It's all over

So this will be my last post on this blog. I mean don't get me wrong I have enjoyed creating this blog and learning the different skills it takes to run it, but keeping up a blog is not something that I do. I have a facebook and a myspace and barley do anything with those. There is a chance that I might make a blog for my my classes. I have liked some of the ideas about making a class blog but that's about the only way I think I will ever use this blog again, I'm just not a blogger.

I have really enjoyed this class I have learned a lot about computers stuff that I did not know, and how to make the stuff I did know better I want to thank Professor Sorenson for all of her hard work, and I want to thank my classmates for making this one of my favorite classes.

Reflections

well another semester has come and gone and it has been another good semester and in no particular order here are some things that i have enjoyed this semester:

- living in the apartments instead of the dorms
- not eating in the caf
- family time with my roommates
- my great classes this year
- playing football with some of my best friends in the world
- Preparing for my wedding
- the new friends that i have made
- student teaching at a great elementary school
- the conversation me and my roommates had in the hall that we always laugh about when mention it

The Best Game Ever

i just happen to stumble upon this Japanese game show and thought i would share it

Christmas

i found this video and thought it was funny

Final Project 2.0

Google Earth

Power Point

I posted a project earlier but i did not like it so here is my new one version 2.0.

The project that I decided to do was to show different sports from around the world. I used Google Earth and some of the features that it has and incorporated different technologies into the Google Earth software. This was my first time really working with Google Earth, there was a bit of a learning curve, some of the stuff in Google Earth is not the easiest thing to figure out. I had to do some trial and error test until I figured out what to do. The first thing I did was make place marks for the three countries that I am using, and that is pretty easy. After you make a place mark you can add stuff to the mark. First I added a video of the sport that I wanted to explain. At first I was going to use a PowerPoint to explain the sports a little bit, but I really didn’t like that because it was separate form the Google Earth and it really didn’t flow. So I decided to do some more research and started thinking if I could get the video to work because it was embedded maybe that could work for a PowerPoint. Well after many hours of trying I did not work I could not figure it out, but I did find a Website were you could type in what you wanted and it would turn it into HTML for you, so I was able to add a description to the Google Earth which I like way better. Then I wanted to do something to finish off the work. Google earth has a feature where you can overlay a picture so I decided to put maps of the countries on the map. And for this I used photo bucket to embed the picture into the map. The last thing I did was make the timing right. The place mark and overlay move at different timing so I used a screen shot, to freeze the picture so that both places are at the same spot.

I don’t think I could call myself an expert of Google earth yet, I was just using the basic version you have to pay to use the better version. I think if I spent some more time with Google Earth I could get to use more of the feature. I would really like to use the better versions of Google Earth just to see what the better features are. I think I can add this Google Earth to my above average knowledge list.

I think that a lot of different teachers can use Google Earth as a teaching aid if you spend the time to learn it and put it together it can be a really fun learning tool.

Cool Class

here is a link to part of an article i found about what one school is doing for P.E. They have treadmills hooked up to video games so that the students can race against computer opponents and it keeps tract of there progress, plus all sorts of other neat stuff you should read it.



Whatever Happened to Gym Class?.
Fat Chance
By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Feature

July 2, 2001 -- Like millions of Americans, Ernie Prado and Brittany Keele work out as much as possible to stay in shape. They do so at a high-tech fitness facility that allows them to race stationary bicycles on virtual courses against computer-generated opponents, and keep track of their fitness levels over time using handheld devices.

Prado and Keele don't pay hundreds of dollars each month for membership in this state-of-the-art health center. They pay nothing at all, because the 14-year-old 8th graders are students at West Middle School in Downey, Calif.

The school's Cyberaerobic Center is the brainchild of physical education teacher Dan Latham, who 10 years ago turned a little-used 2,000-foot athletics storage building into an aerobics facility. He has been incorporating computers into the mix ever since, and the center now has 55 fitness machines, six with the "video game" component.

"We needed a way to hook [the students]," Latham tells WebMD. "We were losing them to video games, so I decided to take their world and our world and come up with a happy medium. The kids like it because they can pick different [virtual] courses to ride on with the bikes and different courses to run on with the treadmills. But they have to be active in order for the machines to work."

All 1,200 students at the middle school attend PE classes at the center for at least three weeks during the school year, and they also have access for two hours after school, four days a week. Latham is now trying to start similar aerobics facilities at two Downey high schools, both financed exclusively, like the West Middle School center, through fund-raising events and private contributions.

"It is better than being outside, because there is air conditioning," says Prado, whose goal is to build up his shoulders for football next season. "I live in an apartment building, and the only thing I can do there is ride my bike in a little circle in this tiny parking lot."

"For a lot of kids, this is their extracurricular activity," says Keele, who plays ice hockey. "They can either go home and play video games and get no exercise at all, or they can go to the cyberaerobics lab with their friends and play games and work out."
PE Under Siege

All over the country, teachers like Latham are introducing innovations which are virtually reinventing physical education, while many school administrators and public officials have all but declared war on PE. Fitness classes are disappearing from the nation's public schools at an alarming rate, done in by ever-tightening budgets and time constraints.

Only about half of students in grades K-12 have physical education classes every day, and only 29% of high school students do. And one in four kids have no PE during their school day at all, according to figures from the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), the nation's largest professional organization for physical education teachers. In a report released last year, NASPE found that the vast majority of high school students have physical education for only one year between 9th and 12th grade.

LOL

Here is some funny sports quotes i stumbled on

I could have been a Rhodes Scholar, except for my grades.
-- Duffy Daugherty

On this team, we are all united in a common goal: to keep my job.
-- Lou Holtz

If hockey fights were fake, you would see me in more of them.
-- Rod Gilbert

The only way to stop Jim Brown was to give him a movie contract.
-- Spider Lockhart

Always remember Goliath was a 40 point favorite over David.
-- Shug Jordan

You can observe a lot just by watching.
-- Yogi Berra

They say a tie is like kissing your sister. I guess that is better than kissing your brother.
-- Lou Holtz

We can't win at home. We can't win on the road. I just can't figure out where else to play!
-- Pat Williams

I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.
-- Source Unknown

The sun doesn't shine on the same dog's butt every day but we sure didn't expect a total eclipse.
-- Steve Sloan

I'd run over my mother to win the Super Bowl.
-- Russ Grimm

Crazyness

i get married in 266 days... how crazy is that. we are well into planning the wedding, we have some things worked out. we are getting married at Northwest Baptist Seminary, it in Tacoma it over looks the Puget Sound it really nice. it has this huge scary looking mansion on the grounds, its going to be awesome. just wanted everyone to know

Almost Done

There are two weeks left in the semester. this has been a really nice semester for me. I have really good classes that i feel i have learned a lot in, and like most semesters some classes that aren't so good. One of best parts of the semester is that my homeworks has been very low. I mean i have had projects and papers but i have not had all of the busy work and that had been awesome for me. I can concentrate on my homework even more. I just hope that next semester can go as well

Finished... for now

I am done with my first semester of student teaching. it was a total blast i had so much fun, and i learned a whole lot about teaching. now i am on to my next semester of student teaching.

Sadness

Last night Sean Taylor a safety for the Washington Redskins was shot in the leg in his own home. the bullet hit his femoral artery, he lost a lot of blood and went in a to a coma, he died this morning. Its just sad that we are not safe in our own home anymore. This post may not have anything to with anything but i just wanted to express my sorrow for the Taylor family, and my prayers go out to them.

Classrooms of the future

I think that it will be at the same level. The rich schools will have the nice stuff and the poorer schools will not as good stuff. Mainly because of funding some schools will never get enough money to get all of these expensive things. For me that is ok because i don't want to see every classroom completely dependent on computers. Computers can be used for a lot of things, but to completely take out using your hands to cut out paper or learning to write with a pencil would be terrible. Computers are already taking over the world, but what would happen if all of the computers crashed. The generation that is coming up now would be lost because they don't know how to do anything outside of a computer. We need to use computers but we should not have to depend on computers

On The Playground

The other day i was outside helping out at recess when this little girls comes up to me almost crying but not quite. she tells me in her little voice that a group of boys are picking on her and hurting her feelings. So i ask her where these kids are at and start walking over their. As we are walking she puts her hand into mine and holds my hand. it was so funny because she was just this tiny girl, we probably looked really cute anyways. So i get over the group of three boys and i stand right over them, and with a deep voice i ask if they are picking on her. i was trying to act intimidating because i wanted to scare them a little. Then i told them to go play on the field and the little girl said thank you and hugged my leg. It felt good to help that little girl and feel important for a little bit.

Questions

1. What is your goal for technology in education?

2. If you could have one piece of equipment for your class what would you get?

3. How important is technology in schools these days?

4. What tools have been useful to you?

Smart Board Activity

I can't really answer some of these questions because me activity did not cover a couple of them. Like i don't have a link to my activity because i have no direct link, it was just a game that is available online. I could not find any specific standard for my activity. I played jeopardy online so it could be used as a trivia game, or a game just to waste time and have some fun.

My goal in this assignment was to show the recording feature of the smart board. when you activate the record feature you record anything that comes up on the screen which is a pretty sweet feature. So for my activity i decided to play jeopardy, the game is found online, i picked jeopardy because it is a fun game that you have touch the screen to pick than answers. So it used the touch screen feature of the smart board, plus i just though it would be fun to play in class.

For me personally i am going to be a P.E teacher so i will not be using this technology very much, passably never. If i was not teaching P.E there is a possibility i would use the smart board because it is a fun interactive tool. I would probably not use it all the time because it could get old quick, but i would defiantly bring it out every once and a while. As for right now though i would not use the smart board just because of my situation, i have no need for it.

Technology Lesson Plan

http://www.box.net/shared/ghfmitd87n

- I was fortunate enough to include technology in my lesson. i am going to have the students use a video camera to videotape themselves making a 5 minute workout video that the class will participate in.
- Technology will change the learning enviorment because it would no longer have the students sitting in a class room they will be up and moving around. this lesson is more learner centered because it is all about the students, it is up to them to finish the assignment. they also have more control over what they do with the camera bacuase it is up to them.
- One problem that could happen is the students would goof around to much and maybe not get to much work done. but i think it is such a fun project that the students will try to do their best.
- The NETS that this lesson covers are
1. creativity and Innovation- students will demonstrate creative thinking in coming up with there video

2. communication and collaboration- students will use digital media and work collaboratively. they will be using a video camera and learn how to use the video camera in the process

k12 conference

the session that i listen to was about reflection. the main point of the session was about reflecting on what we are teaching and if we are doing a good job. especially about technology, he made the point that when you are reflecting on your teaching make sure you are doing a good job. if you are teaching with technology and doing a bad job then you need to change, and if you dont use technology and you cannot get the attention of the students then you might need to think about using technology. dont be ashamed to admit you made a mistake and change if you need to. reflection is a good thing, and more teachers should take to practicing it.

The Internet is Bad

there is a lot of problems that kids can get into over the Internet. the Internet is so full of bad and dangerous things that it can sometimes be scary. when it comes to boys i know they like to search different topics just to be funny, and some of those searches can involve inappropriate things. cyber bullying is becoming a big problem, kids are getting bullied over sites like myspace. they just get made fun of via myspace and in some cases their is some severe damage to the kids. Internet per editors are becoming more dangerous and that is a scary thing. their are a lot of good things about the Internet, but thanks to stupid people in the world their are things about the Internet are dangerous

Kidspiration

Fats, oils and sweets.rtf

Internet Resources

Disabilities

in my class their will always be some child who has some sort of disability. the more information i have on disabilities the better i will be able to accommodate and help these children in my class. the Internet is full of information and it would be a bad move on my part not to be educated in these areas for the children.

Fitness

children have lost the will to be fit. with computers, video games, television kids are spending far to many hours inside sitting down. kids don't know what it means to be fit anymore, did you know just 45 minutes a day is all you need to stay fit and in good shape. children need to start young in gaining a lifestyle of fitness, and if i can educate myself and my students in the area of physical fitness then i will be going my job

Nutrition

nutrition goes hand and hand with fitness you can achieve good physical fitness without good eating habits. again the best time to establish good eating habits to my kids is during these young years. their is no reason why kids cant start eating right young. McDonald's is bad for adults just imagine what it does to a younger smaller kids, ill tell you its nothing good. their is a lot of information out their to help me teach my students about good eating habits.

Fun Games

one way to get my students active is to introduce fun games for them to take home and play. by using all the information the Internet has to offer i will be able to teach my students fun games for them to take home and play with their friends. i can also publish the websites that i use so they can look up the games on their own.

Local Sports Teams

it is always good to support your local sports team and get kids interested in sports. if i wanted to make the students do a report on a local sports team these would be great resources for them to use.