The Importance of Physical Education

Shayne Frost

ID# 110086

Class: ND4B

G.C Foster College of Physical Education and Sport

The Importance of Physical Education

Physical Education has been a integral part of the Jamaican education system. Students from grade 7 - 9 have Physical Education as a compulsory subject which provides them with at least 1 hour of movement. In recent years there has been chatter to suggest that Physical Education is unnecessary, especially in some American schools. The thinking behind removing P.E. from the school's curriculum is to save the money used on it, and place it in another area. How does it affect students in the long run though? Only time will tell.

There are many benefits of physical education in schools such as:

1. Physical Health:  More physical activity equals more healthy children. The children therefore are more physically fit and not obese. Healthy children are less likely to develop diseases such as diabetes and heart diseases.

2. Academic Performance: No physical education class is said to be done so children can spend more time in the classroom but physical education helps to improve academic performance. According to studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, attending physical education classes is directly related to better academic performance and attitude towards school.

3. Social Growth: Activities in PE help children develop healthful social interactions.They will be doing activities with other students which help them to build relationships with others. As they play and interact with others they learn how to talk and be around other students.

Physical education has many benefits in schools. It should be a main stay in the Jamaican society as it helps our students immensely. 

Are there any Benefits to Dancing?

1. Shayne Frost    
2. ID# 110086   ND4B
3.  G.C Foster College of Physical Education and Sport.
4.        Dance has physical and mental health benefits. Dancing is good exercise and a fun way to keep fit. Ballet, belly dancing, salsa, ballroom dancing, hip-hop, square-dancing and tap dancing are different dancing styles. There are many forms of dance, from ballroom to barn dancing and disco to Morris dancing.

My Philosophy on Technology and Education

Shayne Frost

ID# 110086
ND4B

G.C Foster College of Physical Education and Sport

 My Philosophy on Technology and Education

My personal philosophy for using technology in education is that it provides fun and excited for students, it makes communication easy and wide ranged and it makes information easily accessible. Using technology in education is not a norm in are school just yet but I believe that there will be a time not too far in the future that technology will be used in all forms of education from kindergarten to tertiary education.

Using technology in education allows for students to have fun learning new things. It is different from the normal classroom where students use books and the teacher is the source of information. In education that uses technology, students can search the web for information, they can play educational games and visit helpful websites. Because students are actively involve, learning become more exciting. They are in control of moving the mouse or pad, pressing enter on the keyboard so they are hands on directly impacting their own learning.

Communication is easy and quite simple with using technology in education. Students and teachers can send emails to each other about certain topics and students can instant message each other about what they are doing. With programs such as Skype students can have group chats in which they can discuss a specific topic given by the teacher.

Using technology in education also makes information easy to access. Teachers aren't the sole source of information. Students can read on their on and click through information at a fast pace. Students can watch videos, listen to speeches and access the news. Thousands of links of information appear almost instantaneously.

 Technology makes education easier for both teachers and students. It allows them to communicate more efficient, it is more fun for students and it allows information to be attainable and accessible for all.

Reflective Essay of My Pass Classes

Shayne Frost

ID# 110086
ND4B

G.C Foster College of Physical Education 

Reflective Essay

The course Education Technology seemed hard and very alien to me, especially when I saw the course works for the first time. It stated something about creating a website and using Computer-based Instructional Support tools to do something or the other. That’s what I saw anyway. I totally believed that I would have no chance to pass this course. However I started to change that way of thinking when we created Skype accounts and all of us in class were speaking in a group. We could share ideas, each person could write their own opinions and everyone had a chance to view it and reply back to it.

Then came the forum, it was the place where all the magic happened. The Forum was a place where I could post my completed work, I could view others completed work I could see the replies of other to my work and I could reply to others. It was amazing to see how we could all be connected no matter where we physically were. Once it was in the forum everyone in class could see it.

We moved from making simple writing entries about what we believe Education Technology was to writing lesson plans in the ASSURE model. I was soon creating recording, telling digital stories and creating interactive quizzes. Using the programs Audacity and Photo Story 3 to create recordings and digital stories were new but exciting to create. These programs allowed me to present information in a way I had never done before. I also learned how to use Microsoft PowerPoint to create an interactive quiz, this allowed me to make any quiz I wanted from any topic and it was fun to see my creation come alive when others used it. I created a website and have been able to makes changes to it as I please. Thanks for the introduction of the course I’m now a blogger, and I have a wiki page and a web quest. All this things did not seem possible when I first entered the course, all the things that I told myself I couldn't do, I have now done and will continue doing. Today is the last day I will do something related to this course and it indeed a sad day. I wish I still this class and course but all good things come to an end. I looked back on this course and to see where I started from and where I am now is remarkable. Thank you Mrs. Stoney-James for introducing this brilliant course to me and for allowing my to use my mind when I thought were problems occurred. No one could have done a better job teaching this course and I once more I say thank you.

The 21st Century Learner

Shayne Frost

 Education Technology 

G.C Foster College of Physical Education and Sport

ND4B      ID# 110086

“21st century learning is the process whereby digital natives utilize the power of modern technology to learn anything, anytime, anywhere” (Ligon, 2009). To say that twenty first century learners have changed in the way they learn would be a gross understatement.  It seems as though things are completely different for learners now than how it was for those not taught in the digital era.  Many changes have taken place in the classroom itself such as teachers using white boards and markers instead of black boards and chalk.  A change like this has many benefits such as faster writing and cleaning off.  Students can also record lectures which gives them the opportunity to listen to or watch it at a later date as much as they want.  If people from the 19^th century could see the advancements made today, they would first be shocked and clueless, but then intrigued and eager to learn.  The way learners learn in the twenty first century helps the learning process immensely and provides this generation with the best ever access to learning and education.

Three changes evident in the twenty first century learner include: the use of the internet for research instead of encyclopaedias and books, taking notes on iPads, phones and computers instead of books and doing online courses instead of actually being in a classroom.

 Using the internet for research these days is a great upgrade in relation to learners using library books and encyclopaedias before. Students now have information literally at their finger tips because access to research content is just a click away. In an article entitled ‘The Web as a Tool for Research’, (Green, 1997) said “Unlike traditional books and journals, the internet is capable of providing information in the form of time-based media elements such as sound and video.” Before the time of technological devices, students would have to go to the library to get information which was more time consuming and difficult. Nowadays doing research is hassle free with the internet as millions of links appear in less than a second to show information on any topic needed. The problem with using books for research was that the books can become outdated and the information could be proven to be wrong or different, but with the internet the information is updated regularly so the information is current and relevant.

The other change with the 21^st century learner is the taking of notes on iPads, phones and computers instead of books.  Books can be heavy, are usually kept in a bag and they require care to be properly preserved.  A student can now go into class with nothing but a phone and not only write notes, but also record the notes.  The phone, computer and iPad make note taking a breeze, for instance, if the lecturer is speaking and everyone is recording it, there would be a need for the lecturer to repeat or slow down because someone fell behind. The change in the way notes are written from books to technological devices makes it easier for the students and the teacher because it is a simpler yet more effective way of note taking.

Doing online courses instead of actually being in a classroom is another change in how the 21^st century student learns. By doing courses online, the student can go at their own pace unlike in a classroom where there are others trying to learn too. Online courses allows for comfort as it can be done anywhere internet is available. The student does not have to worry about getting the best seat or hearing the teacher’s voice. The 21^st century student’s classroom can be their bedroom or anywhere chosen. With doing an online course it saves time and money as the student wouldn’t have to spend money to reach to a class or wasting time on travelling.

An implication of taking notes on technological devices instead of books is that the lesson becomes faster and more efficient. By being faster it is time saving.  Back in the days where these technological devices were not present, learners would have to use books to record notes.  In today’s classroom, the laptop can replace all those books which can save time with something such as writing because typing is faster.  This means teachers could give notes at a more accelerated rate which leaves more time to go through the notes in class and for the teacher to explain the notes for a longer period.  By completing the taking of notes faster, it also leaves more time for class discussions which are important as it is in those discussions that students understand the topic of the notes even better. “One of the prime uses of the iPad is as an electronic notepad, largely replacing the use of paper notebooks” (Gray, 2012).  It is also more efficient because when the notes were written in a book back then, the common way to transfer those notes was to write it on something else. When notes are taking on these technological devices, the notes can be sent, stored, copied and reproduced instantly which allows more options for the transfer and storage. It is more efficient as errors can be changed easily and instantly which does not create a mess as it would in a book. In using a technological device the notes will always be legible if type and can always be listened over at any point if recorded.

An implication of doing online courses instead of actually being in a classroom for policy decisions is that the government would have to set up rules to protect the content of what learners use online.  This means there would be a specific set of regulations learners would have to follow as it deals with giving credit for sources to protect internet material from copyright infringement and plagiarism.  Learning online means learners would use the internet more in doing the online course in comparison to doing a course in a regular classroom. Whatever learners would read or research would mostly come from the internet during the online courses and the decisions on how learners use the internet have to be guided by these specific rules.

Three ways in which integrating technology in teaching and learning will improve the quality of education for students are by using the projector, creating a classroom chat room and by recording classes by video or sound.

Using a projector is an excellent way for the teacher to present a lesson and it is faster than writing on a board. The way it improves the quality of education is by capturing the attention of students based on the fact that colourful words, pictures and videos can by shown. The words will also be more legible than the writing of a human being which helps students to read better. “Teachers can make use of PowerPoint presentations, images and even film as teaching tools through the use of projectors” (Whitaker, 2013). If the teacher uses a PowerPoint to present a topic, that document which was first shown using the projector can then be passed on to the students to use in their own time.

Creating a classroom chat room will allow for the teachers and students to communicate while in class or even outside of the class. In creating a classroom chat room students can speak to each other about topics discussed in class which allows them to help each other. Students at times find it easier to communicate with their peers so they can provide their views to other students who are weak in a particular area.

Recording classes by video or sound is another way in which integrating technology in teaching and learning will improve the quality of education for students. This improves education’s quality by allowing students to have a previous class recording to listen or watch at any time. It would be like the class happening over again every time the student plays it which can help with understanding the more times it is listened to. This provides an opportunity to a student who was not at class to get the whole class just as if the student was there. With a recording a student can control what is listened to and at what pace which can help when studying.

The 21^st century learner is quite different from years in the past with changes such as the usage of the internet, taking notes on technological devices and the access to online classes. Those changes in 21^st century learning help the students in studying and performance. Ways of technology integration such using the projector, creating a classroom chat room and by recording classes by video or sound, also help to improve the quality of education for students.  Education in the 21^st century will only get better as time goes by which will enhance the way students learn and perform.

Reference

Gray, P., 2012, Taking notes on the iPad, http://www.techrepublic.com

Green, D., 1997, The Web as a Tool for Research, http://www.fno.org

Ligon, D., 2009, 21st Century Teaching & Learning, http://www.classroom20.com