Week 4

Website Project Ideas

•   Site title – The exerciser

•   Developer – Michaela Brooks

•   Rational or focus -

The goal of this site is to provide knowledge and ideas about how to implement exercise into your daily life. High school students are the intended readers, however anybody can benefit from this site. It is intended to educate high school students how to exercise at the gym or at home. Too often people pay for a gym pass, but have no idea how to work out. This site will not only educate students on different exercises, it will teach them how to create a routine that best meets their needs as an exerciser.

•   Main features outline - The main features of this site will include a monthly exercise routine focusing on one major muscle group. This is for the minimalist exerciser or the competitive readers. There will be an option to choose gym, or home which will lead the reader to a list of exercises and workout routines for them to perform either at the gym or at home. The reason to provide both is to teach students what to do at the gym, and provide options for those without a gym membership.

•   Content - Number of individual Web pages. Brainstorm subtopics for your site. Have a concise outline of the information your site will contain.

The first page will be the main page showing a monthly exercise challenge. This will show a month of working on the same exercise to improve. This is for the minimalist. To the left there will be options to choose, gym and home. By clicking on gym the viewer will be directed to a page with a weekly exercise routine and a list of major muscles. Students can pick a muscle group they want to work on and are provided with different exercises focusing on that muscle.

A viewer can click on arms, for example and will be provided with a list of exercises one can complete at the gym focusing on their arms. If the reader clicks home, they will be provided with the same list of muscles and will be provided with exercises one can complete at home focusing on the muscle. On the main page there will also be an option to click on regarding nutrition that will lead you to various nutritional information. Ideas for pre and post workout snacks, breakfast, proper hydration, etc. Lastly there will be an option to click called extras, this is information about sports, how to include family members to exercise, and more.

•   Target audience -

High school students are the intended audience for this site. However, it is not limited to high school students, people of all ages can benefit from this including physical education teachers and personal trainers.

•   Design considerations. This site needs to be easy to use and motivating. Pictures, graphics, and motivational quotes should be visible and appealing to the viewers. Pictures and videos of how to complete different exercises may be extremely helpful to viewers.

•   Limiting factors -

Due to the intended audience many viewers may be reading this on their personal device rather than on a computer. This may change the view and flow of the site. Depending upon the viewer some exercises may be challenging due to weather, for example, the site may suggest running for 15 minutes, and it may be snowing outside to some viewers.  

Journal #3

Article

Kessler, S. (2010, September 29). The Case for Social Media in Schools. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2010/09/29/social-media-in-school/

I read the article listed above and it was very interesting. A 7^th grade teacher, Elizabeth Delmatoff,  has found ways to not only incorporate social media into her curriculum, but promote and improve student participation and decrease absences.  In this article six reasons to incorporate social media into education are outlined. The first step is that social media isn’t going away. This is true, every day new programs and media sites are popping up and students are using all of them. Rather than fight the social media, why not try to embrace it and use it to your advantage. The second step suggests that when students are engaged they learn better. A basic statement could not be more true. When you provide students with an opportunity to use an ipad, their phone, or a media site they are more likely to be excited and not realize that they are doing work. The third step is for skeptical administrators, teachers, and parents; safe social media tools are available and free. Edmodo, kidblog, and more provide online programs for students without inappropriate advertising to students. The fourth reason I feel was the most interesting, to replace online procrastination with social education. Delmatoff created assignments for students to complete after school. They were not part of their grade, the students did not receive extra credit, or a golden star however 100 students participated in these activities and assignments. Some assignments were to make a 2 minute video on their walk home from school about how bad littering is, another was to comment of President Obama’s speech. Although these activities were voluntary, students completed them anyway. The fifth reason is very important to encourage collaboration rather than cliques online.  In the classroom a teacher lectures while students listen and take notes. Online, students are required to write posts, comment on each other’s posts and collaborate. This is a different type of learning and group work but it will help break down those cliques that so easily generate in the classroom. The last reason is that cell phones aren’t the enemy. Too often teachers are taking cell phones away from students in school, and granted many students are procrastinating, but they can be used as a great learning tool. Too often schools can not afford to provide laptops, computers, or tablets to every student in the classroom, but a large number of students have their own smartphone that allows them to use the internet. Why not embrace that and allow students to work on their phones. Overall technology and social media currently is being banned from schools. If used correctly, it can be an effective learning tool to enhance participation and learning.

Q: How do you ensure that students are working productively on their cell phones/tablets rather than procrastinating?

A: I think a set of expectations, rules, and consequences are necessary to ensure the use of technology and social media is being used and not abused. I really like the idea of having students post everything on their own blog, or on a site such as edmodo. This ensures that they actually do the work in class rather than procrastinate.

Q: What are the consequences for students that abuse the bring your own policy? Or that write inappropriate comments on the site?

A: I think for the students that abuse the bring your own policy their privilege is taken away. If they can not be trusted to work productively then they should be either given a school product that prevents them from using different websites. For students that write inappropriate comments on the sites should be written a referral, or whatever written consequence the school policy suggests. With any social media site there is a huge opportunity for things to go off topic, and for bad mouthing to occur. It is crucial that the teacher not only goes over the expectations but also the consequences so the students understand the seriousness of it all.

Chapters 1 - 3

Ch 1-3 summary and questions

Surprisingly the internet has been around for over 20 years. As technology and the internet expands and improves, web design is becoming a growing demand. Regardless if you are a novice or expert we design can be completed by all. Web design is made up of 3 layers. First is the structure layer, the foundation of the website. Second is the presentation layer, adds style and design to the document. Lastly is the behavior layer, creating an interactive experience. As technology continues to improve and develop the use of smartphones and tablets creates a new challenge for web designers. Many smartphones and tablets shrink the webpage to fit the screen, however it is designed for a larger screen and may create frustration among users. Creating apps and mobile sites for webpages creates more jobs for the future and ways to improve accessibility for all users.

Q: What is HTML?

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. It is the markup language used to create a webpage. It is a system for identifying and describing the structure of a document.

Q: What is the difference between the internet and the web?

The internet is a network that connects computers to share information. No company owns the internet. The Web is more commonly known as the world wide web is one of the ways information can be shared over the internet. Documents can be linked creating a web attaching the information.

Introducing Michaela Brooks

Introducing Michaela Brooks

Hello,

My name is Michaela Brooks and I am currently a physical education teacher in Rowland Heights, CA. I grew up in Carlsbad, CA about 30 minutes north of San Diego county. I started preschool a the age of 3, went to our local elementary, middle and high school. Carlsbad was a great place to grow up, a laid back beach town where surfing, sandals, and burritos are apart of daily activities. My loves in life are the beach and dance. I started dancing when I was two year old and completed in countless competitions, recitals, and performances throughout California. After high school I wanted a change from the year round 75 degree weather and moved to college where I have been attending Cal Poly Pomona for the past 8 years. I earned my undergraduate degree in Kinesiology with a minor in dance, which lead me through the teaching credential program. From that I entered the Masters in Kinesiology, and now I am finishing up my last and final quarter at Cal Poly Pomona. 

As mentioned above I am a teacher in a masters in Kinesiology, with an emphasis in curriculum and instruction program. Education has been attempting integrate technology to enhance daily lessons. I believe that if used appropriately, technology can be used to improve and enhance learning objectives. The unfortunate truth is that many teachers are unwilling or uneducated in ways to improve their curriculum. As a PE teacher, technology is harder to integrate than inside the classroom. However if used appropriately and provided the technology and support anything is possible. I would rate my knowledge in technology as intermediate. I think that technology, computers, and the internet are incredible resources and tools and I an curious how to better implement them into my curriculum.

My personal goals while taking multimedia classes in my Masters program is to be introduced to programs, tools, and applications that I can realistically implement into my lessons. Students deserve to learn with the most up to date technology there is, and if I can help students implement a healthy lifestyle while using technology I will consider myself a successful teacher.