"Using E-Mail With Your Physical Education Classes " by Tom Winiecki

With the explosion of the home computer on the scene, comes the accompanying explosion of e-mail accounts. E-mail has become a simple, and often times free way to communicate.

Physical education teachers have taken advantage of this medium to keep them informed and up to date. List-serves such as PE-Talk and NASPE-L, as well as others are excellent ways for fellow professionals to share ideas.

E-mail is also a great way for your students to communicate with you. All you have to do is set up the "ground rules" and away you go! One way that I have found to be very successful is to give my students a monthly question. I circulate this question a number of ways.

First, I post it on our web site at school. It is found under the link marked "What Do You Think?" I also have it posted in our school's newsletter that goes home each month. Finally, I give each student in my building (K-4) a handout that they take home each month that has the question on it.

In each version (web site link, newsletter article, and handout) I make it clear that I WANT their answer. I give them my school e-mail address. I want it to be as easy as possible for as many to participate as I can.

I also try to make the question relevant to my instruction at the time. For example, in the fall when our kids are excited about being back at school I ask a question like: "What are you looking forward to doing in PE this year?" The kids' answers to this question lend themselves to discussions about everything that will be covered over the course of the year. It gives me the opportunity to say that we will be doing a lot of things in class. Some may seem difficult, but we will give them all a try.

After all, they won't know how good they can be at something unless they give it a try! One of our objectives as physical education teachers is to give our students the ability to come up with their own activities when we are not around. Cleverly wording a question can help you gauge your students in this area; as well as helping guide some kids toward more activity.

Two such questions that I have used with great success are: "Describe your favorite sledding hill," and "What are you looking forward to doing this summer?" The sledding question allows me to do a couple of things. First it lets the kids share their knowledge and experience. They get to be the "teachers." Some of my kids that may not get outside much in the winter will be so motivated by hearing others talk about sledding somewhere, that they will want to go there as well. Second, it lets me talk about sledding as a great outdoor exercise. That walk back up the hill is a great way to strengthen their heart and legs. Now, I've tied in something that the kids like to do and can do on their own (sledding) to the principles that I teach in class (heart rate, muscle overload). Imagine an eight-year-olds face when I tell him that his PE homework is to find their favorite sledding hill and go sledding this weekend! Imagine, homework that is both fun and good for you at the same time!

The question about summer time activities allows me to talk to the kids about having time on their hands and how they are "on their own" so to speak. They get to talk about what they are looking forward to doing (again, they are the "teachers"). I can tie in all of the things we did over the course of the year; and how they can do some of it at home, either on their own, or with their buddies. For the next few months, they are responsible for their own fitness. I'm making them aware that there won't always be someone there telling them what to do. This will begin to arm them with the ability to do things on their own. That is one of our main goals in the first place.

All of the answers I get each month are displayed two ways. First, they are posted on our web site under the link "What Do You Think?" Previous month's answers are listed under the "Archives" link on the site's main page.

While the use of e-mail and the Internet is ever spreading, I realize that not everyone has access to them. So as not to exclude anyone, all of the answers are also printed out and displayed in the hallway outside of the gym at school. This way everyone can see all of the answers. It also goes without saying that answers are also accepted that are hand written.

Classroom teachers are pleased, because their students get practice in keyboarding, writing and spelling. I'm happy, because I've found another way to draw more kids into my program.

By wording the question carefully, I can draw more types of people into this activity. For example, this month (December 1999) I ask the question "What is your best memory of PE from when you were a kid?" I am getting answers from my students, but I am also getting many answers from adults. Answers are coming in from all over the country!

Some of these memories, I have found, have lead people to become physical education teachers themselves! I hope to have all of these answers compiled and ready to be posted in time for the Christmas vacation.

Now, when everyone is together with family and talking about good memories; they can also be looking at our answers and possibly talking about their good PE memories as well. If not by then, they will certainly be posted in January 2000.

Another question I asked last year was: "What was your favorite PE game of all time?" By phrasing it this way ("of all time."), I invited parents and teachers to participate. These answers led to many discussions about what used to be done in physical education. It allowed my students to compare and contrast past and present activities. One of the answers I received was from a teacher in my building that I had when she was in 3rd and 4th grade!

I suppose that I could accomplish this without using e-mail. I am convinced I wouldn't get nearly the response I get now! I try to make a habit out of sending a reply to all of my answers. It's not only great public relations for the parents, the kids also love getting their own e-mail message. It's a great way to keep all of my kids interested and involved in my program.

If you do decide to try this, I hope you have as much success as I've had! Feel free to contact me if you would like to know more about what we do.

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