You Dance and "I" Dance

On Monday during our usual lab time I participated in a workshop showing a new product designed by Exergames called "I Dance". I was very impressed with this new game and the technology used to make it so interesting. The game is very similiar to Dance Dance Revolution. The game is ment to be used in the physical education setting in order to enhance the amount of people participating in physical activity. The use of these "video game" type exercise programs is that kids of all ages think that the amount of energy excerted on the games is less than actual working out. With the study professor Yang did it showed that using the games is equivalent to using a treadmill. I also believe that Exergames is going to be the future in exercise. The most interesting part of the game to me was the fact that you can get up to 24+ participants in the game at one time, all being able to participate. I realy enjoyed learning how to use the game and set it up. This new information i learned will definetly make me more valuable and marketable in the future when finding a job.

Portfolio Showcase 2009-2010

Today I went to the portfolio showcase in Park Center. This was very helpful for me because it gave me a chance to look at the best professional portfolios at SUNY Cortland. The portfolios in the showcase where rated top at Cortland by teachers and administrators. You can tell these students really put time and effort into their work. I went to the portfolio because these students have been through everything I am going to be going through, so their advice is crucial. The students with the portfolios gave me some advice. Their advice was to add as many pictures as you can. The more pictures you have in your portfolio the better it is to look at for the future employer, or professors. I am very happy that throughout our work at St. Mary's that we had plenty of pictures being taken. I see now the importance of all the photos and I am definetly going to incorporate more photos into my portfolio. Overall the showcase was very helpful to me and my portfolio will definetly be a better product after going.

Naughty or Nice at St. Mary's?

Our last lab at St.Marys was a great success. All the kids loved the funny Santa hats we wore and how we incorporated the Christmas theme into the games we played. I worked with the Pre-K once again. Professor Yang gave our group a new game where the kids can work on their reaction skills and reaction times. The student uses a hand held device that says an action you must behave. The student has to listen to the objective and react as quick as they can. If the device says "red" then you put the device over the red cone, if the device says "two" you put it over the "two" cone, and so on. The device times how fast the student reacts to each objective. The kids really enjoyed this game and didnt stop playing the whole time I was in the room with them. I enjoyed scattering the cones around so the kids had to move and get a nice fitness activity in while working on their reaction time. The two kids I worked with didnt want to stop playing but needed to take a break because they were getting all wound up. I also enjoyed this game because it is cool to incorporate new technology into fitness and the physical education settings. During my lab time at St. Mary's I have learned many new things I will definitely incorporate into my teaching strategies. St.Mary's has taught me also about my self. It showed me what my interests are and helped me realize why I really love physical education so much. All the labs at St.Mary were a great success and i realy appreciate the oppurtunity SUNY Cortland and St.Marys have given me to do field work.