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Unit 2:What apps to use in physical education

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Learning Objective

· Educators will identify apps that they can integrate into their classroom.

· Educators will understand what apps they can use in their curriculum.

· Educators will discuss how they will integrate the apps into their lessons.

Unit Overview and Expectations

In this unit, we are going to learn about apps that can be used in the physical education setting. Technology in physical education is very important. “Children entering first grade at age six are estimated to spend an average of 51 minutes per day playing video games and 14 minutes using computers, in addition to 172 minutes of daily television viewing” (Mears, 2009, p.30). With our children interacting with technology everyday, we want to use iPads and apps in our classroom to help them be successful in physical education. We are going to focus on three areas of physical education: skills, physical fitness, and nutrition. Each app is going to have a description on what it does and how it can be used in the physical education setting.

The following apps have been complied based on apps I have found to be useful in the physical education setting. You should read the description of each app and how it fits in physical education. After we will spend times in our groups exploring each application.

After learning about apps that can be used in the physical education setting, educators should have a better understanding on what apps to look for when searching for apps. Educators will take part in a small group discussion. The small group discussion will be about how the apps can be used in their classrooms. Educators will have more time to explore the app market to find more apps that fit the physical education setting. The group will come together for a large group discussion on how the apps can be used in the gymnasium. Also, introduce the group to other apps that have been found that can fit into the physical education curriculum.

Unit Content

Skills

Coach's Eye- Cost- $4.99

"Coach's Eye is an all-in-one sports video application for recording HD (or SD) video from the camera on your tablet or smartphone. You can then watch and diagram the captured footage. You can review the video at normal speed or slow motion or use the scrubbing control to easily navigate through the video frame-by-frame.One of the most useful capabilities of Coach's Eye is its ability to compare selected videos side by side. The side-by-side videos each have their own time indicator so that the two videos can be synced to clearly show an athlete making two different movements"(TopTenReviews.com).

How does it fit physical education?

In physical education, there are many units where we practice skills. It might be in the volleyball unit practicing a set, or a forearm pass. It could be in a gymnastics unit practicing tumbling. We are teacher are usually only able to give our students verbal feedback on the skill they are performing. Now with an app like Coach’s Eye, we can now provide our students with video feedback. Students are now able to see how they performed the skill, and what they need to do to perfect the skill. We can even have the students assess each other. Having one student record while another performs the skill, after the students assess the video together can do this. Coach’s Eye allows the teacher to send the students the video, which allows the students to see the video outside of the classroom. Coach’s eye is a great app to bring to our class to help students improve their skills.

Ubersense- Cost- FREE

"Ubersense bills itself as an app "built to empower people to become better at sports." Users can upload video of themselves doing something athletic, watch it in slow motion and post it to the Ubersense community for feedback and encouragement. Recording video with Ubersense is simple, as clips can also be uploaded directly from the device's camera. Once in the system, video can be reviewed in slow motion, marked up with in-app graphic tools and saved for later. Users can also compare their skills to other users or, in some cases, professional athletes with the app's side-by-side feature" (Sheridan, 2014).

How does it fit physical education?

Ubersense is another application that records skills that students or athletes are performing. This helps students to see the skills they are performing from the iPad. While Ubersense is free to download, it does come with a monthly or yearly fee. Ubersense also allows the ability to do side by side video. Unlike Coach’s Eye, students can do a side by side of the skill they are doing compared to a professional athlete. This helps students assess their skill compared to another person to see what they can fix. Ubersense is a great video assessment application that can compete with Coach’s Eye.


Physical Fitness

Full Fitness HD- Cost- $2.99

"Full Fitness HD is a full-featured workout companion for iPad that includes nearly 350 exercises -- with easy-to-follow instructions, interactive illustrations, photos and videos and the ability to track your progress.Full Fitness HD for iPad provides instructions for hundreds of exercises -- all divided by body region (arms, abdominals, legs, etc.), primary target areas (biceps, quadriceps, glutes and so on) and equipment needed (dumbbells, kettlebells, bands, machines or none)" (Saltzman, 2011).

How does it fit physical education?

Full Fitness HD is a great program to use as a warm up, or during a fitness unit. Students are able to find the exercise they want to do with or without equipment. They are able to see a visual on how the exercise is suppose to be performed. This is a great program to use in physical education because we are always trying to include physical fitness in our curriculum. With Full Fitness HD students now have a visual on how to perform an exercise, and can view many different exercises that work on a target area. It is a great program for students and teachers alike.

Polar GoFit- Cost- FREE

"Because the GoFit app measures live heart rate information, every student in the class can be helped to work at the right level for him or her.The GoFit app helps kids learn to stay within set target heart-rate zones to achieve certain health benefits. Based on their effort, the app rewards them with motivating badges. The data teachers gather allows them to guide each student to a better outcome" (Tomaszewski, 2013).

How does it fit physical education?

Polar is known for their heart rate monitors. Most physical education programs have heart rate monitors. The way the heart rate monitors work, is students strap them around their chest, and they measure the student’s heart rate during their physical fitness. The most the students move, the higher their heart rate. Before the app, the information went through a program on the computer, and teachers put the information up on a screen. Students can now see the information in their hands, or as they move. The only downside of the app is if schools don’t have the heart rate monitors. A set of 40 heart rate monitors go for around $3,000+.


Nutrition

Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker by MyFitnessPal- Cost- FREE

"MyFitnessPal is a community-oriented site designed to help you lose weight and track fitness goals. The mobile apps let you keep these features at your fingertips wherever you are. You can input or edit your goals, enter your caloric intake (food) and output (exercise) on the go, and add new food data to the library if it doesn't already exist. There's also a progress screen that lets you track your weight and view a graphical representation of how well--or poorly--you're doing"(France, 2010).

How does it fit physical education?

Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker by MyFitnessPal is a great app that can be used in physical education. Often time our students don’t understand the amount of calories a food contains. Using the calorie counter app, the students can track their exercise and calorie intake on an iPad. The calorie counter app can be used during a nutrition unit. Have the students write down what they eat everyday, and how much exercise they get. When the students come to class, they can input their food and exercise into the app, and allows them to understand how many calories they took in. The app does a great job to open the eyes of students based on their eating habits.

BMI Calculator- Cost- FREE

The BMI calculator is a very simple app. The application allows students to input their weight and height. Based on the data that the students put in, the application will tell the students their BMI, as well as if they underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese. The app also allows the students to view their number based on U.S. units, or the Metric system.

How does it fit physical education?

Students need to be aware of their body max index. The body max index (BMI) is a measurement that measures students body fat based on height and weight. This application can be used in physical education during the nutrition unit. We are trying to get students to have a healthy lifestyle, and understand what they are eating. The BMI application will help students to see if the food they are eating is making them overweight, or if they need to eat more. The calorie counter app, as well as the BMI app can go hand in hand during the nutrition unit.

Misc Apps

First Aid by American Red Cross- Cost- FREE

"The American Red Cross has a handful of apps on weather safety for iPad users looking to plan and prepare for natural disasters. They also have a great iPad app to help students of any age stay safe. With First Aid children can learn about different ways to act in situations that require first aid. There are photographs, informational text, and diagrams to help students understand the best steps to take in an emergency. First Aid includes extra features including the ability to switch from English to Spanish and a quiz to check for understanding"(Classtechtips.com).

How does it fit physical education?

The first aid app by the American Red Cross is a great app to have accessible in any physical education setting. When discussing safety with students, using the first aid app can be beneficial to both students and teacher. Students not only get to learn about to handle situations that might occur throughout their life, but also have to take a quiz to make sure they have the skills needed. Something can happen in the classroom to a peer or the teacher, having students that have knowledge of the first aid app can possibly safe lives.

Team Shake

"Team Shake is an iPad app for randomly selecting names to create teams or to select an individual name. On Team Shake you can create rosters by manually entering names or by importing a list of names. When you are ready to choose teams just select the number of teams that you want created, shake your iPad, and then each person is randomly assigned to a team" (Byrne, n.d.).

How does it fit physical education?

The team shake app is a great resource to use in the gymnasium to avoid arguments. In physical education students are often partnered or teamed together during activities. Many adults will remember standing in line, and having two students picking teams. Often time students who were seen as less athletic were usually picked last. This really ruins the student’s self-esteem. With the team shake app, all the teacher has to do is input the student’s names, and shake the iPad. The teams are randomly assigned. The team shake app helped to avoid the arguments, as well as avoid the situation when the less athletic students who were chosen last.

Learning Activities

Activity 1

  • In smaller groups (2 or 3 members) explore each application discussed.
  • If the application is free then download the app. If it has a fee, explore the app on the market.
  • Discuss how you can use the following apps in your daily lessons.
  • Discuss what app might be more beneficial.
  • Discuss how you might have used the apps already in previous lessons.

Activity 2

In a larger group, we are going to discuss:

  • How the apps discussed can be used in the overall physical education curriculum.
  • Some benefits to using the following apps.
  • How might you have used the following apps in previous lessons?
  • Did the following apps enhance your learning on what apps can be used in physical education?
  • What other apps would you like to be targeted in future workshops?
  • Questions?

Unit References

Byrne, R. (n.d.). Team Shake - A Random Name and Team Selection App. Retrieved April 12, 2015, from http://ipadapps4school.com/2014/04/16/team-shake-a-random-name-and-team-selection-app/

Coach's Eye Review - TopTenREVIEWS. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2015, from http://iphone-apps.toptenreviews.com/sports/coach-s-eye-review.html

First Aid App for iPads from the American Red Cross. (2015, March 31). Retrieved April 12, 2015, from http://classtechtips.com/2015/03/31/first-aid-app-for-ipads-from-the-american-red-cross/

France, J. (2010, August 23). Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker by MyFitnessPal. Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://download.cnet.com/Calorie-Counter-Diet-Tracker-by-MyFitnessPal/3000-2129_4-75011420.html

Mears, D. (2009). Technology in Physical Education:: Article# 1 in a 6-Part Series: Becoming Tech Savvy!. Strategies, 22(4), 30-32.

Sheridan, A. (2014, July 1). App Review: Ubersense Keeps It Simple For Athletes Looking To Improve Skills. Retrieved April 8, 2015, from http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2014/07/01/Media/App-Review

Saltzman, M. (2011, May 13). Full Fitness HD: The cheapest personal trainer you'll find. Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2011/05/full-fitness-hd-the-cheapest-personal-trainer-youll-find/1#.VSfxUYeNBUR

Tomaszewski, J. (n.d.). IPad App Review: Polar Go Fit. Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/app-reviews/polar-go-fit.shtml

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[Untitled polar gofit image]. Retrieved 8 April 2015 from 616695404x356.jpg

[Untitled team shake image]. Retrieved 8 April 2015 from icon175x175.png


[Untitled uber sense image]. Retrieved 8 April 2015 from logo-d6ae717d2b8aa91e2936bd30159190b0.gif

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