"Blue" in the Barrio, Bring it"

Since 1982, this prestigious program has honored more than 6,000 of America's most successful schools, including 538 Texas public schools. Last year, Silva Health Magnet and Coldwell Elementary were named National Blue Ribbon Schools. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools. The schools are selected for one of two honors: • Improving - Schools that dramatically improve student performance to high levels on state tests • High Achieving - Schools whose students rank in the top 10 percent based on performance on their state standardized tests

Douglass Elementary has been nominated for dramatically improving student performance to high levels on state tests. The nominated schools were chosen through an objective evaluation of student achievement statistics and other data for the more than 8,000 public school and charter campuses in the state.

Schools nominated for the award serve as models of best practices for schools across the state.

So having said that, this week the PE department will make a "bold move" (quoting one of our head tech specialist) towards teaching 21st skills to our Blue Ribbon elementary school students.  I have always been a champion of integrating technology into all areas of the curriculum, particularly in physical education.  The students have been encouraged to bring in their personal devices to class(iPods, iPhones, Blackberries, etc), if they have a stop watch application.

We will be collecting times on the 50 meter dash, posting them to a data sheet and applying that collected data to other challenges or projects.  This move will no doubt challenge certain policies that pertain to the use of personal electronic devices during school hours.   When I informed my peers about activity their faces revealed their inner thoughts. So I am getting my head ready for the "Battle of Confiscation".  I will inform you on the next posting how the encounter went. 

I remember the heated discussion I had with my administration, a year and a half ago,  about the use of mp3 players in the PE class, now that encounter lasted well over an hour.  Having checked the policy concerning these particular devices I was able to show that using them in class did not violate policy.  As a matter of fact I encountered a lot of miss information/confusion concerning personal device policies (hear say vs fact).  So as I said before, "Bring It, the challenge is on"!! I think this introduction will excite the students and help engage them more into the academic atmosphere.

So my PE peers what do you think? Have you had similar experiences I would love to hear about it. Please add your comments below.