Final Post

1. I have learned that there is so much you can do with not only technology, but GOOGLE! Google has a whole new meaning to me now besides just it's search engine. This has been my major takeaway because I will be the first to admit, I didn't know Google had more than just a search engine and email. Yikes what I sheltered world of technology I "lived" in! :)

2. My attitude has been impacted positively because it has only given me more resources to use in my own classroom and helps me get more creative in my lesson plans. I never thought to get students involved by using certain Apps or using Animoto or Digital Story Telling for any of their assignments. I am more excited for teaching career now because of these resources. I am excited to see where technology takes us even in the next five years! I am more aware of the importance it is for me as an educator, to keep up with our technology. Like I said before in this class, I "thought" I was pretty tech savvy, but Dr. Cox proved me wrong! :)

3. Because almost all children are growing up more tech savvy now than ever, it is going to be of great benefit for myself to use technology in my classroom.  Some of the examples I would use when it comes to technology would include:
 1. Definitely going to be using Apps. Most kids have a cell/smartphone that they can access apps. If the child doesn't have access, good thing we have computers kids could access the app on. I would love to use CalorieCounter which is an app students can track their daily calorie intake and much more. I would use this technological way because the App does the math for you as far as adding and subtracting calories, how much is in each good, and gives you more resources than a student them self can give.

2. I am also a huge fan of the Fitbit flex which not only tracks and measures your physical activity, but your sleep activity as well. Being a health educator, physical fitness is pushed, but what about sleep? It is just as important, if not, more important. I would love this type of technology available for the students to track their physical and sleep activity to only become more aware and improve in the areas they need to to become healthier.

4. It is hard for me to say because this was a summer block so everything was super speedy. Dr. Cox is great and is a brilliant person. I personally, believe that all students are more engaged when they can do what they wish in a classroom with specific assignments. To make it more meaningful, I think a digital story about themselves would be so much fun and actually learning how to make a digital story would be less intimidating. In conclusion, maybe assigning one assignment that lets the students choose a specific topic on what they want to do would be cool.

Digital Story Ideas

1. I think students love when the class lesson is about them more so than the specific topic. I would love for students to create a digital story when we talk about "Personality Code". I think it would be fun to see them create a digital story specifically about themselves adding photos that represent them, music they enjoy, etc. I think this would be a fun "all about me" presentation.

2. I also think they students would enjoy making a digital story for their big research projects. At the end of the semester, this will be the way they teach the other students the content they were assigned. This gives the students more freedom in the rubric to be creative in their own way and again, it is more intriguing to visualize a presentation than to sit and try to listen. Most often, but not all, visual learners take up a big percentage of the classroom.

3. I would use a digital story to introduce a certain topic. I think that it would be a catchy way to grab the students attention and really get them excited about a topic. For example, instead of starting the subject of "nutrition" by saying "Today, we are going to talk about carbs and fats, and BLA BLA BLA!",  I think playing a digital story with pictures of yummy foods and fun music is much more intriguing to any teenager right?

Flipped Classroom Idea

I first went to this website to get an idea of what a Flipped Classroom actually is.

• http://ctl.utexas.edu/teaching/flipping_a_class/what_is_flipped

It provided a great graph explaining the process of "flipping" a classroom.

In my classroom, I would love to used the flipped idea on a lesson where were speaking about Weight including using a scale, how to measure your BMI, etc. 

BEFORE CLASS:

- I would first have my students log onto YouTube and watch this video before the next day's class on Weight and Nutrition:

- This video provides information on how to accurately figure out your BMI and give you an idea of what your "ideal" weight should be. 

- After they have viewed the video, I would have them visit the site below to learn techniques on how to properly take measures of your body. 

http://nutrition.answers.com/diets/using-a-measuring-tape-to-determine-weight-loss

- I would then have them visit this site and read the information on "The Five Ways to Reach and Maintain A Healthy Weight" :

• http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/dieting/weight_tips.htm

DURING CLASS:

- Students will get in groups of two, measure each other's body measurements and figure out their BMI after scaling their weight and determining the height of their body after body measurements. There will be no directions in figuring our BMI or how to properly use a measuring tape, as they should have figured this out the night before. Their recordings will be written down on a hand-out I will provide in class. ( This will take about 30- 35 min.)

- I will grade this handout to determine if they accurately measured each of their BMI. 

- After the activity, students will be quizzed on the knowledge they retained from their readings on how to reach or maintain a healthy weight. This quiz will be graded and verify to me whether they did the readings and understand the concepts of the topic. (The quiz should take about 10-15 minutes because it will be in essay form).

AFTER CLASS:

- Students will go home and record 3 other individuals BMI on a worksheet provided and turn it in the next day. This will show me that they really understand how to find the BMI! 

Podcast Ideas

1. I would use a podcast in my classroom when I give lectures in my classroom. That way not only can students who were absent on those days review the material and listen to my lecture, but students who were there can play it over again for a review if they would like. It would be a great advantage to students who are absent mainly.

2. I think using a podcast for presentations/research projects is a great way to evaluate whether the students grasped the main points and that way we can use more class time for activities and other curriculum. Instead of using in-class time to present their research, it would be available on podcast to not only me, but the students of that class as well. It would be nice for me in a sense that I can go back and listen to parts over again to thoroughly grade or see if what I assigned them to do, they fully understood.

3. For a series, I would love to assign 1 to 2 students a week to come up with a "health tip of the week" for all of our students. I think this would be a fun idea to use in a podcast throughout the school year. By the end, students have a full list of health tips to carry on and hopefully apply throughout their life.