Whistle Talk

This was a very interesting class for me.  I learned many practical tools and designs that I intend to implement into my PE classes.  This class gave me the opportunity to rethink how I design my units and my lessons.  Before this class, I had not thought about using a PBL unit in my classes.  From some of my previous posts, you have heard how I struggle with balancing movement and projects.  However, after going through the USF coursework, I am becoming more and more ready to take a leap of faith and just go for it.  I think it is a great way to get every students involved with my lessons and it targets a different part of the brain when working through a problem.  PBL also gives the student who struggle physically, an opportunity to shine.  I am intrigued at how PBL connects my lessons to real life situations.  I feel that there cold be more ownership taken on the project when students can see how and when they will use the information in t...

Money, money, money....it makes the world go round and there is just not enough.  The constant struggle with education in the U.S. is always going to be money.  Unfortunately, education isn't valued as much as it should be and teachers are stuck trying to stretch a nickel into a dollar.  On the bright side, there are some people out there who do want to see teachers succeed and are willing to give us their money in the form of a grant.  There are numerous opportunities for teachers to write grants for innovated ideas for their classrooms.  I my district, we have a foundations called the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation or the IPEF.  Each year, the IPEF funds hundreds of grants from across the district to help teachers bring their ideas and innovations to life.  My grant proposal was created for my department to receive a classroom set of heart rate monitors.  Heart rate monitors are a great way for teachers to see actual results on how their...

Before taking this course, I had never thought about using a PBL in my PE classes.  I thought a PBL unit could never work in PE.  However, I was pretty surprised that there are many PE teachers who use a PBL unit for multiple aspects of their curriculum.  I was more surprised at how the students were engaged in the units even though it was through PE. For my  PBL Outline , I chose to focus on student lesson design.  In middle school, things tend to get lost...literally and figuratively.  I created an essential question:  What does it mean to be physically fit? Students are able to use any prior knowledge, resources, etc to create a lesson to be taught to their classmates.  Students are able to choose how they want to relay the information to their peers.  They are also able to design assessments for their lessons and use various technology.   I do fully intend to implement this PBL into my classes this year.  My forever chal...

Here is a link to my online portfolio of Multimedia Tools in Education.  Enjoy! EEND677

Here is a link to my online portfolio of artifacts and reflection of Evaluation of Collaborative Tech Tools.  Enjoy! EEND676

Here is a link to my online portfolio with artifacts from 21st Century Leadership...Enjoy! EEND680

Hello Ed Tech Blog World!  My name is Valerie Wood and I am a middle school PE teacher at Still Middle School in Aurora, IL.  This is my 15th (YIKES) year teaching but it sure doesn't feel that way!  I graduated from Ohio University (Go Bobcats!)  with my bachelors in K-12 physical education and then graduated from Concordia University with my Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.  I coach 7th grade girls volleyball and am the head varsity softball coach at Waubonsie Valley High School.  I grew up in the Naperville area and am a product of district 204.  I went to Brookdale Elementary, Hill Middle School, and Waubonsie Valley.  I am the oldest of three girls, The Wood Girls, as we are often called.  My sisters are Alice and Ellen and my parents are Ray and Marilyn.  In 2006, my parents moved out of the cold and into the heat of Dallas, Texas.  My middle sister, Alice, went with them and met and her husband Nicolas.  They have ...