The bell rings and class begins. We press start on the department’s Apple iTouch or Apple Watch using the Seconds Pro app. The timer announces, “dressing down” over our sound system and students know they have four minutes to get ready for class. Many finish dressing early and head out to the gym to get their pedometer secured and do a ‘walk and talk’ around the main court with their peers or help finalize lesson setup.
A Simplified PE Warm-Up:
After the four minutes of locker room time the timer says, “warm-up time” and upbeat fitness music begins playing. Students immediately go to the nearest warm-up station and begin the dynamic warm-up of movement progressions. The music starting also signals to students they should be out of the locker room and have on their assigned FITstep™ Pro pedometer. Teachers now take attendance by looking at the remaining pedometers in the numbered wall pouch. The current warm-up is a perimeter of station cone signs where students rotate from station to station in a designated manner. After four minutes of warm-up time the timer says, “Warm-up Complete” and the music stops. The students report to their teacher and the rest of the lesson continues.
I have learned to use technology as an organizational tool to help make my daily routine more efficient.
This routine is built around the daily warm-up timer and a well-stocked teaching cart. I recommend using the ClassPlus™ Pedometer Cart. A wheeled cart is a priceless necessity for the gymnasium and helps keep all your teaching tools accessible, yet out of the way of your movement-based classroom. At any given time there’s a mix of paperwork, pencils, Plickers cards, pedometers, downloading station, laptop, sound system, LCD projector and more.
What technologies are organizational tools for you? What does your daily routine entail? Find ways to use technology in your routine to make your teaching more efficient! Here are the details on my current set-up routine.
My Daily Station Set-Up Routine:
Pedometers:
1) Set-up FITstep Pro Pedometer Software on laptop and check that FitStep data readers are in place. With my new FITstep Stream pedometers, I just need to make sure the software is open on my laptop and the Hub is on.
2) Hang up FITstep Pro Pedometers in their QwikID™ storage case using Command hooks (large 5 lb. capacity).
Sound setup:
1) Samson bluetooth, rechargeable speaker and iTouch with the day’s music selection and timers ready.
2) Turn on wireless Satechi remote to run sound if I am not going carry the iTouch during the lesson.
3) Put on personal PA/Shure wireless headset mic pack. Extra batteries on cart.
Having a portable, wireless, Bluetooth sound system with a wireless mic adapter is a necessity nowadays in physical education. Music highly motivates students and saving on your voice with a headset mic will not only allow students to hear instructions correctly but also prolong your career and increase the amount of energy you have left at the end of the day.
Additional support pieces in my routine:
1) Get Team Shake app going on my teacher iPad for placing students into equitable teams for the lesson.
2) Hang up my pocket chart for storing Plickers assessment cards, handouts or portfolio pieces.
3) I use my teacher iPad for attendance, fitness apps, taking photos and videos of students in action, and for use with my Apple TV and LCD projector.
Continuing the conversation: What technologies for organizational tools in PE work for you? What does your daily routine entail? Share your ideas in the comment section.
