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Technology: Cross-Cutting Theme

The teacher demonstrates the ability to apply technology to support student learning which
can include: The integration of interactive technologies and resources in instructional
plans, the use of technology options for learners to manage data and direct their own
learning, the use technology to scaffold content understanding and skill development, the
employment of technology to support assessment practices both to engage learners more
fully and to assess and address learner needs, the use of technology to engage learners in
meeting learning objectives, and the effective evaluation of technology resources for
quality, accuracy and effectiveness.

Technology is a ubiquitous feature of modern life. Students are familiar with its use, and

educators would be wise to use technology to support learning. In my current role as a physical

education teacher, I use technology in my classroom, albeit in a more constrained manner than a

classroom teacher likely would. The most common use of technology in my gymnasium is the

use of music, which I use every single lesson. According to Barney & Prusak (2022), music is a

classroom management strategy that can be utilized in physical education, and one that I have

found great use with. I use music as a start/stop indicator for activities, as well as a method to

increase student movement levels, which the literature supports (Barney & Prusak, 2015).

Additional to this literature, I conducted my own research as a part of my master’s program and

chose to look at music's effect on student behavior in my physical education class. What I found

was that playing upbeat music (as compared to classical music) had a positive impact on some

students' behavior, while not negatively affecting others. Anecdotally, I find the students to be

more active and involved when music is played in the background of our activities. Another use I

have found for technology in my classroom is by using videos to introduce new lessons to the

students. I do not use video introductions for all my units, but some of my lessons include this

component. I use videos when there are things I would like the students to know about that I

cannot demonstrate, or when it supplements the lessons. One example of this would be dance

alongs; there have been lessons on dance where I have found videos that we watch as a class that
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demonstrate the moves, then as a class we try to follow along. This was especially helpful during

COVID lockdown, when my whole school moved to online classes. During this time, I would

lead workout sessions twice a week on ZOOM for each class, and I would oftentimes have whole

families participating together, which was great. Another technology I have employed in the

gymnasium is a heartrate monitor. I use this a few times a year to help the students see how

different activity levels affect their heart rate, which helps them understand the role their heart

plays within their cardiovascular system.

In addition to teaching physical education, I have spent time in the classroom as a

practicum student and student teacher. During this time, I found technology to be a helpful tool,

although one that I had to use intelligently. I say this because although technology opens avenues

for learning that would not otherwise be available, it also introduces issues such as distraction

and student misuse. If an educator were to completely abstain from any technological use in the

classroom, they would be missing an incredible resource. In fact, technology can be a significant

facilitator of learning (Wali & Popal, 2020). Some of the ways I positively used technology

during my time in the classroom was to enrich my lessons. This was done in a variety of ways.

Sometimes it was through me showing the students content that would expand the lesson or hook

their interest through a video or other online resource. An example of this was beginning a food

web lesson by showing an oceanic feeding frenzy documentary, which had sharks, sea lions,

birds, and finally a whale all devouring a sardine bait ball, which was very entertaining and

illustrated quite vividly to students a food web in action

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zOarcL1BSc). Another use of technology in the classroom

was by allowing students to interact with material on their own during a lesson. This could be

something simple like when they worked on a geography quiz game on IXL to supplement my
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lesson if they finished before other students, or it could be more of a cornerstone of the lesson,

such as when I had students take a virtual field trip to the Egyptian museum on their school

issued laptops. All these examples enriched the students' learning, and provided opportunities for

learning that would not have been available had our technological availability been more limited.

Additionally, technology can be used to directly monitor student growth, such as through a test

or other means. During my student teaching I used my computer to help me track student

progress in a unit that focused on geography, which by monitoring their scores allowed me to

analyze student progress and determine if the class as a whole was grasping the materials, as well

as which individual students were attaining their learning goals, which were to learn American

states geography. This monitoring of student growth is important, especially when it is tied to

concrete learning goals which align with standards. As Cornue (2018) states, “Tying student

scores to individual standards is good for students. It provides them with specific goals and helps

them understand their areas of strength and their areas that need additional support” (Cornue,

2018, p.7). By using technology to keep track of student progress towards these learning goals, I

was able to quickly evaluate the effectiveness of my instruction.

The last area I will discuss where technology has affected my teaching is through

professional development. According to the research, professional development is “one of the

most effective strategies to improve teacher quality among various approaches” (Shangguan et

al., 2023). When I became a teacher in the 2019/20 school year, I enrolled in a master’s program

for teaching through UAS. This program has been delivered online and has expanded my

pedagogic knowledge immensely. It is tough to say where my pedagogy would be without the

knowledge I gained through the program, and as an online master’s degree, technology was at

the program’s forefront. Without proficient use of technology, I would not have been able to
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access the classes, let alone complete assignments for my courses. This inclusion of technology

into my pedagogic knowledge base has positively impacted my students, as have so many other

facets of technology in my teaching. It is clear to me that regardless of content area, the effective

inclusion of technology into one’s teaching can have profoundly positive impacts on students'

ability to access novel content and achieve their learning goals, which is a factor I have utilized

and look to continue with in my own teaching.

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References

Barney, D., & Prusak, K. A. (2015). Effects of music on physical activity rates of elementary

physical education students. Physical Educator, 72(2), 236–244.

Barney, D., & Prusak, K. (2022). Music as a management tool in elementary physical education:

A qualitative investigation. Physical Educator, 79(1), 60–72. https://doi-

org.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/10.18666/TPE-2022-V79-I1-10817

Cornue, J. (2018). Changing the grade: A step-by-step guide to grading for student growth (p. 7).

ASCD.

Shangguan, R., Hamilton, X., Colburn, J., Xiaolu Liu, & Hodges, M. (2023). Policy changes in

physical education teacher continuing professional development. Physical Educator,

80(1), 71–90. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/10.18666/TPE-2023-V80-I1-11047

Wali, A. Z., & Popal, A. W. (2020). The emerging issues and impacts of technology in

classroom learning. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 15,

237–245. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/10.3991/ijet.v15i15.14175