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The goal of this project is to use pedometers (a device that counts steps) and computers to help fourth or fifth grade students get active, learn the components of fitness, and a few fun games and activities along the way. The pedometers and computers would be used to gather information and help motivate students to increase their exercise intensity during each PE class. The ultimate goal of this project is that children will possess the knowledge and desire to maintain a healthy level of physical fitness throughout their lifetime.
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| How it Relates to the Curriculum | Marketing Plan |
| Activity Structure | Interested Telecollaborators |
| Similar Projects | Maintaining Communication |
| Project Details | Closure |
HOW IT RELATES TO THE CURRICULUM
This project meets two NASPE National Standards. Standard 3: Participates regularly in physical activity and Standard 4: Achieves and maintains a healthy level of physical fitness. These standards can be found on the AAHPERD website. Most states and school systems will have a standard written about the components of fitness. In Howard County, Maryland, it is written in the fourth and fifth grade fitness objectives as: The student will be able to compare the health-related fitness components; select and perform physical activities that enhance each component.
This project is designed around data collection and information exchange. After registering, each class will be required to create a Power Point presentation on the fitness component they are assigned. They will also come up with a game or activity to help enhance that fitness component. This information will be shared with the other schools via the internet. Classes will use their pedometer miles from PE class to travel to the other participating schools across the country. Each participating class will be given a map that will indicate the number of miles needed to reach each school.
The data collection is a 3 step
ongoing process:
I could add a Question-and-Answer Activity to it, but hesitate as this is a new project. If the first try is successful, then this would be one of the first additions I would implement into the next project.
There are two projects already on the net that I have found. Since using pedometers in PE class is relatively new, and when you combine that with the fact that PE internet projects are scarce, that's why I only found two projects that used pedometers. Both projects are set up for students to enter their own data. They are not set up as a telecollaborative project between classes.
Since this is the meat of the project, I have created a webpage that can be used to view the details of the project. Click here to visit the project home page. To calculate the distance between schools, I would use the How Far is It website.
I would start to get the word out about my project by contacting PE Central. PE Central is a well known web site for Physical Education teachers across the country. Next, I would contact Global Schoolhouse Net's project registry to get this project put on their database. This would be a great start on getting the word out. Two other places I would go are NASPE - National Association for Sport & Physical Education and The Maryland Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance to get the word out across country. I would also contact our Physical Education Instructional Facilitator, Jackie French, about ways to get the word out county-wide.
The first thing I would do after being contacted by an interested teacher is to thank them for their interest and be sure they have an adequate number of pedometers for each child in the class and access to power point. I would send them a link of the timeline and tell them to record these important dates. I would end with thanking them and look forward to working with them throughout the year and to email me at anytime with questions. If the project meets its capacity, I would have an apology email ready. This email would express sorrow that the project is full, but with their permission, I would keep their email to notify them first if this project is run again in the future or if space becomes available in the current project.
Maintaining a flow of communication with all teachers involved with this project is a must. I will send out group emails to remind everyone of the dates and suggest some activities they should currently be doing or have finished. After the registration date, it will be important to keep in contact with the teachers in case I decide to have them go to a destination and start their journey to the next place from there instead of returning to their home school location. I will also make sure the power points are sent out immediately after notification that classes have reached their destination. As we get towards May, I will contact those schools who have not made it to all their destinations to be sure that they are on track to finish the project and make any adjustments that would be necessary.
This project's actual end date will based on when the schools finish their traveling. This will also depend on how spread across the country the participating schools are. In May, after the classes have visited all their schools, I would send each teacher a copy of all the power points and activities for their future use. A suggestion would be made that the classes play all the games and review all the components of fitness they have learned about during the year. I would also ask them for any feedback or suggestions to be taken into account should this project be done again. I could also send a certificate for each student that will tell them how many miles they walked while doing this project.