Last Post!

Being the last week to blog, this is my last posting and I am so excited. Don't get me wrong, I understand the importance of knowing how to blog, but blogging for the whole semester has run its path. I have run out of things to write about, and I have just grown tired of blogging. So heres to my last blog!

5k

On Sunday the exercise science department put on a 5k race and I decided to do it. Even though I was sick and it was cold and raining, at the last minute I just decided what the heck. So the course went around the bottom half of the campus twice, then on the track at the field house once. Even though I was froze by the end, I was still proud of myself for doing it. For being sick, I didnt do bad either, I ended up placing in the middle.

High Ropes Course

Toda was the first day of the high roeps course in outdoor pursuits. I did not have a Chance to do any of the activities, but I'm not sure if I really want to. For the one activity, you have to climb up a tree about 35 feet, grab a "swing," jumo on it, and swing yourself sideways to the next one. It would be fun if it were only like 10 feet off the ground, but its was too high for me. One of the other ones is 2x2 pieces of wood hung about 4 feet apart, going up about 30 feet. Hopefully I will be able to conquer my fear and climb it on tuesday.

Video

After finally being able to check out the camera, I was able to record my video for tech. I was able the video for my portfolio in my dorm room because I downloaded movie maker. This ended up to be a good thing because I will now not miss points in my efolio. Another advantage of editing my video in my room yesterday is that now I am done with that project. So that means one more project down, only a couple more to go!

Outdoor Pursuits

Today in outdoor pursuits we went on the low ropes course. We did two different activities, one with a tire hung between two trees and the other a 12 foot wall. The goal of the tire activity was to get everyone through without them touching the tire. As for the wall, everyone had to climb up it with no harness. I thought both activities were great to do. They both enabled my class to become real comfortable trusting each other.

Designing a fitness room

For fitness ed., we have an assignment to design a fitness facility. I am all excited because I have always wanted to design one. I plan on having cardio equipment, weight machines, and free weights. For the cardio aspect, I am going to check in to bikes that have the screens you can watch as you bike. As for the machines, I'm not exactly sure what I am going to get. All in all, I believe this project is going to fun.

Grove City YMCA

For my fitness education class we have to do a service learning project. So yesterday my friend and I went to the grove city ymca to volunteer at their after school program. At first it was overwelming because there was almost 80 3-6 graders running around, but eventually everything calmed down. My friend and I ended getting knockout going, then we played a real game with the students. Since everything went ok, the both of us will be going back once a week until the end of the school year.

Dissapointment

So after anticipating a great weekend of backpacking in my outdoors class, my bubble was busted when we found out that our vans were taken by the tennis team and we were not going. Instead, we marched to the camp ground on campus and spent the day at the tower. We worked on our high rope courses and stayed until 7pm, then were sent home. I mean, it wasn't a bad day, but I was so looking forward to hiking. I kept hearing how beautiful the sights were, but instead I had to settle for the sights of Slippery Rock University.

The real test....

In my fitnesd ed class, we have to do the second part of our vo2 max testing. This test will last for about 12 minutes I think, but we have to reach our max heart rate and keep it as long as we can. I think I will be ok, but the test is in the morning at 6:30am, so I am going to be really tired. I am interested though to see how fit I am and this is going to be a good indication. Wish me luck!

Backpacking

The week has come that I will be going on a backpacking trip with my outdoor pursuits class. The weather conditions will include: rain, snow, and 40 degree weather, oh how excited I am. To top it off, we got our backpacks today, so I put my sleeping bag and tent in it, and I have come to realize that my backpack is going to be extremly heavy, and I am going to die..haha. I am trying desperatly to cut down on the things I am going to take, but I dont think it is going to happen. So heres hoping the weather will improve so that it can be a decent trip!

Speaker

So today I went to a speaker during common hour to get bonus points for another class. The speaker was suppossed to talk about Gatorade and hydration, howver, they did not say one word about it. The whole time was based around the exercise science club meeting. The speaker only talked for about 15 minutes, and it was only about choosing career goals, etc. It was really dissapointing because I was actually interested in the topic, but oh well.

Getting back from break

As I thought, spring break went too fast. It seems like we just left and now we are in our second day back. All of my classes are going full force and it just makes me want school to be over already. The month of April seems to be assignement month in most of my classes, but once it is over, it will be an easy ride to the end of the year. Also, hopefully by the end of april I will know whether or not I will be in the college of education!

YMCA

So today I recieved an unexpected phone call from the Greensburg YMCA. I applied online for a summer position about two weeks ago, but I didn't think I would recieve a phone call. But they interviewed me on the phone and I set up an appointment for another interview this week. I applied for this job because I thought it would be a good idea for me to gain experience teaching kids. So hopefully the interview will go ok and I will be able to work part time over the summer.

This semester...

It seems like this semester is going fast. I can't belive that spring break is next week and that it is basically March. Last year the weeks went slow, but theres something about this year that is making it go fast. Maybe it's because I actually have PE classes therefore I am interested in what I am taking, lol. Before I know it it will be time to graduate!

Portfolio

So the time has come to make my portfolio for the college of education and let me say this, it is so confusing. I was looking over the domains and each of the sections underneath them and I have no idea what half of them mean. If would be nice if someone could tell us what they mean in simple language. I also had no idea if I could be creative or not when desiging different pages, but apparently we can. So over my spring break this is what I will be working in, along with my electronic portfolio. :-)

VO2 Max Testing

For fitness ed. class we were required to take a VO2max test that the exercise department was putting on. This was the first of 2 or 3 tests I think to determine are maximal oxygen intake during physical activity. All we has to do was jog on the treadmill for 5 minutes and keep our heart rate the same. I think this was the easiest test, lol. My score was above average apparently which I am proud of. The next test is supposed to be harder because you have to run for 12 minutes, so it will be interesting to find out the results.

Lifeguarding

For my aquatics minor I have to take lifeguarding class and so far it has proved to be a challenge. We have learned rescue strokes, and rescue techniques, and somehow I have manage to pull through the lessons. I am having problems though when going under the water to rescue someone without googles because I have contacts. Last thursday when I rescued a dummy from the bottom, I came up and couldnt see because my contacts fell out. So hopefully things will begin to get better as I get more used to the class.

Webpage

So we have an assignment to make a web page in technology class. I have never made a web page before, so it has been an interesting task. My web page is on my health topic, Nutrition, which has always been an interest of mine. I think this was a good assignment for us because when we teach at a school, we could make a web page for the class to visit. The web page could also be used to help the students keep health logs , etc.

Rock Climbing in Outdoor Pursuits

For the past couple days in outdoor pursuits we have been learning about rock climbing. We have learned how to make several knots for the rope and how to belay. I think we are going to go to the ARC to try the rock wall and I am excited. I have only ever climbed in high school, but I loved it and can't wait to do it again. If we rock climb on our camping trip it will be fun, but it will also be kind of scary. But all in all I am sure everything will work out fine.

DDR

At the begining of the semester, I came apon a fantastic discovery at Rockies, Dance Dance Revolution. I have always been a fan of this came, but have only played it once in my life. That soon changed when I found this game at Rockies. Ever since then, I have played it almost ten times. My boyfriend and I ususally compete against each other to see who will get the bigger score (he usually wins). I also dragged one of my friends to play with me the one day and it was a blast. I almost fell over laughing at her, but it was all in good fun (wink). Anyone who likes to dance should take time out of their day to play this great virtual reality game.

Reading

For technology class we were instructed to read the first two chapters in the book. After reading the chapters, I realized how much technology could effect physical education. We can use technology to record grades, take attendance, to show demonstrations, and much more. As long as we don't take up much time in the classroom, tehcnology will help us as teachers promote the class in the newest ways possible. Technology is here to help us as teachers and we need to learn how to embrace it.

Nike+ipod Sports Kit

For christmas I recieved the the Nike+ipod sports kit as a gift. Since I love to run, I knew this would be a great item to record my running stats. You just place a sensor in your shoe and then you hook a sensor into your ipod. The other day I went to the gym to try it out and it is very cool. You set your workout for time, distance, or calories. Then throughout your workout, a man or womens voice will speak to you and tell you how far you've gone, how long you've gone, or how many calories you have burned so far. Also, when you hook your ipod up to your computer, it will record all of your exercises onto the nikeipod website.

Technology

Today in Technology class we learn about different uses for audio and visual technology. In my opinion, I believe the video aspect may be the most useful in teaching physical education. First, it can be used to demonstrate new games introduced in the class or perhaps different techniques for the games the class already knows. Secondly, one could use presentation systems to teach a a lesson in health class or even in the gym. Lastly, video could be used to record the students in class during certain activities and then used to help them improve their skills.

Intro

Hello, my name is Steph and I am a sophomore at Slippery Rock University. I went to Derry Area High School in Derry, PA and graduated 2006. I came to SRU because I knew that their Physical Education program is one of the best in the nation. While I in school, I love to go to the gym to exercise in my free time. Besides running and lifting weights, I also love to play knockout with my boyfriend and close friends.