keep in touch with my friends. Some of the teachers at my school have created facebook pages for their classes. I sometimes spend way too much time on Facebook. Some of my friends have tried to get rid of their facebook but always go back.

RSS Google Reader

Google Reader makes it easy to see when new information is posted to web sights that you choose to follow. You can also share feeds with friends and see what your friends are following.

Blogs

Traditional web pages are hard to modify because you need to upload new files. Blogs make it very easy to modify content because you can post right on the blog. Most traditional web pages did not have places for users to make comments. With blogs, the owner can have it set up so anyone can add their comments.

Hello World

Photo is from my P.E. class, "Walking on Air"