ISTE MODULE 1 – Creativity & Innovation

How can students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology?

Triggering Event Question: How can technology be utilized to enhance student learning in regards to their personal health and fitness?

Resource: Using Internet Assessment Tools for Health and Physical Education Instruction (Thornburg & Hill, 2004)

Link to PDF article: http://ezproxy.spu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=tfh&AN=15835754&site=ehost-live

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The International Society for Technology in Education (2007)’s Standard 1 set forth the following learning targets for students: 1) Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes, 2) Create original works as a means of personal or group expression, 3) Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues, and 4) Identify trends and forecast possibilities.

In my content area of physical education, students most commonly display their understanding of the health and fitness curriculum through their level of participation and performance in class activities (i.e. motor skills or fitness testing). Through the use of technology, I questioned how students can utilize applications and web-based programs, such as those shown in Figure 1, in order to apply and understand the health and fitness

Figure 1. Health & Fitness Aplications

curriculum in regards to their personal well-being. Through the utilization of technology, similar to how Jang (2009) explored in regards to science curriculum, students would set forth creativity and innovation to demonstrate the first learning target, which reads, “Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes”. I chose the following resource, Thornburg et al. (2004), for the exploration of my triggering event question, because it highlights student experiences with technology within physical education curriculum. Thornburg et al. (2004) explored students’ experiences when web-based technology was integrated into the physical education curriculum. After students recorded results, inputted personal health and fitness information, and answered questions to a survey, Thornburg et al. (2004) found that 80% enjoyed working on the computer, 75% find “eating right” important, 55% felt more encouraged to think about their eating habits, and approximately 63% felt encouraged to think more about their activity habits. Although these numbers are not 100% of the students, I believe that through the representation of more than half the students responding positively that their experience was encouraging. Which led me to the conclusion that technology in physical education can enhance student learning by leading them towards a better understanding and application of what a healthy lifestyle consists of (Thornburg et al., 2004). Therefore, allowing me to answer my triggering event question by saying that physical education teachers can utilize web-based programs or applications for activities, such as activity and food tracking, in order to enhance student learning in regards to their personal health and fitness.  

References

International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). National educational technology standards for students. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-students.

Jang, S. J. (2009). Exploration of secondary students’ creativity by integrating web-based technology into an innovative science curriculum. Computers & Education, 52(1), 247-255.

Thornburg, R., & Hill, K. (2004). Using Internet Assessment Tools for Health and Physical Education Instruction. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 48(6), 53-70.