kids and technology

Hi guys! Have you ever wondered how technology is affecting our students? did you ever wonder could technology be useful within the physical education setting? There is no denying that technology is more prevalent in today’s society and that every second person you see is looking at their phone. Well today I am going to talk about what my own experiences of technology and mobile phone addiction amongst my students and ways in which we can use technology in our classes. Just to note nomophobia is the addiction of mobile phones and I will make reference to this throughout this blog.

My own personal experience of mobile phone addiction when teaching

When I was teaching I noticed that every student had a smart phone in their pocket. According to the rules of the school they were only allowed use their phones at break and lunch time. However, I often found students using their phones during class. “Almost half the children in Irish secondary schools say they are addicted to smartphones with even greater numbers admitting to routinely and secretly checking devices in class”(Irish times 2018).There was no avoiding it, students were constantly on their phones. Teachers had the authority to confiscate phones if they were being used during school. In my second-year physical education class I had a student who just took part in physical education for the sake of taking part. He would never participate with enthusiasm or to the best of his ability. One day we were playing rounders on the pitch. He was lying down on the ground, scrolling through his phone. This was disrespectful to me and the class. I confiscated his phone that day. For the remainder of the class that students participated to the best of his ability in all activities. This raised the question to me. Was the student addicted to his phone so much that it hindered his participation in physical activity? Or was he motivated to take part in the class in hope of receiving his phone back for good behaviour. Either way this highlights the impact of mobile phone use has on students in today’s society. However technology was completely removed from all aspects of teaching physical education in this school.

key messages from literature  

Enough about what I think time to see what the research and literature says about technology in schools. “The challenge in physical education is to use such technology in meaningful ways that enhance students’ learning” (Harris, 2009) “The literature suggests that while some teachers are enthusiastic technology adopters, others are more resistant, perhaps feeling they lack organizational and administrative support or expertise to integrate it” (Fullan, 2013).  However, as teachers it is our job to keep up with the times and develop and adapt as teachers as society changes to a more technologically advanced society” Children are no longer heading outside after school to play hide and seek or tag, but rather are heading indoors to play video games or watch TV. “Playing digital games (video, computer and console games), or using computer may be other sedentary behaviors related to the development of overweight and obesity.”  Maybe, instead of eliminating technology, as it is an inevitable staple in our society, physical educators should embrace it and use it to encourage youth to be more active.” (Rebecca Harrison 2013) this suggests to us that removing technology is unrealistic so rather we should embrace it to promote physical activity.

What would I do going forward with regards to teaching practice

So, I guess you’re wondering what we as teachers can do to deal with the use of technology in our classes. Here is a fantastic link https://sparkpe.org/blog/using-technology-in-physical-education/ of ideas on how to integrate technology into the physical education class. “80 per cent of more than 2,600 children polled said they also used the devices for educational purposes.” (Irish times) This shows us that students are already using technology for learning on their own accord so it is to our benefit that we integrate technology into our classes. “Physical Education is a subject in which a great deal of visual learning takes place. The new technologies provide clear images of performances and specific techniques, as well as the opportunity to provide pupils with immediate visual feedback of their own movement through video replay.” (Anon 2018) Allowing students to record themselves or peers to provide feedback is a great way of helping students learn while using technology. Here is another excellent link of how we can use technology in physical education https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi1pYChtt_ZAhWPasAKHeA2CEYQFghlMAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fedt315.weebly.com%2Fuploads%2F4%2F5%2F3%2F2%2F4532212%2F100_ways_to_use_technology_in_pe.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2h7e0hF_qlOjai-s7tMZi3 . There are ample mounts of resources out there for teaching physical education with the use of technology it is our responsibility to use them. My key message is start small by allowing students to use maybe stopwatches on their phones and progress and integrate more technology gradually. “Technology will never replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of great teachers is transformational” (Couros, 2016).

References

The Irish Times. (2018). Secondary students admit to smartphone addiction. [online] Available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/secondary-students-admit-to-smartphone-addiction-1.3092489 [Accessed 9 Mar. 2018].  

Etec.ctlt.ubc.ca. (2018). Technology in the Physical Education Classroom - ETEC 510. [online] Available at: http://etec.ctlt.ubc.ca/510wiki/Technology_in_the_Physical_Education_Classroom [Accessed 9 Mar. 2018].

Fullan, M. and Langworthy, M., 2013. Towards a new end: New pedagogies for deep learning. Seattle, Washington: Collaborative Impact.

Anon, (2018). [ebook] Available at: http://education.exeter.ac.uk/research/pe_ict_event/downloads/steve_kibble/Using%20Video%20Cameras%20in%20Physical%20Education.pdf [Accessed 9 Mar. 2018].

Gros, B. and García-Peñalvo, F.J., 2016. Future trends in the design strategies and technological affordances of e-learning. Learning, Design, and Technology: An International Compendium of Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, pp.1-23.