In this edition of Technology and Physical Education I would like to discuss ways to prepare for the new school year. This will encompass a carry-over value that can be accomplished with a summer fitness calendar, and then continued into the new school year. The fitness calendars can be found at: fitness calendars.

With that thought, you should realize that learning never stops, and preparations can be made to take summer courses, and by going to conventions and/or workshops.

Here is a summer fun podcast that can carry over from summer to the new school year. The podcast can be found at episode #34 by scrolling down the page, below the 10 commandments of PE, and click 'episode #34' from the list in the blue badge.

This is also a great time to look over your curriculum and engage in a curriculum mapping project so there is no overlap and redundancy. It's also a good time to peruse past lessons to see what worked, and those that need amending.

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Included in this issue will be a continuum of vocabulary terminology, and tips and tricks to be utilized with software and hardware applications and programs.

Gerry Cernicky
Guest Technology Section Editor

Please check the Technology archives for other vocabulary terms, and to better understand the definitions below.

Quicktime VR - developed by Apple for displaying multimedia (animation, audio, video) on computers, QuickTime VR moves the photographic image from the flat 2D world into the definitive immersive experience - complete with 3D imagery and interactive components.

Virtual reality - an artificial environment created with computer hardware and software, with the environment presented to the user in such a way that it appears and feels like the real thing.

DOS - is a disc operating system, which refers to any operating system which uses a 16 bit system that doesn't support multiple users or multitasking.

Virtual memory - refers to an imaginary set of locations, or addresses, where you store data. It is imaginary in the sense that the memory area is not the same as physical memory.

Safe mode - is a specific way for the Windows operating system to load when there is a critical problem interfering with the normal operation of Windows.

RSS - Stands for "Really Simple Syndication." is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines, or podcasts, which get 'fed' to readers automatically.

Memory: internal storage areas of the computer. Identifies data storage in the form of chips, and a word storage that exists on tapes or disks.

T1 - a type of data connection able to transmit a digital signal at fast speeds. The lines are used to connect and link large computers together.

Device driver - allows hardware peripheral, known as a device, to communicate with a computer.

Here are some devices that can help make the connection between technology and physical education. Each can be acquired through grants or personal /educational pursuits.

Pedometers - in many cases pedometers can be accrued on a free basis from such auspices as AARP, McDonalds, Special K, and others that promote a healthy lifestyle. They are basic models that serve as a device to accumulate steps.

models

	DigiWalker 701
	Yamax DigiWalker
	Sportline 330
	KenzLifecorder
	Omron HJ-112
	New Lifestyles NL-2000

For more information that includes lesson plans, teacher tools, and research, check out PE Central's Pedometer Site.

Heart Rate monitors - here are the results of the best choices from Runners World Magazine:

	Polar A3 - review says it guides you like a personal trainer and allows you to view previous workouts.
	Polar F11 - has a "Keep Your Fit Workout program" that sets personal goals, keeps you in target heart rate zone, and tracks calories.
	Acumen Basix ES - has a zone goal countdown timer, and an easy set up heart rate zone with audio and video alarms.
	Garmin Forerunner - has a global positioning system that tells you how far and how fast you're going. It has a PC based software, and sports based heart rate profile.

Compare prices on these four monitors at Consumer Search.

Treadwall - is a rotating climbing wall that moves by body weight alone. It can be used for warm-ups, workouts, and training. There are other products including climbing walls, traverse, free standing, top rope climbing, and home climbing walls.

Geocasching - is an entertaining adventure game for global positioning system (gps) users. The basic idea is to have individuals or organizations set up caches all over the world, and share those locations on the internet. Then, GPS users can use the location coordinates to find the location. For more information, peruse over to a podcast and Episode #28. Check out some GPS products.

Here are some tips to get the school year started on a positive note that will make the process a successful and rewarding experience.

Establish procedures in the beginning. Let students know what is expected of them. Don't make a list of rules telling them what they can't do. Instead make a student-created list of what is expected. Be realistic in your expectations. Don't expect the students to do more than they are capable of as anxiety will be the result.

Here is an example of preparing the students each new school year that comes in the form of a discipline podcast. To listen to the episode, which is number 33, click on the blue badge that can be found here by scrolling down the page under the 10 Commandments of PE.

	Develop a classroom management program that is posted and understood by all teachers, students, and parents (Hellison's Model)
	Establish a PE newsletter to introduce to parents what is being taught in your curriculum.
	Make a school homepage (PE) that comes replete with lesson plans, rubrics, digital photos, and information of all activities and special programs for the school year.
	Check that equipment is safe and in good working order.
	Develop a fitness calendar, that includes the entire school year, to serve as a resource tool to include the family unit to provide for a lifetime of fitness and public relations tool ( check out Best Practices at PE Central, and the link for the calendar at fitness calendar.
	Develop podcasts that serve as a P.R. device to inform parents, community, and administration what really goes on in P.E. Episodes can be found at Talkshoe.

PREPARE YOURSELF

	Develop a diary or a blog to jot down your thoughts and impressions of the day's events.
	Did a lesson go well or particularly bad? Why? Did a discipline problem arise? How was it handled?
	Have an appointment calendar or contact list on your PDA to document events and schedule observations, so as not to forget possible problems that may occur later. An example, a student's parent called to complain about your discipline policy.
	A personal survival kit such as band aids, ice packs, sanitizer, duct tape, and clothes.

PREPARE THE WAY

	Prepare yourself by checking the school building and grounds, including making all safety checks for all equipment.
	Review all school policies and procedures to make sure you are aware of procedures for fire and emergency evacuations.
	Make friends, not only with support staff, but other teachers and administrators.

PREPARE YOUR TEACHING AREA

	Make bulletin boards with rules, photos, skills, and appropriate objectives and upcoming events.
	Set up the gym according to your individual teaching style. It will help name learning, establish respect, and maintain class control.
	Obtain supplies and equipment that is appropriate to each grade level.
	Review lesson plans and materials. Develop a curriculum mapping project to see if there is an overlap or redundancy in the curriculum.
	Prepare materials for the students to take home and practice (homework or fitness calendars).
	As you move through the day, explain and practice class routines.
	Take pictures of students, and save for Parents Night, or student of the month bulletin boards.

What Are Neurotransmitters, and How They Affect Your Life? Just like hormones govern many chemical functions in the body, the brain's chemical functions are governed by messengers called neurotransmitters.

A neurotransmitter is a chemical messenger used by neurons (nerve cells) to communicate in one direction with other neurons. These neurotransmitters are either excitatory or inhibitory. Each cell receives its instructions through nerve processes called dendrites and it passes on instructions to the next cell through its axon. The gap between the axon of one cell and the dendrite of the next is called a synapse. Find out more.

Balancing the Brain's Neurotransmitters
- Amino acids are found in protein and they feed the brain’s neurotransmitters which effect behavior and learning skills. Having a deficiency in neurotransmitters can dramatically effect people’s ability to learn and can cause erratic behavior. The Amino acids & ADHD connection is supported by the fact that many children with ADHD are born with a deficiency in neurotransmitters. This also suggests a genetic link.

This article provides some basic knowledge of neurotransmitters. Read more.

Biological Causes of Depression - Biological causes of clinical depression continue to be studied extensively. Great progress has been made in the understanding of brain function, the influence of neurotransmitters and hormones, and other biological processes, as well as how they may relate to the development of depression. This is a great article, so read the rest.

Brain Tour - This is an extremely good tour of the brain, and provides a wealth of great information, including a comparison between a healthy brain and one with Alzheimer's disease. Check it out!

Our Favorite Neurotransmitters -The three neurotransmitters we are most familiar with, serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, are classified as monoamines according to their chemical makeup. The monoamine hypothesis holds that mood disorders are caused by a depletion in one or more of these neurotransmitters. Read about these big three, not to mention another mighty two (glutamate and GABA), and the unsung one (substance P).

Anytime we can promote health and physical education, it must be realized that public relations must not only reach the students, the parents, and the community; it has to extend to the legislative and governing bodies that implement grants and monies to fulfill all the needs of each school district.

Here is a commentary from Jeff Haebig that defines all the things that are good with PR and P.E. Check out his 'brain boogie' website.

Why PE is absolutely essential is so glaringly apparent it is easily overlooked.

All academic skills (drawing, writing, reading, spelling, calculating, problem solving, keyboarding, paying attention, focusing, etc.) have their neurological foundation. That is to say, all academic performance skills are the result of sensory input and motor output. The reason why so many students are challenged in school results from immature or under-developed sensory and motor systems.

These student may lack visual acuity (near/far vision, binocular eye-teaming, smooth eye pursuit, eye convergence and eye divergence, visual memory, etc.) all of which are strengthened through sensory-motor activities common in PE.

Many students have auditory challenges as well, interfering with auditory word closure, sound blending, etc., essential for reading success. The vestibular system is strongly implicated, as the eighth cranial nerve connected to the auditory system is part of the vestibular structure. PE strengthens this system through balancing, rolling, spinning. swinging, and stop and go activities. The attentional system is also hooked up to the vestibular system, another reason why so many students have attentional and focusing challenges.

Dopamine, a major neurochemical that orchestrates the executive frontal lobes regulating thinking is produced in large part through gross motor movement. Ritalin can stimulate production as well, but why not allow students to self-regulate their neurochemicals (serotonin, endorphin, adrenaline, dopamine, etc.) through body activities available in PE.

Many students also have retained primitive reflexes that interfere with sitting still, writing fluidly, etc. Physical activities integrate the ATNR, STNR, Palmar, and TLR reflexes allowing students to carry out academic skills with greater ease and precision.

Many students also have academic challenges resulting from weak tactile and proprioceptive sense resulting in weaker body concept, body schema, posture, directionality, laterality, midline function, etc. all of which are strengthened through physical movements found in PE.

Excess stress is also a contributor to learning problems. Physical activities provide the means for students to regulate their adrenal system to tone down their sympathetic system (fight, flight, freeze) and engage the calming parasympathetic response needed to achieve optimal learning states.

By understanding the role physical movement plays strengthening the auditory, visual, tactile, proprioception, vestibular, reflex/posture, sensory and motor systems, and how all of this is the neurological foundation for learning - one soon understands that organized neurostimulating movement available through PE is essential to learning.

Armed with the information, and tips and trick from this issue, following is a summary of possibilities when working with technology this year. Also, don't forget to upgrade your hardware, as well as the available software that comes on a manufacturer's website. This will keep your equipment in good working order and possibly prevent future problems . Here are some tips:

REPAIR, REPLACE, RETUNE

	Install new software
	Perform computer maintenance
	Clean up files
	Upgrade personal and school webpages
	Update knowledge of Web Page creation
	Recharge your "batteries" and go to conferences
	Take a computer technology class
	Spend the SUMMER playing with technology
	Set one tech goal this SUMMER and focus on it
	Volunteer services in school's tech department to learn more skills
	Participate in the tech planning committee
	Become a technology mentor
	Help other teachers integrate technology
	Include heart rate monitors and pedometers
	Develop slideshows and movies for feedback
	Include digital photography/bulletin board for skill progression
	Make lessons on an Ipod for homework/resources
	Use a camcorder to make movies for skill progression
	NEA: 33 ways to start the first year off right
	CONFERENCES

So you'd like to... boost your kid's technology skills - Here you will find some resources worth reviewing, and please do read this person's commentary. It's very good, and as an Information Technology Specialist myself, I totally agree with this person's opinion.

The Busy Body Book: A Kid's Guide to Fitness - The reviews on this book are good, so why not check it out? You can even get a used book price at Amazon. You will find some other resource books on this page too. All in all, this is a site worth reviewing well.

Taking kids does fat lot of good - It's a crime that in 2007 youngsters on this planet are still starving to death - but in Britain it could soon be illegal to give your kids TOO MUCH food.

A summary of this article is that parents teach, and kids learn what is taught. Right now I'm teaching my 4 year old grandson (I raise him) about 'whole' foods, feed him mostly whole foods, and he's very excepting and cooperative. Treats, such as a donut, is saved for Saturdays if there's been mostly good behavior ALL WEEK.