Now days technology is constantly being implemented in the classroom for various purposes. However, the type of technology I want to focus on in this blog is "wearable technology". Wearable technology is considered to be, "Computer-based devices that can be worn by users, taking the form of an
accessory such as jewelry, eye wear, or even actual items of clothing
such as shoes or a jacket".
The most common form of wearable technologies are physical activity monitors such as fitbits, jawbones, smart watches, and smart running shoes. These types of wearable technologies can be a great educational tool for Physical and Health Educators, such as myself. Another type of wearable technology that can be implemented for educational purposes is the google glass. The google glass is eyewear that allows a person to connect to the internet through voice command, take pictures, record videos, and interact with other google products. In the youtube video below you will see the impact wearable technology has on education so far.
Since I am a Health and Physical Educator, I feel that these physical activity monitors, such as the FitBit and NikeFuel Band, would be most beneficial in both my Health and Physical Education classes that I teach. Considering, I currently don't have a Fitbit or Nike Fuel Band, I did some research on both of these wearable technology devices. I found two specific articles that related to using these two devices in Health and Physical Education classes. The links to these articles are located at the end of this blog post.
In the first article on Fitbits, I discovered some ideas to implement this type of technology in PE, from an individual who commented on the article. The commenter was also a physical educator and expressed that he could have his students wear the Fitbits on a weekly basis to track their activity and sleep patterns. He also mentioned that he could connect this assignment to his nutrition unit to compare fitness data with nutritional data. I personally thought this was a great idea, since I usually have the same students that I teach Physical Education to in Health class.
In the second article I read on Nike Fuel bands, I received some more insight on how I could implement these physical monitors into my curriculum. This article was about a physical educator who wrote a grant to get Nike Fuel bands for her students. These Nike Fuel bands were used to track energy expended from a variety of activities. The students would earn energy output fuel points by tracking their calories that they burned and how many steps they took daily. She also incorporated Nutrition to the lesson, by having her students get on choosemyplate.gov, to compare their calories that they consumed from their daily diets versus the calories expended from physical activity that they tracked on their Nike Fuel Bands.
Overall, both of these websites made me realize how beneficial these two types of wearable technology devices could be in both the gym and the health classroom. The articles also allowed me to see how these devices can keep the students interested in their health, by using the information that they received from these devices to set personal goals for themselves. I am definitely looking forward to implementing one of these devices into my future lesson plans!
Fitbit Flex article:
https://thepegeek.com/2013/08/247-activity-tracking-with-the-fitbit-flex/
Nike Fuel Band article:
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/lowell/nike-fuel-bands-allow-lowell-students-to-track-energy-output/article_c868ffa9-f923-591f-a5d4-84a0ea23a8cf.html
In the first article on Fitbits, I discovered some ideas to implement this type of technology in PE, from an individual who commented on the article. The commenter was also a physical educator and expressed that he could have his students wear the Fitbits on a weekly basis to track their activity and sleep patterns. He also mentioned that he could connect this assignment to his nutrition unit to compare fitness data with nutritional data. I personally thought this was a great idea, since I usually have the same students that I teach Physical Education to in Health class.
In the second article I read on Nike Fuel bands, I received some more insight on how I could implement these physical monitors into my curriculum. This article was about a physical educator who wrote a grant to get Nike Fuel bands for her students. These Nike Fuel bands were used to track energy expended from a variety of activities. The students would earn energy output fuel points by tracking their calories that they burned and how many steps they took daily. She also incorporated Nutrition to the lesson, by having her students get on choosemyplate.gov, to compare their calories that they consumed from their daily diets versus the calories expended from physical activity that they tracked on their Nike Fuel Bands.
Overall, both of these websites made me realize how beneficial these two types of wearable technology devices could be in both the gym and the health classroom. The articles also allowed me to see how these devices can keep the students interested in their health, by using the information that they received from these devices to set personal goals for themselves. I am definitely looking forward to implementing one of these devices into my future lesson plans!
Fitbit Flex article:
https://thepegeek.com/2013/08/247-activity-tracking-with-the-fitbit-flex/
Nike Fuel Band article:
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/lowell/nike-fuel-bands-allow-lowell-students-to-track-energy-output/article_c868ffa9-f923-591f-a5d4-84a0ea23a8cf.html
Using FitBits with your students would be a great idea! It would be interesting to see how active the students are throughout their day and also to see which students are getting proper sleep at night. Like you mentioned, this would also be used in your health class since health and fitness relate to one another.
ReplyDeleteUsing wearable tech in the classroom is win/win in my book. Once the technology is out there someone should be able to create an affordable devices. I can think of a world that every student wears a watch and the instructor has control of how and to what extend the device is being used. Google glass, could you imagine a classroom where all students are looking through their glass to see whats on the "board" with the ability to record and playback later all content. Parents that could see how their students are viewing the classroom. Too cool for school.
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