Final Reflection

I have thoroughly enjoyed our technology class this year. My eyes have been opened to the benefits that technology can have in a classroom or physical education environment. This class has helped me understand how technology can help me become a better teacher and also how to make my life easier as a teacher and also for the students. I learned how technology can help me teach concepts and skills more clearly and be more interactive with students.
Some of the ways that I will use technology include making videos to help teach new skills or concepts. I will also have assignments that can be done online and turned in online. I really liked creating online surveys that the students can take to help give me feedback and improve my teaching. Something I've learned from Dan is the benefit of having a class that is paper free. Not only is it nice for the teacher but also for the student. I don't have to worry about printing off an assignment and turning it in. I can do it on my computer and bam the teacher has it. I want to come up with different options that I can use to be more efficient and have paper free classes as well.

StudioCode

I've learned a lot about my instruction and management capabilities since I had to go through and code my lesson. The video I uploaded into studiocode was one of my first teaching experiences and after coding it I saw where I've grown in my management skills. For me my goal is to make sure the kids are having a good time, exercising, and learning the skills I have prepared to teach them. Management plays a big role in ensuring the kids are learning and not just messing around doing their own thing. Kids need to understand that I mean business. I've learned to deliver the material in a tone that lets them know that I am serious and they need to do what is asked of them.

My instruction has also improved quite a bit. I've learned the importance of continually repeating the cues I am teaching and then reinforcing those cues through the feedback that I give each student. By the time they are done with the lesson they will definitely know the steps needed to accomplish a skill. The kids need to know that their teacher wants them to succeed so by making my instruction clear and precise they are more likely to learn the material I have prepared for them.

Something that I will do different next semester is work on building from one skill to another. So far I've just focused on one skill and taught that particular skill. I want to work on bringing a couple of skills together and clearly presenting them to the class so that they are able to do more than one skill in a particular sport by the time class is over.

Filming in the Classroom

By filming myself teach and then going back and reviewing the film I am able to see many tendencies and habits that I am not aware of at the time I am teaching. Also, when I am giving specific feedback to an individual student it is hard to keep my eye on the rest of the class. When I watch the tape I can see how the other students are behaving and then come up with some ideas on how to keep them occupied while I help individual students. When I am teaching a lesson it is usually just going very fast with all the kids running around and me trying to teach them a specific skill. If I have that on tape I can take everything in and see what does and doesn't work and how I can be a more effective teacher.

iMovie

I really enjoyed my imovie experience. It took way more time than I would've wanted but I think that each time I use it the process will speed up. I can see how useful it will be in the classroom setting. I look forward to using it throughout my teaching career.

Imovie Project

I'm gonna do my little video clip on shooting a free throw. I'll start out with a picture of a big ol' nasty piece of beef. Then I'll bring in each of the acronym for B.E.E.F. and what each letter means. I'll have some music going on in the background. Then I'll transition into my homemade video of me shooting a free throw and explaining how each letter in the acronym is important to creating the proper form needed to make a free throw.

Internet Safety

I guess you can say I've seen the light. Last week Bro. Randall opened my eyes to the dangers that are found on the internet. It's not like I didn't know about the dangers I guess I just didn't realize how easily that information can be found and taken without me ever knowing. I realized how important it is to guard my personal information. I didn't realize how much information people put out there about themselves. But once a few things were mentioned I started thinking of several areas that people can go to get information about another. I don't have facebook but even like in the blog my wife keeps up of our family it has made me think of things we shouldn't put on it. I talked with my wife about the things I learned and there are a few changes we'll make. I think that you can't be to careful when it comes to protecting your identity and also the identities of the rest of your family. I talked to two of my younger sisters about the things I learned both in class and on my own. It's funny to see hear the reactions of both of them. One of my sisters, Marcy, is 20 and seemed to listen to the things that I was telling her. I told her to be careful about the type of information she posts on facebook and to only give certain people access to it. She seemed to understand the importance of doing this stuff and saw how that will keep her safe. However, my other sister Avery, didn't seem to think that it was very important. She would listen to what I told her but she didn't seem like she would change anything or apply the things I was telling her. She is 18 and I think just doesn't believe that this stuff is important to her. I am glad we had that lesson and I have taken some steps to make sure that I more careful about the information I put out about myself and my family.

Adding Pictures to Website

Alright so I didn't think it would be a big deal to edit a picture and then post it to our website. Well I could edit them just fine but I couldn't re save them and post them as an edited picture. So I went on picnik.com and pulled up an image I wanted to edit. After I edited the picture I chose the option that sent it to my picasa online web album. Then I could upload it to my site. I'm sure there are other ways to do it but that is one way that worked for me and hopefully might save everyone else some time.