I said P.E is in the house

This was my last lesson of the year and I was teaching Dance Dance Revoloution. The lesson was supposed to be fifteen minutes in length and incorporate technology in some way; DDR (being a video game) automatically took care of that requirement. We also had to hand in an official lesson plan form for the first time this year. This was easier said than done, but Freddy (our teaching assistant) told us not to worry, the first time is always hard and that it was a matter of time till the lesson planning form becomes second nature.

We all taught a different mode of DDR. Matt started off with training mode, Nick followed with game mode, and I ended the unit with workout mode. Workout mode is the same as game mode, the only difference is that in the end of the dance, the results post the estimated amount of calories the player burned, the miles he/she "ran", how many time he/she jumped roped, and etc. This mode is very beneficial to the person that wants to keep track of his/her health.

My instant activity to my lesson started off with the song "jump on it" by the sugar hill gang. I wanted to take the same approach I seen on the Queen video. Queen at the Live Aid Concert, made the crowd follow his every move just by doing it, and not necesarrily teaching it. Honestly, the instant activity did not go as I had pictured it. A lot of students were discouraged/ embarassed and did not want to put any effort into dancing. Nevertheless some students got the concept of my Instant Activity and enjoyed it. I also learned that its smart to start off at a lower volume to start the song as some students are very sensative to loud music.

After the Instant Activity, I transitioned to my introduction of the lesson I noticed that the equipment was not ready so I had to prolong the introduction, as I look back I should have explained workout mode in more detail. I also could have had two people come up in front of the class. Sometimes people are less embarrassed doing these types of activities if there is one more person up there with them.

While I was getting the game set-up I learned how crucial preparation is when incorporating technology into a P.E class. Preparation is crucial because of the many technological problems that can occur during the lesson. While Tom was demonstrating he pressed the wrong button numerous times, so maybe if I would have taken over and had the game set-up before Tom came, the lesson would have came out smoother. During the set-up I lost the attention of the students. In order to prevent this I should have done something between the lessons, maybe check for understanding, or develop a mini-activity between the lesson. Also I noticed that the difficulty level was a little too much for the class itself. This had most of the class confused but nevertheless they tried. Making the activity too challenging can lose the students interest of the activity.

Here comes the twists! Seriously, there is no lesson without the infamous Yang twist. Dr. Yang placed two students in wheelchairs during my lesson. In order to get these students participating, instead of their legs they place their arms in the directions of the arrows. I believe that I handled the curve ball fairly well.

The video I have posted cuts off too early, but for the conclusion I talked about how important it is to incorporate technology into classrooms, and how we need to help advocate the use of games, such as DDR, in P.E classrooms. I see technology as another venue many young children can use as a means to stay fit and healthy. Especially those children who find video games very entertaining.

As I look at the lessons I have taught throughout the semester I definitly witnessed the improvement and progress. I know the lesson was far from perfect, but I noticed my mistakes once I did them. I believe that is the first step to improvement; acknowledging your mistake once they happen.

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