PE app for Badminton Class

A hard days work by Kalexanderson CC BY NC SA

Everyone tells me that I spend too much time on work.  I don’t feel the same way.  Robert Appino got me thinking more about Game based learning and Jarrod Robinson and Liz Halina inspired me this week with the work they are doing on App building and on recent data that suggests the Video Analysis of student work is enriching technique and confidence.  So I decided that I would work a little later and longer on a Badminton App for my students (and their parents) to use during our next unit.

The unit itself centers around Mastering a Skill and works through 12 levels – starting with grip;  footwork to bouncing and scooping the bird; service and then drop and smash shots.  Many of my students were introduced to this last year in Grade 7 and went through 20 levels.  I have reduced this number and focused on the shot work more this year for Grade 8.  I have written the levels up into Google docs and shared the links on the App, so they can check the skill and what they need to do.  I will also use QR codes for others who might like to use other technology to link the YouTube videos that we made of the different levels to assist kids with their learning.  Ken Forde and I have been sharing this through some presentation work both at VTC2013 and next week at EARCOS.

I decided to use ibuildapp.com and went through and worked out what I wanted to do here.  This process has taken over 4 hours, but it was a lot of looking, creating and ensuring things were as I wanted them.  I have included:

• Google Calendar – for our lessons, times, lesson content, holidays, tournament and assessment dates (still finalising!)
• Skill levels – through Google Drive and shared with anyone who has the link (allowing view)
• Assessment – for both Performance based and Engagement based rubrics (Google docs)
• Apps – an explanation of the apps we are using in the lessons – Ubersense, Coaches Eye, Google Drive, Badminton Scorer, Rules for Badminton, Drop Box
• Picasa album – created for this class – I am hoping the kids can upload (I have invited them via their school email addresses) to add to the album.
• Email contact – to email me if there is a problem
• FanWall – a place to share comments (effective comments please) about their work.  I will remove this if it is a problem.  Actually, I will remove it now….
• Maps – A Google map of where we are.
• QR code reader.

Liz Halina’s blog was insightful for finding out about how using Video Analysis in her class has made things turn around for her.  She has seen real change in technique and confidence and has had her students provide data on this in a recent study.  You can read more here.  I know that video analysis is so powerful, but it isn’t ingrained in my students, I am hoping that by using Ubersense in our next unit, and side-by-side analysis that this will be a change in the way the G8’s see themselves working and that they can use this to their advantage.

I will let you know how it turns out.  Any advice is always appreciated.