Blog about how you incorporate gaming, gamification, game thinking into your class. How? What are your objectives?
Consider the following:
This is an interesting topic for me as a PE teacher. Physical education is game based. Many of the standards written have direct correlations to the sports and games we love. The sports, games and activities that we participate in physical education were created because they were a fun way to stay active and healthy. This is one of the main reasons that I became a PE teacher. I loved physical activity as a child and still do to this day. I think I took PE in school all the way through my senior year even though I had met my credits after my freshman year of high school. It did not feel like school to me. It was a place where I was up on my feet, moving, competing and actively participating. There was very little down time or “sit and listen.” It was all about doing and that is what I value most about PE. PE incorporates both gaming and gamification. I would consider all the sports and games we play as “gaming.” For example, 8th grade, Team Sport Standards 1.3 Demonstrate basic offensive and defensive skills and strategies in team physical activities. 1.4 Apply locomotor, non locomotor, and manipulative skills to team physical activities. 2.2 Explain the rotation principles used in performing various manipulative skills. Nowhere in the 8th grade standards does it say “play basketball.” Basketball could be a vehicle or game to meet the needs of the objectives above. So could football, softball, volleyball, etc. Games are used to gain experience and gain mastery of a skill both physically and cognitively. I don’t use gamification very often in class, but there is certainly room to do so. I’ve thought of a few ways to incorporate it to fuel some friendly competition between grade level classes. I’ve also been toying with the idea of doing a beginning of the year Olympics where students compete in events to get on a plaque for the year. This might be more of a combo between gaming and gamification, but would be a lot of fun. My struggle will always be not including games in class, but how to engage those students who don’t want to participate in PE. It’s interesting, in TK/K most of the time there is 100% participation. In my sixth grade classes, it can be 50%-75% depending on the activity. When the “game” includes physical activity, it can be less inviting for some which is unfortunate. Overall, I think that games in school are important. If students are engaged, learning and having fun at the same time, that’s exactly what we strive for as educators.
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Discuss your understanding, connections, and ah-ha’s in light of Eddie Obeng’s Smart Failure for a Fast Changing World Ted Talk.
Wow, Brenna was not kidding when she said that he talked fast. He definitely has some amazing energy that at this point, we could all use a little of. He talked so fast that I watched it a second time. I’m still not sure that I completely understood what he was saying, but I’ll take a shot. Like many of the themes that we have seen in this class, he talks about a changing world (a global world) and the importance of creativity in the workforce. After just wrapping up my book for review, “A Whole New Mind,” it seems that the same themes are overlapping. The world is rapidly changing and in order for us to keep up in it, we have to understand it first. Similarly to the book Melissa and I read, there needs to be a shift to the right hemisphere of our brains to keep up with the rapid change of this global world. We refer to an old way of thinking because that is what we know. Now, he doesn’t explicitly say what this “old way” of thinking is. I’m assuming that he is talking about traditional linear thinking, show up, work between the lines and go home. As we shifted into the information age, things sped up and this way of working was no longer productive enough to keep up with the times. I really enjoyed the quote, “We solve last year's problem without thinking about the future.” These quick fixes can’t keep up with the change. “Smart Failure” is about taking chances, thinking critically, and creatively and not always getting it right. It makes me think of an Elon Musk quote I saw somewhere that went something like, “Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Now try to complete that in a year. You most likely won’t achieve it, but you will be way further ahead than if you tried to do it in 10.” Everyone always wants the right answer, but that doesn’t always stimulate growth. Failure is good and helps us grow and see the big picture. It reminds me a lot of how this course and program is designed. It encourages us to step outside of our comfort zones and try new things. In 702, we discussed “Productive Struggle” that fits perfectly with what I think Obeng is trying to get across. This idea of deeper learning and pushing our brain to be challenged for growth. We have to be comfortable with the idea of failure to achieve our goals. It is an important part of the process. It reminds me of my experience with sports, “If you don’t push yourself to your limits, how will you ever know what your limits are?” Challenge yourself and others!
I started my initial lesson for a flipped/blended learning on Google slides. I was able to easily add the content that I needed for a quick lesson on dribbling a basketball. I’m new to using add-ons so I decided to see how pear deck interacts with Google slides. I added a simple question page after the video that I gave demonstrating dribbling. I wanted to add the question directly into the video, but it seemed that a platform such as Edpuzzle would be a better option. I logged into Edpuzzle to check it out. I played with it and embedded some questions and a note in the video. Afterwards, I was having trouble finding a way to put the video into my slide. I’m not sure that they are compatible. I looked in the add-ons and wasn’t seeing anything. This might take some further exploration or maybe just use Nearpod. I used a video that I had created during distanced learning. I only needed part of it so I used a video editor (clipchamp.com) to pull the piece that I needed. I saved it to the drive and was easily able to upload it into my slides presentation. While writing this, I realized that I could have just added the link to my Edpuzzle in slides and had the students work through the video that way. I do, however, like keeping everything self-contained if I can, not having the student navigate multiple platforms. As I move along and test this out, I will figure out what works best. At the end of the lesson, I like the idea of having the students post a video to Flipgrid. I am running into the issue that I teach every student in the school and don’t have set rosters associated with Google classroom. There is the option to manually upload emails, but it seems daunting for the amount of students I have, even if I keep it to 4th-6th for now. Catlin Tucker stated, one of her favorite reasons for using a flipped model is it allows the students to work at their own pace. I agree with this and it is one of the things that I like most about this model as well. Students are able to stop, go back, re-watch or simply move on if the content was mastered. It also allows our students to control the speed that they are receiving the content and is beneficial for all skill levels. Jennifer Gonzalez discusses in step 6 of her “9 Ways Online Teaching Should Be Different than Face to Face” about the importance of keeping the flipped classroom instruction simplified and slowed down. By being concise in our lessons, students are able to focus their attention and energy toward completion without feeling overwhelmed. In a Flipped model, not all students have the same support at home that they receive in school. It is important that the students are able to work through the content on their own, we can’t assume that there will be any help.
From the beginning of 791, I knew that I wanted to focus on Adapted Physical Education(APE) for my research study. I spent the previous two years completing my APE authorization and felt that it would be a perfect fit to continue my research and development as an APE teacher. My hope is that the expertise that I gain as an APE teacher, translates to my Gen Ed PE classes as it forces me to look through a different teaching lense. My topic has remained the same since the start of class, but I have definitely tweaked and manipulated my question up to this point in an attempt to develop one that is concise and measurable. The ARP has been great for getting my thoughts down on paper. Sometimes that’s half the battle. Formulating my thoughts in writing that are clear and concise can be difficult at times. This process definitely helps. I enjoyed the introduction section of the ARP. This is where my passion for this topic comes in and the reason for choosing this research question. As I become more comfortable and familiar with the SITE model, I will continue to develop on my end user profile in my ARP. Question evolution/ Thought evolution: How do I create an impactful learning environment in APE? What are the issues in APE? How does APE help physical development? Cognitive development? Social-emotional development? Currently working around these two:
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I’m feeling comfortable where these questions are right now and the evolution that they have taken with the emphasis being on Heavy work.” The 1:1 with Brenna was very helpful being able to talk out what I have envisioned and her expertise and experience with research design. Both questions are very similar so I might end up doing a slight blend and try to roll with that for now. Measurability has been my main concern, but I think I have come up with a plan that will work which is a relief. At this point, my main obstacle moving forward will be that I have very small numbers 4-6 students and only see them once per week in APE for 30min each. I will have to work diligently to collect data. Blog: Reflect on how you might use Google Forms and/or Rubrics 1)in your practice and 2) for your Touro action research/capstone project. What might be the best uses for your particular situation? If you already have been using Google Forms/Rubrics in your practice, explain how you currently use them and what you might do to extend your knowledge to new applications/situations.
Google forms are relatively new to me. I have used them when they were sent out, but I had never created one until last class. I think that it would have many uses in the classroom. Matt Miller breaks down 25 different ways. The assessment portion jumps out for me. This would be the tool I would utilize the most. As I stated in class, my students don’t have access to a computer when they are with me for PE (hopefully I can work on changing this). It would be a very beneficial tool to access my older students on some of the sports we are playing in class. The written tests that I have used in the past take a lot of time to grade and upload grades. This would streamline that process. Scott Marsden does a nice breakdown of how to give feedback. This is a really important feature that would be beneficial to all teachers. Add-ons like Flubaroo allows teachers to create spreadsheets with the data and give feedback in a number of ways. It appears you can import grades from Forms to Google classroom. From there, for my school it would have to be transferred to AERIES, which you can do as well. Two step process, but doable. I haven’t figured out how I can use forms for my Touro action research project yet. The population of students that I will be conducting my research on are unique, as well as what I am researching. Some of my students have disabilities that would limit their ability to complete a google form. Also, the research I plan on conducting is more skill performance based than knowledge based. It could be utilized for two of my current students in APE if I could make it applicable. Google forms would definitely be applicable in my Gen Ed PE classes, but I think would be limited in my APE classes because of my unique population and content. I’m looking forward to figuring out ways to utilize this tool in my classroom. Finding new or more efficient and effective ways to assess is really important to me. This is ultimately how we know if our students are learning and what we need to teach? Overall, Google forms was very user friendly for a beginner. It was easy to create a new form and add questions. I was also very easily able to add a picture to a question for reference which was a great feature.
Does “Heavy work” improve APE students' ability to achieve their goals and objectives? Or Will an emphasis on “Heavy work/ HIIT training” improve achievement of goals and objectives in APE? I’m still trying to frame my question. The traditional approach in APE is to specifically work on a skill by modifying the movement or object. Example. Student will be able to kick a stationary ball. Traditionally, you would have the student practice this over and over and then test them when their IEP comes up. I was paired with an amazing mentor in APE last year who had me questioning this traditional approach. He suggested taking a much more foundational approach to movement. This idea of helping students feel themselves in their own bodies and improve joint response by doing activities that you would more commonly see in professional athletic training. The academic term is proprioception. Examples: medicine ball work, squats, speed ladders, weighted sprints, battle rope, etc. The idea of Heavy work is seen and discussed in the world of special education and is commonly used with students on the spectrum who need behavioral support in the classroom. Running with this idea, I am making the educated guess that if heavy work works for behaviors in the classroom through a grounding response of weight, then applying it in an APE setting will help students achieve goals and objectives related to specific skills such as running, jumping, kicking, throwing, etc. An interesting thing about APE is that each student's disability can be very different. I am suggesting that the same foundational approach would be beneficial for all of my students. This would also benefit APE teachers as well as Gen Ed Pe teachers by giving them a new approach to aid in skill development. From what I have already researched, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot out there. It will be interesting to network and see if any other teachers have had some of the same ideas that I’ve been thinking about. How do I make this thing measurable? This will be the next step, trying to get my question to a place where it can be measured. Blog Assignment: Social Media for Student and Professional Learning
Read the articles about social media in education in the Content section. Can social media be used effectively in the classroom? If so, how? At what ages? And, with what tools? When we presented on this topic in class using Flipgrid, I was a “no” for using social media. You all made some compelling arguments for why we should use social media in the classroom. Points were brought up that I had yet to consider. I guess that is what is great about discussion and doing these blogs. I currently really only use Facebook and Instagram in my personal life. When the question was asked, that is what I immediately thought of. I thought it would be hard to use those platforms with limitations, digital citizenship and the teacher having enough control over them to make them effective educational tools and not a distraction. Social media is much more than these two tools though. Really, any site offering media where you can interact can be classified as social media. The Flipgrid app we used, I would use that in a heartbeat in my class and thought it was a wonderful way for us to share our thoughts. It really does depend on the app, how you are going to use it, and how you are going to protect the students on it? There is no doubt that our students enjoy using devices and different apps in their everyday life. As I expand beyond Facebook and Instagram, I do believe that there is a place for social media. It is another way of students to engage that they are comfortable and familiar with. It would be a great way to present projects, assignments, question intro/exit tickets, etc.. I think that there is probably an app for just about everything that we do in education. The key is picking something the educator is comfortable with and can be used appropriately by the student. I’m sure that there are many age appropriate apps that could be used for all age groups with parent consent. I do really like the idea of using social media as a community building tool. Showing events, classrooms, school functions, could be a great way to keep the community engaged in what is taking place at school. It seems that most schools currently do this. It’s a nice way to give the students recognition in a public way. This is a great quote from the NEA article, “I think the best way to use social media in school isn’t with kids but about kids.” This would be a great way to utilize social media. Overall, I think I’m coming around to the idea of using social media in the classroom. Especially, with all the various options to explore and utilize. |
AuthorMy name is Bailey Tucker. I teach Physical Education and Adapted Physical Education (APE) at Calistoga Elementary School. I have a strong passion for sports, athletics and fitness. I've been involved with sports my entire life and that is what ultimately led me to the path of teaching. I have recently obtained my APE Authorization to teach PE to students with special needs. This has been a growing passion of mine and I have immensely enjoyed working in this new field with my students. I'm looking forward to this next chapter and working towards obtaining my masters degree. Archives
February 2022
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