Finding the right apps

One of my priorities is finding an app to replace my register book.  My current register/ diary book is used to register each class to monitor attendance, grade them weekly or as often as possible on the work they have done which then helps with report writing.

So I need an app that will match this.

Criteria:

- take attendance
- add notes
- grade pupils on performance
- be able to import pupil names from something simple like a CSV file


Additional features might include:
-be able to add photo by the pupils name
- attach video/ photo of work to add as evidence or build a profile for each pupil.

TeacherKit was chosen as it seems to tick most of my criteria.

I can import my pupils names from a CSV form via Dropbox.

I can take attendance with one 'click'

I can record if pupils are late/ off sport

I can add notes on each individual pupil

I can grade pupils on whatever I want to grade them out (graded out of 10 or similar)

I can't include photos or videos BUT this is something that is being developed.....

Set Up:

It took awhile to get to grips with exporting my registers & importing them from Dropbox but now I know how to do it it is easy.  I can copy and paste class lists from our school database.  As we already use photos of the pupils with this database it was easy to add these with the CSV file.  Within an hour I had put 7 classes onto the app ready to use.

This is a screenshot from a website but it gives you a rough idea of how it is presented.  Really clear to see, easy to use....so far so good.

(I have only had the app set up for 2 days so I will report back again within the next few weeks.)

The set-up

As Head of our PE  department, I am incredibly excited about our new technology installed into our sports hall.

According to the installers there isn't a set up like it in the area ( I have my doubts, but it's still a confidence booster),

So what do we have?

Built into the wall of the sports hall we have our 'fancy-schmancy-techno-box' or the 'black box' depending on who you speak to...!

I wanted it built in and flush to the wall so it was always usable and accessible during any lesson.  Whether it be gymnastics, basketball, football, badminton; I needed to know that with pupils running around, balls flying they were safe and the system was safe.  It meets these expectations, although I would have liked the door to be a little more flush to the wall when it is open (small detail).

The system is like a mini hi-if system. There are various layers of technology for us to access. One layer controls volume output on the various systems, one layer controls the input (DVD, SD card etc), Apple TV sits on top of all of this.

We can now walk into our classroom, plug something in and it is projected in the sports hall whether it be sound or visual.

We no longer have to wheel out TV stands, portable whiteboard stands, flip charts, projector stands.

Already changes are being seen in how we conduct our lessons ( more on that at a later date).

Early day pros and cons:

Positives:
Ease of use
The possibilities....oh, the possibilities

Negatives:
When the iPad locks it is slow to pick up where it left off
Bizarrely, using the built in video and playing it back straight away on the projector causes it to 'buffer', unlike other apps which just stream it live.

All systems go

I had no idea the new term would creep by so quickly and leave me with so little spare time to manage this blog.  Not a good start.

Couple of quick updates before I get blogging properly.

- our new fixed projector has been installed into the sports hall
- it took awhile longer but we now have Apple TV as a way of linking iPads wirelessly via Airplay to the projector.
- laptops can also be liked through a wire
- iPods can also be connected to play music through the speakers
- the system also has a built in DVD layer and various memory card reader

So in theory, we are good to go Houston.

iPad suspicions being confirmed

I've just finished reading a really reassuring post about the use of ipads.

iPad is right for PE article.

For me these are the simple, practical reasons iPads will quickly be part of our normal day-to-day teaching and not just a gimmick that appears for the sake of using them.

physedtech.org makes some good points on how an iPad can be used.  The sportshall is our classroom. We can't store folders, clipboards, stopwatches, books in our teaching space.  It just doesn't work with balls flying around & pupils scampering around 100mph.

So to have all of these additional necessary resources on one machine will be like having our very own Swiss Army knife.

The biggest danger is to remain stagnant and not move forward with the times.

I like the sound of the augmented reality apps and have had a quick play with - Bit Breaker  my first 'trial' being on my phone. I feel a bit of a plonker playing it but I know our pupils would love it.  I can also begin to se the potential with other scenarios such as tennis games, dance games etc.


....just need an ipad to try them out properly!  Roll on September.

A sensational summer spectacle of sport?

 
I love sport through and through.  I'll watch it on the TV. I'll go and see it live. I'll read about it in the paper. But there is an obvious group of sports people that shy away from the media and the majority of peoples interest - women.

A recent Newsnight episode (not sure the episode is available) touched on some of the usual issues. But for me the biggest reason I end up getting hooked on to the US golf Open at 1am in the morning or will wake early to catch some of the Australian tennis at 7 in the morning is to follow through on a 'story'.

Some people argue that Test cricket is one of the oddest sports in history (5 days of sport with no outcome...?) yet when it is England v Australia and the Ashes it becomes an epic drama.  The Wimbledon win for Andy Murray is made that much more interesting because of his 'story', his background, his childhood, his coach.

The Paralympics last year finally came to the wider publics attention.  It wasn't just because of Channel 4's excellent coverage but the presenters and commentators perspective of it. They told us the athletes stories. We got to know them as individuals and a reason to get behind them.

This is what the media need to do for women's sport.  The BBC have showed us the Women's football Euro competition this summer which is a great start.  But where have these players come from? How much better would it be to have watched them play all season?

Addition: Having written this blog over a week ago, I didn't publish it as I kept doubting my views were strong enough. But thanks to Clare Balding my views are clearly heading in the right direction.
See also Clare Balding Twitter .

Inspiring inspiration

Inspiring a generation/ a nation/ children have been phrases banged around for the past, oooh, 7 years mainly due to London 2012.  But it begs THE most obvious question...isn't that what all P.E. teachers do on a day-to-day basis anyway? Or should be doing?

If I'm delivering a well-rounded scheme of work and have well thought out lessons that are engaging and everyone is progressing AND are enjoying it...is that enough?

I've taught for 8 years now in a range of schools (state, private, international), range of age groups (nursery-16) and I've seen the meekest of little lambs turn into confident athletes (not talented, but confident and capable) I've seen talented sports players go on to county and even England standard teams, I've seen talented players plagued with injury lose heart.

But I've only seen two pupils, TWO, with this natural drive, desire and passion to take themselves to the top.  Of these 2 I would say one of them stands out even more.

As a teacher we offer ourselves beyond lesson times - extra practices/ clubs/ activities so there are plenty of opportunities to coach and nurture talent.  We give advice and feedback, offer solutions to issues and support them throughout.  However this one pupil would find us in her spare time and arrange extra sessions (everyone else carrying on with their breaktimes), if a session was cut short for whatever reason she would ask to carry on for 5 more minutes (everyone else sprinting out to make the most of a spare 5 minutes), if advice was given she wanted to know the full explanation and sometimes offer an alternative.  There was a look in her eye when you spoke to her that made you feel you were speaking to a sponge - she was soaking up every tit-bit of detail you gave her.

As teachers I think we're very good at the bottom 2 tiers of this diagram, certainly for KS1 & KS 2. Game strategy tactics blends in quite easily with Sport Specific Technique & Skills but is possibly more  used in KS3 and upwards a lot more.

But mental training? How well do we cover it?  In reality I'm questioning my teaching & others I've seen teach. I think as a whole we naturally add in 'sportsmanship' 'winning & losing graciously' but REAL mental toughness....

Chris Hoy for example:

Push your limits

Training is always hard but the worst is the lactic acid tolerance intervals I do. On a static bike I do my full set and then literally collapse onto a crash mat and curl into a ball. It’s horrible. The sting just gets worse as the lactic levels get higher and your body tries to flush it out. The muscles are burning and you’re nauseated by the exertion. I often end up being sick. Every time you do it, it’s like it’s never been this bad. Then after 15 minutes – almost to the second – you feel fine. Then you do another set and go through it all over again! The pay-off is there to see in competition.

You can't force any pupil to do that - they have to want to get up and go again (I'm not for one minute suggesting that these are the levels my teaching go to but you get my drift!)

NATURE versus NURTURE the debate in my head continues.

My second reason for blogging.

My other reason for blogging is to share my other 'journey' starting in September. I've set up a second 'P.E.' session for our Reception classes. 

They are incredibly lucky in that they have one session with a qualified P.E. teacher (alongside all the other opportunities they have of play-discover-create-experiment that their teacher naturally creates for them) plus a swimming lesson each week.

The second session I wanted to try out was basically tennis all year around.  I think as a sport it offers so much potential in developing the all-round athlete and attributes we strive to teach.

Pat Cash once said:

Tennis is a tough sport because you need so many things to play at a top level. Firstly you need to perfect all the technical areas of each shot; then there's the physical attributes of speed, agility and endurance topped with balance and timing. You need mental strength too: there's no clock to run out, so every point is important and it becomes a great mental battle.

http://www.healthandfitnesstravel.com/experts/guest-interviews/pat-cash-buccament-bay 

Seeing Andy Murray follow on his success of an Olympic Gold and the US Open with an almighty victory at Wimbledon this year against Djokovic makes it an obvious sport to keep young children motivated with.

 My 2 issues with having the different sessions are

1. a brand new scheme of work based on this idea is needed but also
2. our original scheme of work already covers some of the basic principles I would use for tennis so I need to replace these with other ideas.

My first aim is addressing the brand new scheme of work. 

 I absolutely love the Set 4 Sport website and app and can easily see myself implementing most of these ideas into lessons throughout the first term. 

 Judy Murrays' way of explaining is simple, the ideas are even simpler and the philosophy of how we should be teaching (or rather playing) these activities to our pupils is spot on.

Teaching P.E. to EYFS and KS1 should be nothing but boundless amounts of fun and play and I think Set 4 Sport does this perfectly.

But should this be the basis of my tennis SoW or a side avenue for the other SoW? Could they work alongside each other for half a term perhaps?

Do they need to be separate lessons?  Should they each have their own identity?  Does who is teaching each lesson have an impact on the content for continuity?

A few questions I will need to have clear in my head before I put pen to paper and one I will address over the next few weeks.