When I taught in the classroom I worked with audio quite a bit, listening centers, having students make their own recordings or their readings, etc. I videoed the class a couple times in order to give me some idea of what was going on outside of my view.
In P.E. I have shown sports on video to prepare the class for a unit, and to emphasis certain skills. But I have not done enough in this regard - I have not made any sort of library of tapes that really show sports, rather I just have a loose accumulation of stuff taped off ESPN.
I would like to have a full collection of sports, show a good video of the proper playing of the sport before I start a unit. I would like to use the video to show the execution of sports skills or motions. With that teach a rubric of the motion, and then have students practice. After some time they have practiced I would like to have them videotape themselves doing the skill and judge their execution based on the rubric.
The main obstacle I would have is getting the equipment. Another obstsacle would be that I do not have a room, or place to show the videos. Perhaps I could very well coordinate this with every teacher so I could use their classroom for the video work while they are on prep. For getting the equipment, perhaps I could write a grant, or ask the PTO to help us get the equipment. Mike

I like your idea of having a "video library" of specific sport skills. It would be awesome to show kids a video of what a pickleball game looks like, or even an Olympic badminton game. Most kids don't believe me when I tell them that badminton is an Olympic sport!

I also feel your frustration of not having a place to show videos. The space at our school is very limited, and can be noisy with other PE classes in close proximity. And then you have to wonder how much time should you really spend on having the kids "sitting" watching videos in PE instead of moving? Nowadays it seems like it is a great accomplishment getting kids to move for a whole class period! :-)

Grant writing is something I would like to learn more about. We have a couple of teachers who have a real knack for that, and have earned some wonderful technology equipment for their classrooms. TIME to do these things is our biggest problem, but you have to work hard to make the time and then it is all worthwhile.

Grant writing is an excellent way to acquire funds that support educational technology. There are many different types of grant out there and you could apply for a technology grant or a physical activity grant. Writing a grant is time consuming but once it is written, it can be used over and over with just a few modifications. Basically all grants call for the same format. If you submit a grant and are refused, send it to someone else - be persistent. Here is a link to a helpful start.

http://www.schoolgrants.org/tips.htm

when it comes to grant writting where do you go to find out about grants and what advice would you give a fellow teacher that is writting a grant for the first time. I see grant writting as the only way that my school or district can afford to make my curriculum incorporate technology like I want.

I too like the idea of having a video library. It would be a great way to create a resource area for our department.
You are right about PE being an area that is usually noisy. I also agree that we should be spending more time getting students to move versus sitting down! They site at least 6 hours a day. Why would we want to encourage that in physical education?
Our department did some extensive grant writing in order to get money for equipment and field trips. It's good to have a few people on board that feel comfortable writing out grants.

We love the idea of the video library. It would be cool if you could post them on the web on a pe central web page or something like that, then pe teachers all over could use them to help teach skills in their classes.

As far as the noise goes lets think into the future. Each child have wireless earphones that they can hear the video or audio and then you could use an LCD and play it on the wall of your gym or on a screen.

I like the idea of showing a video of the proper playing of the sport. This can be helpful for those visual learners in the class. I think I might start this with my classes, however, instead of using ESPN videos I would like to create my own library of those classes or students who excel at the game.

A possible to solution to showing a video without moving out of the gym is to display the video on a wall in the gym. I have shown a TAE BO video to my summer school enrichment physical education class on the gym wall. All students were able to see it because it was displayed high up on the wall.

I agree with Tina. If you can use a NEC projector or something like that then everyone should be able to see.

I think your idea of showing a video on the gym wall is a great idea. The kids would love the fact that it would be such a great big picture. It also gets you out of a classroom setting and makes it seem new and fresh

I use video of both the students and myself and fellow teachers when creating videos for the students. It is good for the following year or when you are sick and a substitute has to come in and teach a lesson. You can also find a good variety of videos on youTube.

I have used video clips in health and in Physical Education classes to show skills or strategies to kids. They respond positively to it. I have also used a projector in health class to show youtube videos about meth and other drugs (PSA's) so that they can see what public service announcements are. Then they have to develop their own psa's in groups. The youtube clips are really powerful.

Mike,
I think video taping is a fun way of teaching the students what they look like in technique and tactics. It is not easy taping in gym with 24-30 students to get to before the end of the unit. I think it works better when teaching in block units.
We do not have that luxury in my school. The rubrics is a great way to show the students how to assess themselves, Perhaps a peer assessment would be another way to take on the task.
As for the videos of how to show them the proper way of playing or play by the pro's, this is good, but it takes away from their actual play and that is the ultimate need in my class. The need to just want to play and have fun with the game.

In regards to Mike's post...I have slowly accumulated a library of GREAT videos that can be used as unit intro's and skill demonstrations during the lesson. I implement a Cupstacking unit each year, and they include a great video with the Speed Stacks that demonstrate all the cup stacking skills with highlights from the World Championships of Cup Stacking. The kids love watching it! A great way to motivate them before a lesson or unit.
I have also scouted out Ebay for sports Blooper videos. During my basketball and flag football lessons I generally start a class with 5 minutes of the sport-specific Blooper video.
Every year I make it a priority to budget for one new instructional PE video. So far I've purchased basketball skills, juggling skills, jump roping, and dance skills. These have greatly helped throughout the year...not only for the students, but myself.

I would recommend asking the PTO or student council for some funding to build up your video library. I have found my videos to be relatively inexpensive. I'm sure you could find a TV on a cart at your school to "borrow" for a week or a lesson...or invest in a TV/VCR in your budget one year. Those combo deals can be had these days for under $150. Maybe even ask parents if they have an old TV set sitting around at home....DVD or VCR players can be bought for less than $50.

I like showing my videos in the gym...because immediately after the video the kids can start right into the activities they just saw on tape.

I have not used video in my classes as much as I would like to. I know this is probably a poor excuse, but my class sizes range from 36-42 and they aren't going to get any smaller....sometimes it feels like a huge challenge to get a video camera organized! The main obstacle here is just a matter of me getting organized, and using the video in smaller group settings. Using this to analyze things like a the badminton serve would be a real plus.

I have used audio quite a bit. We have a great sound systems in our gym, so in the winter months when we are inside, we use music during fitness time in class. I've also used it during fitness stations. Finally, I teach a country line dance unit. I use the gym sound system, which includes a cordless microphone so I can be loud when teaching the steps! Believe it or not, middle school students actually have fun during the line dance unit!

I had tried to use a microphone just to get their attention because our classes run around 50-60 kids with just me. Our principal thought it was a waste of time and that I would just sit around and talk and not be active.

Teaching in K-5 organization is a big problem mainly because of the schedule. I could be teaching fifth grade and my next group of students is 1st grade. This creates a huge equipment set up problem.

I agree that it is very difficult to use video in the classroom. It takes a lot of time and with class sizes, it is almost impossible to take video of each and every kid and then analyze the skill that they are performing. Although I do think that video is beneficial, it would be great to use with smaller classes.
We do the same thing with audio. I think it helps to keep the kids motivated while we are inside.

I have used audio and video in my teaching. I use it often when teaching health to supplement my lesson. However, I have used only audio in teaching physical education. When teaching an inline skating unit I play music for the students to skate along with the beat. I also use music to energize my students during game play. As a culminating activity I have used a relaxation CD to do a visualization relaxation activity after a strenuous workout. This course will hopefully teach me ways to incorporate the use of audio and video into my lessons. I am extremely fortunate to work in a district that supports and encourages the use of technology; therefore, the only obstacle is my reluctance. I feel this course will give me the confidence I need to use technology.

Hi, i wasnt thinking about music when i answered the first question. I would always play music when we would play a mass game with the kids. I taught for 14 years K-5 and by the time the kids were in 5th grade they would be bringing in cd's for class and i would play different music for them. They loved it. One of the observations that i made over the years was that the autistic and emotionally disturbed kids would come in the gym and before i could start talking they would ask where is the music. Those students loved the music during class. After teaching 14 years at the elementary school i transfered to the high school, and just the other day one of my former students came up to me and said " hey Herodes where is the music?" So i quess that i have been using technology for a while. Bobby Herodes

Hey Bob! We usually don't think of music as a technology tool, but it is. I love using music in class. I have not had that experience with autistic students, however, I feel as a whole the "mood" of the class really changes with music, as I see students becoming more motivated. We need to purchase an ipod that we can all share. I think you'll find it as a piece of technology that you will like and is easy to use, since I know you are a little apprehensive about the whole technology thing :).

I have used both audio and video in my physical education classes. For audio, I use a voice amplificcation system daily which makes it much easier to students to hear what I am saying in a large gymnasium. Also, I find that I have far more energy at the end of the day when I don't have to use a "gym" voice.

I also use audio quite a bit in that I play music for the students when we do stations, roller skate, some games, and dance. I notice when I play music for stations and games, the students are more active as they often move their bodies to the beat. I download music to my laptop and then plug it in to my amplified stereo.

For video, I have shown video clips as an intro to a cup stacking unit and jump rope unit. I have also shown down hill skiing clips before talking about the snow skiing field trip. On occasion, when kicked out of the gym and the weather is poor, I have shown sports videos in the classroom.

The only real obstacle in preventing me from using video, is acquiring a tv for play it. I just need to make sure I schedule one in advance so that it is available.

I agree with you -the biggest drawback for video is signing out a TV and then moving it to my gym. Of course,I am expected to return it at the end of the day. I find it is easier to ask the classroom teachers or music teacher to show a short 2 minute clip before th class comes to me for the activity I might be doing.

Anita,
I think your idea of having the classroom teacher show a short 2 minute clip before the class comes to you is a GREAT idea! I was wondering how I could incorporate video into my lessons while only having 20 minutes with each class. Finding a T.V., having the class watch the clip, giving directions and then starting the activity may take too much time. Asking the classroom teacher to prep the class will save me time. Thanks for the idea!

What company supplied your amplification system do you use? The Parents Club looked into buying my gym a system and they thought that a system wouldn't work in my gym.
Have you heard of United Streaming? There are many videos that you could find useful for your class. With using this, you would be able to show the clips through your computer.

Teaching health and physical education has differences and similarities. When is comes to using videos in physical education, I have my reservations about it. The only time I show a video in PE, is in our swim unit and the video is no longer than 5 minutes. We use brief videos in our swim units to demonstrate the mechanics of a stroke. Other than that we really focus on getting our students off their seats and moving. Students sit all day long and it is in our firm belief that our time should be utilized getting kids to enjoy moving.
For coaching tennis we video tape are athletes and show them their mechanical errors in slow motion. Athletes find this to be very beneficial! We see major improvements in our athletes.
As I said earlier, we don't get enough time in our classes therefore we are limited in showing videos because it puts restraints on the amount of time spent being physically active.
What I would like to do is put together a presentation that promotes our physical education program. It would be ideal to have this slideshow played on one of our local channels.
Sandee

Sandee,
Have you considered a powerpoint presentation? It could be used for the "television spot" but also at PTSA night? There are websites on the internet (Dr. Synder gave us one) dealing with powerpoint that are extremely helpful.

Fred

Teaching health and physical education has differences and similarities. When is comes to using videos in physical education, I have my reservations about it. The only time I show a video in PE, is in our swim unit and the video is no longer than 5 minutes. We use brief videos in our swim units to demonstrate the mechanics of a stroke. Other than that we really focus on getting our students off their seats and moving. Students sit all day long and it is in our firm belief that our time should be utilized getting kids to enjoy moving.
For coaching tennis we video tape are athletes and show them their mechanical errors in slow motion. Athletes find this to be very beneficial! We see major improvements in our athletes.
As I said earlier, we don't get enough time in our classes therefore we are limited in showing videos because it puts restraints on the amount of time spent being physically active.
What I would like to do is put together a presentation that promotes our physical education program. It would be ideal to have this slideshow played on one of our local channels.
Sandee

I agree it is tough to take the time out of a class to show a video to students when PE, we want our students to be moving around. In coaching it is such a great tool for teaching athletes corrections on skills. I also use the video camera often in my sport.

However I do find using video's in certain types of PE classes are helpful. I know you mentioned swimming. We also use them for proper lifting technique, or aerobic video's.

I totally agree it takes alot of class time to video tape. It could possibly be in a station work, where students film each other at that station. It takes some time to teach the camera work, but once that is accomplished, you can use it for all the sports being taught that year. They could also view it on a rain day, which we get alot in NE Ohio. Also not all students may need to see their form. Show the ones that need some correction and they might understand what you are teaching them.
Be careful not to use the camera for discipline. A shop teacher in our school set it up to film his unruly students and the administration turned it around and said HE could not control his class. It wasn't the students fault!

I have only used a VCR in PE once to show the kids a fitness type exercise program. We do not have internet access in our gym, so it is limited. We have done research in the computer lab about Fitness programs.

IF we had internet access in the gym I would like to record calories burned, and other fitness statistics that could be utilized to chart progress being made throughout the year.

I am trying to get a wireless laptop computer that runs on a router from some other place in the school as we speak. We will see.

We also struggle with technology in the gym. We have a TV that is on wheels, but it is too tiny to show to an entire gym full of PE students. We cannot hear the announcements in the gym either. Since there are so many students in one small space, the school has decided that it would be best to have the teachers read any announcements. This means that everything is delayed!

The internet is only on the teacher's computers in a tiny office, so the students cannot use them for recording fitness information. It would be idea to have a computer lab right next to the gym to help students track their own progress and really take control of their fitness goals and achievements.

Have you had any luck with the wireless laptops?

I use plenty of audio when I teach. We just received a grant and purchased a brand new audio system. It has wireless microphones and speed control on playing cassettes. Its awesome! We use our audio system for fitness, teaching, dancing, school events, and assemblys. Without music you have nothing. We use our video cameras for gymnastics to help children self assess their routines. I also use a digital camera for assessing certain skill taught in class. We always make sure to get parent permission when using any type of recording device. We have not encountered any obstacles but will let you know when it happens.

You have purchased something I have wanted for my junior/senior girls physical education class. They are into aeorbics/step aerobics and it is sometime difficult to hear me over the music. The wireless microphone would be a great addition to my class. Glad to hear that it is awesome!

I like how you are using technology. I was wondering about the grant you received and whether this would be something my school could apply for this year?

As part of our two required Physical Education courses (both of which are semester classes), our students are required to participate in a jogging/walking program. Since our classes use the track/football field area, we use the speaker system available in the pressbox. Music is played for the students (and instructors!)during the class. Our students enjoy the workout much better. Students select the kind of music (within my guidelines) so different types can be heard. Additionally, we also use the intercom system to provide instructions.
Our use of VHS tapes is limited in the classroom as so many other sources of information is available now. However, for our health classes several tapes/stories are still used to make important points as well as stimulate meaningful discussion.
Use of the VHS still can prove helpful especially video taping students/lessons. The biggest problems with this instructional approach are obtaining quality productions and taping expertise. At our school we are looking at the possibility of using our media productions class. Finding qualified students willing to tape classes and teachers is not as difficult as it may seem at first.

I too allow my students to select the music we will listen to that day, I find that when they are included in the decision they are more likely to enjoy the activity and be motivated to learn. Using videos is an excellent way to show students exemplary performances from their peers. I agree that it is not difficult to find a willing video technician. Simply posing the question to the class as to who would like to volunteer to run the camera, elicited more positive responses than I envisioned.

Thanks for the ideas.

I allow my students to choose the music as well. I find that it keeps them motivated and gives them a sense of ownership. I've seen students participate more based on the fact that they like the song.

Although I failed to mention using music in my post, I also let my Senior P.E. classes choose music to play during the lesson, I find it does keep them motivated and serve as a reward/incentive, also.

I never used video in my coaching. I would love to video our games and then review them afterwards for learning purposes for the team. I would also use it to analyze each athletes batting and our pitchers pitching.
Some obstacles I face is getting the equipment, having someone to run the video and we would have tohave a high scaffold to video from.
We could run fund raises for the money, but being a inner city school, money is hard to come by for most parents. Uniforms and equipment eat up mos of the monies for the program.

Karen,
I use video in taping my team every game. Our school pays someone to video all of our games. We will have film sessions with our players. We will usually have this on the day before a game when we are not running them as hard. We also scout the other teams that we are going to play. We will order pizza and we have the players break down the films with us. This gives them a better understanding of our opponent.

I have used audio and video when teaching aerobic classes and it was very useful when teaching self defense and awareness classes. The purpose of the audio and video in aerobics was useful when I was not capable of teaching the pilates and yoga. The self defense tapes we used were very useful when we taught manuveres to get out of holds and to show the classes the various ways to stay safe on the streets

Hi Suzanne:
what curriculum do you use for teachign self defense and at what grade level do you teach it? What videos did you use for teaching the unit? I have been intereeted in doing this as a unit but am limited in knowledge. We have brought in guest speakers to teach a little bit about it, but it is hard to find someone to do it each semester and scheduling it can be difficult.
thanks,Mary

I constantly use audio in my teaching if I am inside during winter or rainy days. Using appropriate music during warmups, game play or glo -time bowling adds great atmosphere to the gym. I would not use it every day -however once or twice a month is perfect.If I teach my dance/jump rope unit ,I always use a varietyof music.
The video I used when started to teach was on a film loop. It worked perfect for a seperate station when teaching asport or gymnastic move. I very rarely ude a video since I do not have a television in my gym (on purpose!)Luckily, I work closelywith my music teacher and she will kindly show a small segment of a dance or geo motion performance for me.

We do use MP3 players, Video as well as still cameras, and a variety of radios and tape players. We video the children in their final stages of both Rhythmic Gymnastics and tumbling. This way we can show them what their routine looked like and how it could be improved. We have the students put their routines to music and this is when each group has the ability to use a tape/cd player. We are lucky that we can ask for these things from our parent teacher orginazation. The funding of this fantastic equipment would be the biggest obstacle. We did think of fundraisers (shoot-a-thon) that we could do in case the funding was not given to us.

I will use your idea of asking the PTA for funds to purchase a nice video camera and wireless microphone for our department. It seems when we want to use the school purchased one someone else is using it and it has to be reserved way in advance. With weather and assemblies etc. phys. ed. scheduling is sometimes tough. It would be nice to have our own video camera. I would love to use this for dance routines!

Hi, When i started coaching at Marist i would video our matches to look at after the event. After a few seasons i stopped because it was to time consuming. I was teaching full time and coaching at Marist. I have used the video in the past teaching to put together little snap shots for community night, which is when the parents come in to talk to the staff. I was also teaching solo so it was hard to video and run the class, now we team teach at times and it would be much easier to video parts of the class. Just recently i taped one of my high school classes for the Games Around the World class from Fresno. I would love to use high speed film annalysis. When i was working on my masters thesis at West Chester U. in PA. I did a high speed film analysis while heading a soccer ball at moderate speeds. I was trying to determine the change in head acceleration before during and after impact. It was a lot of fun. Most of the obstacles are facilites and schedualing. We do have a camera in the department. If i were to plan ahead schedual space in the big gym(with bleechers) and work with a co-worker that would be the most effective way to get it done.

I hope this works since I have no clue as to what the instant messenger box(above)is for or the box next to it.
I have used video in coaching basketball. I used it to tape players during practice when they were shooting free-throws. It is often difficult for students to visualize/understand what you are telling them about their technique. It helps if you show them what they are doing and tell them how to correct it. You then can tape them again, and show them how they have attempted to correct the form or not. It was very useful and the girls responded well to it. I recently tried this in a junior physical education class. I wanted to video tape two boys playing pickle ball. They are awesome players and I thought that I could use clips of them performing different skills as demonstrations when teaching pickleball skills to our sophmores. I checked out the video camera from our media department and got to my office and found that it was a video camera from the dark ages and there was no battery. I called the media specialist and asked for a battery pack. Due to budget cuts,there are no more batteries for the cameras, so I had to use the plug in adapter and extension cords. What an inconvenience to have to deal with the cords.
I would like to learn how to use one of the digital video cameras our middle school technology departments has purchased. They are small and would be easier to use than the dinosaur I used. Time is always a factor in learning to use new equipment. I am grateful that our school district has inservice days for professional development, but I wish they would let us choose the areas of professional development. Much of what is done for inservice professional development, like six traits writing, does not apply to the PE environment. It would be nice if our department could focus on things like this that are more relevant to our teaching environment.

I have used video in my PE classes - I use it to tape students in certain activities and our department also uses some exercise tapes when we are confined to our small "multi purpose" room. I like being able to tape the students doing a certain activity and then replay it back - normally I let them watch themselves on the day I give them their grade for the particular activity, but I can how letting them watch themselves before they do their final "routine" could help them. The problem for me is time and equipment. It isn't difficult to tape them - that can be done at anytime, it's finding the time to have the students watch themselves and critique themselves. As for the equipment, I have to reserve it way ahead of time and that makes it difficult. The most recent problem I had was that I taped an activity, but the equipment that I needed to have the students watch it on TV was misplaced, so the only way they could watch themselves was on the little tiny screen on the camera.

I certainly could use it much more - I have a friend who video taped a student using the equipment in the weight room and then up loaded it to his palm - in class when a student needs a quick "how to", he pulls up the video and lets the student watch. I would just need to organize my time a little better to allow the studnets time to watch. I already stated the equipment situation, but I know I could get around that. I could easily use my personal camera - and I could then immediately burn a DVD that the students could actually take and view on their own time. These are things I haven't actually thought about until now and I could start implementing some of these ideas today.

Hi- Yes, I have used audio and video in my teaching. I have used instructional videos to introduce dance routines and moves. In my fitness classes I used video to show exercises on the exercise balls. I have also used video to introduce Tae Bo moves to my students. The biggest obstacle was having a class of 30 watch these videos on a small t.v. screen. Not every student could always see, while trying the move. I would tell them to model the student in front, only sometimes that student did not have the best technique.
To overcome this problem I would try to break the class into smaller groups, offering more than one activity. We as a department requested a large screen projector that could project the video/dvd on the wall for viewing. This past year we recieved this and it made a huge difference in showing video/dvd to the class.
I would love to introduce video clips of student performance in my classes. I would use them as a tool for students to analyze their skills. The obstacle, make sure parent permission is given for students to be video taped. solution, I could type a form letter of permission to be taken home by each student to be signed by a parent at the beginning of the year. I would emphasize its use for instruction.

I have used video technology in my coaching career. The biggest obstacle I see is staying current with the technology, as if we as a coaching staff do not stay up-to-date their will be another school in our conference taht is up-to-date and that may be the difference in the outcome of the game.
Another big obstacle is financial. With a limited budget, it is impossible to stay completly current. We try to fundraise to cover costs, but their are many other essential costs that also need to come out of the budget.

Unfortuately, cost is a big obstacle, in any venue including technology in it. Especially since in a few years it is considered old. It can be very frustrating.