Assignment #1

Author- Gary Stiler
Title-MP3 Players: Applications and Implications for the Use of Popular Technology in Secondary Schools
Source- Education, v128 n1 p20-33 Fall 2007. 14 pp. (Peer Reviewed Journal)
URL-http://www.projectinnovation.biz/education.html

Summary:
This article talks about how mp3 players might be used by teachers in the classroom. It starts out by talking about the popularity of them, and that instead of embracing this new technology most schools and teachers are just banning them. It then goes on to talk about how schools could use them. Some examples are for audio books, for music teachers, for downloading appropriate speech's or lectures from topics being explored in class, and coaches or PE teachers could use them to watch video clips or teach new strategies or sports or just listen to music while exercising. Another interesting thing it touched on was some universities are distributing them to their students for use in their classrooms. The last portion of the article was spent talking about two groups of teachers and coaches that had used them in their classrooms as part of an experiment, and their reactions to the mp3 players.

Reflection:
I think that giving a mp3 player to a student in a traditional classroom could be very distracting, but in a PE classroom there are many advantages. Often times when students are doing a circuit workout or running exercise there is music playing so having the students have a mp3 would enable them to workout to their own music which could improve productivity. Also, if you had students download and bring to class certain files you had posted, they could watch drills or exercises and practice them during class.

NETS for Teachers:
Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
As a PE teacher I think the most important thing you can do is inspire your students to get involved in physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. One of the easiest ways to do this is to be physically active and fit themselves. It is hard for students to take their health teachers seriously when their health teacher is out of shape. Three ways that I am going to focus on inspiring students to be fit are:
1)Stay fit and in shape myself by being physically active at least three times a week.
2)Find ways students can get involved in physical fitness outside of the classroom.
3)Explore new games and activities to do inside the classroom that will involve and interest more students.

NETS for Students:
Creativity and Innovation
Its hard to get up and exercise the same way day after day for the rest of your life. Its important for students to be constantly exploring different way that they can get exercise. Most students think of working out as going to the gym and lifting weights or running around a track, but the fact of the matter is most people don't enjoy doing these things. Its important to remind students that there are other ways to stay fit besides heading to the gym.
Two assignments you could give your students:
1)Have students talk about something they do (or could do) that is a good way of getting exercise that most people wouldn't think of.
2)Have students calculate how many calories they could burn in a typical week if they never walked everywhere instead of driving.