Featured Articles

Using Web Search Engines Search engines can search an individual site such as Alta Vista, Google, HotBot, or others. These allow you to search the database that is available at that site. Other search engines are MetaSearch engines, that allow you to search many databases with one search. Examples of meta search engines are Dogpile, and Metacrawler. In addition, there are Web Indexes which are catalogs, or directories, that give you tools for browsing. Organization of indexes may be alphabetically, or by topic. Examples of these are Academic Info, which searches educational resources, and Librarians' Index to the Internet, which provides annotated searches. Specific sites have their own searching capabilities. PE-Talk has an archive search available. This can be used to find what has been written on topics. At ERIC, the Educational Resource Information Center, you retrieve citations and abstracts for education-related literature relevant to your search topic. These citations and abstracts are called "resumes." This site is one of the most comprehensive sites available. Most search engines allow the use of boolean operators. They are used to expand or narrow a search, and are represented by the words AND, OR, and NOT. 'AND' searches for material that contains both words in the search, such as children AND sport. This will limit material found to that which deals with both topics. 'OR' searches for material that has one term or the other, such as children OR sport. This would expand the search to material that deals with children, sport, or children and sport. 'NOT' searches for material that has one term, and not the other, such as children NOT sport. This limits searches to material that contains one topic, but not the other. Searching Hints and evaluating material In the "Information Age", one can find a wealth of information on most topics. How do we sift through huge amounts of information and identify sources that are appropriate and reliable? Whether information is from books, periodicals, on the Internet, or other sources, the material can not be assumed reliable. The user is responsible for evaluating information and judging its quality. Five questions you should ask about any material are: Authority Accuracy and Documentation Objectivity and Purpose Currency and Review Process Authority; Who wrote this, what is their background, and might they have a bias? If they are selling something they may not be accurate. Accuracy and Documentation; Are the facts accurate, are there references, and do they plagiarize or paraphrase the sources? Objectivity and Purpose; Are they trying to inform, persuade, present opinions, report research, or sell a product? Who is the intended audience? (General public, scholars in the field, etc.) Currency; When was it posted, updated, and is the information still relevant? Review Process; Is there any review process, who did the review, and was the material edited after the review? Always ask these questions when searching material, which will help you be aware.

 

A PowerPoint presentation on the Fitnessgram is available from americanfitness.net. This can help with a presentation for your parents or students. There is also a presentation that gives a tour of using the Fitnessgram. If you are looking for information, this is a great place to start.

Teaching Ideas

Developing Rubrics has been made easier with "The Rubricator" from New Measures, and is an easy way to develop rubric for your classes. There is a 14-day free trial download available. They also have two other programs that are of interest. The "Syllabus/Matrix" and "The Standards-Bases Gradebook" will help link your syllabus to the learning that you want to occur. Once you have your program based on the National Standards, the Standards-Based Gradebook will help make sure you are teaching the material you intend. Check these out at rubrics.com/ Zing.com Have you ever wanted to convert your PE digital pictures into prints and online albums for others to see? Or do your students want to develop an electronic portfolio on their PE achievements? Want to share your Album with others for free, or use PE photos on greeting cards for fundraising or advocacy purposes? This site is sure to help! Zing has recently upgraded their site format to provide users a lot more options for editing pictures. In addition to advanced cropping and image filters, you will find lots of great clip art, borders, and special effects. Log on and enjoy!

PE Archives

Please let your colleagues know about PELINKS4U, and remember you can catch up on a year's worth of news in our PE Archives.

Miscellaneous

Bookmarks Online If you ever need to carry your online bookmarks with you for ready access, now you can. Check out either of these two sites. onlinefavourites.com backflip.com Clip Art Online Among the many free clip art sites, clipart.com is a great starting point, with links to many other sources.

Commentary

Choosing a cordless microphone I've used the same cordless mic for 100 days of schools, and summer camps, for the past five years, indoors and out - over 500 days without a problem. The collar mic wraps around your neck and stays however you wrap it. I chose a collar mic because I didn't like the rig that went over my head and pinched my temples, the setup that comes with most of aerobic mics. Also, the mic is very unobtrusive. All you see is the part that comes out from under the collar. One great feature is that when I ask kids in the audience a question, I just straighten the collar part of the mic, and it becomes a mini boom mic which I can extend to the student to obtain their reply, and everyone can hear. My microphone came from Sportime, and works with the "Liberty" sound system I bought there also. My "Liberty" has withstood the trip to these 500 separate venues over the past five years, and is still going strong on the original batteries. At a summer camp I can run for about 4 hours without plugging in. I have had the built-in tape deck and the built-in wireless receiver serviced once, but it didn't cost me anything because of the manufacturer's extended warrantee. Dave Finnigan Juggling for Success

Contribute YOUR Ideas

If you have ideas, comments, letters to share, or questions about particular topics, please email one of the following Technology PE Section Editors:

	Debby Mitchell
	Mike Dumin
	Ruth Morrey Sorrentino

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