This month’s Technology Section of pelinks4u will focus on using "One Note" and forms to record and evaluate video data, using named fields in Excel, and share sites that can be used to find information on substance abuse.

Tablet PCs, attached digital camera, wireless microphone/mixer/local microphone, and One Note™ (included with Office Pro 2003) provide a convenient way to capture video and analyze teaching. Using a template with NASPE standard put into performances, video data is recorded and analyzed during the assessment session. One Note™ allows pen or keyboard entry. Data is linked to the video at the point of entry on the form. You can set a rewind feature that will link the video to a point a set time prior to the link. When you play the video, text will highlight when corresponding video is showing, or if you click on the text the video will play at the point that corresponds to the data entered. Information can be burned to a CD/DVD, stored on a server, or sent to the student. This technology can help the teacher document skill performance.

Computer hardware, software, and digital video have now reached a point where it is simple and convenient to use. This does not require a lot of equipment or technical ability to use, and the output can be a great aid to teachers in documenting the assessment of skills.

Tablet PCs, attached digital cameras, remote audio, and One Note™ work together seamlessly to provide teachers with video, and the ability to analyze skills during teaching. The teacher can wear a wireless microphone, or the teacher can be wired directly to the receiver attached to the computer so audio and written comments can be imbedded into the video session with the written assessment. Using a template with NASPE or state standards, video recording is started during the assessment session. The teacher can enter data using a pen on the screen or the keyboard, or mouse for normal data entry. The pen also acts as a mouse so you may quickly move the appropriate point on the check sheet. Data is linked to the video at that point of the mouse click or pen contact.

Students can develop a better understanding of their own skill performance, and they can view their own performance with the relevant comments incorporated directly into the material. This aids in understanding the performance by the student. We can document changes in the students skill performance over time. In a time of increased accountability at all levels of education this is important.

When you play the video, the text will highlight when the corresponding video is showing. You may click on the text, and the video that is attached will open at that point. This makes it easy to play and review the skill data with the student. Information can be burned to a CD/DVD, or stored on a server. When you dock your computer in your office, or attach to the wireless network, the data can automatically be transferred to your local server. The student data may be incorporate into an electronic portfolio.

Radford University’s athletic training program faculty are using this technology to document accomplishment of skills proficiency. Faculty and students can use One Note™ to analyze skills using a rubric, and they can compare their results to standards.

How Pregnancy Works - During pregnancy, an egg transforms from a tiny mass of cells into a living, breathing baby. Learn how the fetus develops during each trimester of the pregnancy and find out how the baby finally makes its way into the world.

How Blood Works - It's the most commonly tested part of the body, and it is truly the river of life.

How Your Kidneys Work More - than 300,000 people suffer from renal failure each year and undergo dialysis or await a kidney transplant. But what do your kidneys do? Why are they so important? Learn how your kidneys work and how they affect your whole body on a daily basis.

How Dieting Works - Dieting is a multibillion dollar industry in the United States, but it doesn't work for most people. The standard story is: Lose 20, gain 30. But there are healthy, effective ways to lose weight. Find out why most diets fail and what you can do to make yours work.

Schools are using grade book programs, or Excel based grade books, as a way to keep track of students. Excel is a convenient way to keep track of class data, but you can use formulas to analyze data. Palm compatible and Windows based handheld computers can be used to collect data in the field, and then transferred to the desktop computer. Most data is easily analyzed using the standard features on the function bar (average, sums, count, minimum, maximum), or just standard math functions such as addition, subtraction, multiplication or division.

Sometimes it would be easier to write a formula that will be used repeatedly if we could place a constant value in the formula by using a name. When comparing scores on a fitness test, such as the Presidents Council on Physical Fitness Test, the Fitnessgram, a specific state test, or scores you have set for your school, it would be nice to have a way to enter a score and compare it to the appropriate standard. The use of a named field allows us to do this. The passing score for 12 year old males on the pacer test is 32. We can enter 32 in a cell, then use:

Insert > Name > Define provides a place to enter the list of names such as pacer_12_year_old.

Insert > Name > Create will then label the cell, and now you can use the name in formulas as a constant.

Excel can now make decisions based on passing scores on the test. In addition we can get class summary data on fitness tests, projects, and tests. Once we have data, we can link this data to reports and certificates.

Substance Abuse Theme Page - The Community Learning Network is a resource for K-12 health lessons. You can find specific lesson plans and general information that will help you prepare lessons.

Teachnology - The teachnology web site bills itself as the web portal for educators. There is an open section and a members section. You can link to a wide variety of health topic lessons from this site.

American Council for Drug Education's Facts for Educators. The American Council for Drug Education's site offers ideas for the classroom, lesson plans, drug free schools, signs and symptoms, and research. There is also an address to submit your lessons to so others can share your ideas.

Discovery Education discoveryschool.com - The Discovery channel has lessons on drug abuse available. They have many good lesson ideas.

Columbia Education Center is a consortium of teachers from 14 western states dedicated to improving the quality of education in the rural, western, United States. These are three of their lessons: Substance Abuse Influences (grade: 4 - 6), Magic Bullets (grade: 4 - 9), & Group Rope Squares (grade: 5 - 12, Adult/Continuing education).

Google Scholar will give you studies that may include lesson plans. These are helpful in knowing how effective the lessons were. This goes beyond having just a lesson. If you need to document the effectiveness of what you want to do in the school, or are preparing for a grant, this is a great research tool. In most cases you can find links to the full text article, as well as materials used in the article.

ARTICLE: " The Effects of Multidimensional Anabolic Steroid Prevention Intervention: The Athletes Training and Learning to Avoid Steroids (ATLAS) Program." This file give information on the results of a study, with samples of lessons about steroid abuse.

ARTICLE: "Implementation of an Empirically Based Drug and Violence Prevention and Intervention Program in Public School Settings." This article provides the results of a bullying and drug intervention program.

ARTICLE: Nipping Early Risk Factors in the Bud: Preventing Substance Abuse, Delinquency, and Violence in Adolescence Through Interventions Targeted at Young Children (0–8 Years). Links to the full text article are available.

While at the Southern District Convention in Virginia Beach, VA, one of the booths was the National Library of Medicine. This is a part of the National Institute of Health, and is the world's largest medical library. The site links to data bases such as: Pub Med, a source of medical literature; MedlinePlus, a source of medical and drug information for parents and others; Tox Town, a source of information on environmental chemicals and issues; Genetics Home Reference, a consumer information source for genetic conditions, and the genes or chromosomes responsible for those conditions; and the Commission on Systemic Interoperability, which has developed a strategy to make healthcare information instantly accessible at all times, for consumers and their healthcare providers.

A related site is the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, which has 2 purposes: providing all U.S. health professionals with equal access to biomedical information, and improving the public's access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about their health.

Talwin and Ritalin: The ABCs - Combining Talwin and Ritalin are another way kids are abusing medications. The reasons vary, from getting 'high' to expecting better concentration when studying, or staying awake to party. Read this information.

Date Rape and Club Drugs - “Date rape drugs” are being used with increasing frequency in cases of sexual assault on college and university campuses. Gamma Hydroxy Butrate (GHB), Ketamine, and Rohypnol are among the most popular illicit drugs used in date rape. People may unknowingly be given the drugs mixed with alcohol, which can render victims unconscious and prevent them from resisting sexual assault. Read more...

Also see womenshealth.gov for more information on date rape drugs, and a five page article from about.com that provides VERY thorough information on these the different date rape drugs.

Oxycontin: Prescription Drug Abuse - This premiere issue of the CSAT Advisory focuses on the growing use and abuse of OxyContin®, as well as on its addiction potential. See also, the National Drug Intelligence Center Information Bulletin: This bulletin addresses the diversion and abuse of the prescription pain reliever OxyContin, and the impact of abuse, particularly in the eastern United States. This Publication provides substantive information about the background of Oxycontin, spread of abuse, related legislation, criminal activity, and outlook.

Drinking - If you drink - or your friends do - here are things you need to know about alcohol poisoning. Also see these facts. You may not realize it, but kids are drinking and dying. Alcohol kills more than 6 times more young people than all other illicit drugs combined.

At freevibe.com you will find some good information on inhalants. Read information from the Complete Guide to DXM in Non-Prescription Drugs. Read the stories of kids who have misused Coricidin.See Experiences with Chlorpheniramine Maleate containing DXM products, and read the stories of kids who have misused the drug. They have horror stories.

Read Addicted to cough medicine? This is a very good article. Information that is being presented SHOULD be enough to scare ANYONE into not abusing medications.