One of the main goals of my Game Plan was to find ways to implement types of technology into my physical education classes and to find possible alternatives to cover the cost of certain types of new technology that must be purchased. I have found mass amounts of information about implementing various types of technology into physical education that encourages participation and increases levels of physical activity. Things such as the Wii and DDR are being used successfully in most every state in the country. I have found many websites with specific lesson plans using this very type of technology. Finding new technology for me to use has not been a problem. The major problem I have discovered is related to the funding for these items. They are expensive and not a priority for schools that are in financial distress. I have learned there are certain grants available, but I have no experience with this process. If I do not quickly get assistance from colleagues or other people regarding grant writing, I will definitely have to alter this part of my GAME Plan.
The second goal of my GAME Plan was to model digital-age work and learning. I have found many websites that have given me new ideas, strategies, and lesson plans that will enable me to fullfill this goal. There are also fellow physical education teachers in this course that have provided positive feedback and shared ideas they currently have. There will be more questions to arise, but so far so good.
Tracy,
ReplyDeleteIt appears that your GAME plan is rolling along, despite discovering answers that I am sure are discouraging to hear.
The funding issue is a real one and is not going away anytime soon. I feel like the only way to convince administration that something is worthwhile is through a grant or a serious issue. Like you, I have no grant-writing experience, and I would not want to have an issue arise in order to get a few more items.
Even if an incident did not occur, that does not mean students are safe. As physical education teachers, our responsibility is to ensure that students are leading a healthy lifestyle now and down the road; if lacking in technology hampers their ability to discover additional methods of being physical active, major issues will arise in their lifetime. I guess that is not important though; they must feel it is more important to buy a new set of textbooks the teachers will not even use.
Richard,
DeleteYour point is well taken. I do not think any struggling school will provide funding for technology in physical education classes. The reasons I believe this are because I think most people have the understanding that technology is not a necessity in teaching children how to lead healthy lifestyles and to become physically active.
Tracy,
ReplyDeleteThe financial burden we face today seems to present us with the ultimate challenge. That being said I am glad you are looking into ways to incorporate technological tools such as the Wii and DDR into your PE curriculum. As I mentioned before I face these same challenges. I did have an idea for you to possibly get your hands on some game systems for a pretty cheap price. I was wondering if you could rent a couple of Wii’s or DDRs from a gaming store. You could present it to the owner or store manager as free advertisement of their products. Tell them you are a PE teacher and you would like to integrate the DDR or Nintendo Wii into your teaching lessons. You teach X amount of students who you would like to introduce to these products. This could lead to sales for the store. You could even tell your students where you rented the products from. I know we have a few stores like this where I live. Maybe you have retail stores that sell used or even new gaming supplies that are willing to rent with the possibility of purchase.
Mike,
DeleteThanks for the idea. I think it is something that might actually work. Even if I can only get one or two, at least I will be able to introduce something new that a lot of students have never used. I think you're exactly right about the sales pitch to be used with the store owner. Again, thanks for the idea!
Tracy - Ah, yes. Money. That is always the issue it seems. Luckily there are plenty of financial opportunities for those who put forth the effort to ask for it. The first thing you should do before writing the grant is to look for local resources. Before you write to a huge corporation like Microsoft, you might see if there are any local businesses who would be willing to partner with your school to provide access to the kinds of technology you are looking for. Of course, they will probably want some free advertising out of the deal, but try and give it a shot.
ReplyDeleteWhen you have tried local companies, the next thing to do is to find a directory of grants that would be applicable to your situation. Yes there is still plenty of funding in this bad economy but much of it will probably not apply to your situation. Find grants aimed at teachers and technology. A quick search brought me to http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/ltp/home/index.html
Although with NASA possibly having $200 million cut from its budget, you probably better get on that quick! The process of grant writing is not very difficult. There are plenty of templates out there that you can tweak to suit your purpose. A name change here, a goal there, and you are on your way! Good luck!
Vernon Camp
Vernon,
DeleteThanks for the information you provided in your comment. I think I will defenitely take your advice and start with local businesses. The major problem that will present is that I'm in a very small, rural town that has very few choices, but I may can find one that may offer some sort of partnership.
Tracy,
ReplyDeleteAs you well know, most schools are in your situation with the financial constraints of funding. We are also very limited in our funds for technology. As far as grants, most schools have a grant contact person that are somewhat in charge of overseeing this process. We have a teacher who is our grant go-to person to help us with the grant process. Our principal will also pass along grant information on specific items if others are willing to write a grant. You need to ask your administration for help in writing a grant or ask if there is someone who oversees the grants written at your school. This can be a scary process if you have never written one before. However, it is a start. I wish you luck with your grant process!
Malissa