Teaching with Technology Philosophy Statement

The use of technology in Physical Education can be effective if students are motivated to use it properly and if teachers are versed on how to implement it correctly. In teaching Physical Education, the amount of time spent on physical activity per class period should be above 51%.  If technology can be used to enhance the lesson while maintaining or improving total activity time, then it can be a great thing.   The challenge is how can teachers make sure this happens? 

There are numerous ways that certain technologies can enhance a Physical Education class period if used correctly.  The generation of K-12 students that are of our immediate interest is a group that grew up with rapidly changing technology and are sometimes more adequate at using technology than us teachers.   Using technology in lessons can be another way to reach students that are not reached by basic teaching methods.  Due to the familiarity with using technology so often in their everyday life, students might find that it adds to the enjoyment of physical activity and the P.E. class.  Incorporating technology in lessons is also a good way to change up teaching styles which is important in a long school year.  It can emphasize learning in a different domain other than the usual emphasis on psychomotor.  There are countless other reasons that technology can benefit students in a Physical Education class, none of which would be relevant without the proper execution by the teacher. 

There are also reasons why using technology can benefit teachers.  Technology can be used in preparation of lessons, tracking certain things that are used in assessment such as participation and attendance and can be used in skill breakdown.  A video of a skill could be shown along with the presentation of that skill, and could prove very useful especially for visual learners.  The key is figuring out when to use technology and which of the variety of technologies to choose to enhance a class.  If bringing technology in the class room takes away from activity time, it would be hard to justify its use. 

That being said, I think it is important that teachers are open-minded about incorporating technology into Physical Education classes.  Technology is forever changing and improving and it is important to keep up to date with new ideas so that when something comes along that can benefit the students and our classrooms, we don’t miss out on that opportunity.