Journal 4: Project Plan

Plan for my Curriculum Project:

Wire Frame

Site Map

• Site title - V.V.E.S.: Ms. Sandino's Wonderful World of P.E.
• Developer - Stephanie Sandino
• Rational or focus - 

Content: The content in this site will primarily be information about the student's Physical Education class for the parent(s)/guardian(s).

Goals: Inform parents about-

     *Expectations

     *My background/experience

     *State physical fitness test

     *Weekly updates

     *Resources

• Main features outline - The main features of the site are the pages I intend to create: home page, P.E. handbook page, about me page, fitnessgram page, and blog page.
• Content - I am planning to have 5 main webpages.

Home page: The website's purpose as well as my contact information. On this page there will be buttons that will allow the users to navigate through my website as well as a link to go to the school's main webpage.


P.E. Handbook page: The 5 main standards that will be used, expectations/rules, and consequences.


About Me page: A mini biography of academic background, sport background, as well as teaching philosophy.


FitnessGram page: Informs parents what to expect for the 5th grade Physical Fitness Test through informative videos.


Blog page: Weekly blog posts on what is happening in P.E. for the week, resources, important topics such as why it is essential to wear athletic shoes during physical education, how to become a healthier individual (help their child), awards I give out, etc.

• Target audience - My target audience would be the parent(s)/guardian(s) of my students.
• Design considerations. The design I am targeting for is a hub-and-spoke structure, embed videos, embed documents, external link to blog, images, navigation bar on every page, tables, header & footers, CSS. A simple, concise, and informative design. Whichever page you are on you'll be able to go to any page you want.
• Limiting factors - The limiting factors I am foreseeing are: lack of computer accessibility as well as old browsers.

Journal 3: “Education and the Social Web: Connective Learning and the Commercial Imperative”

Friesen, N. (2010, December 6). Retrieved http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3149/2718

In this day and age everything seems to be at the touch of our fingertips. We are the generation in the Age of Technology- or at least that's what I like to think of it. It's no surprise to me that this is now making its way through education and breaking barriers in a lot of curricula out there. We are now seeing iPads in classrooms, blogs used for discussion and project based curricula,  polls that are live-streamed in the classroom with cell phones, classroom Facebook pages and so much more! The sky is the limit when it comes to technology and social media in specific. 

As I read this article I had to read Steve Greenburg's statement a few times so that it could sink in: "You are not Facebook's customer. You are the product that they sell to their real customers-advertisers. Forget this at your peril." Friesen has some great points, although, in the end I am all for technology and the social web in the education realm. I never quite thought about this when it came to integrating technology in my classroom, to tell you the truth it never even crossed my mind. I've always noticed the advertisement banners on the right side of my Facebook page and in the back of my mind I figured it was advertisers gaining my interest through web searches I've made. It makes perfect sense, they want you to click on it! It's almost like Pandora for advertisers, they "know" what I like. In all honesty, it is quite alarming to see how much they know about your personal information. Something just as simple as the "like" button and that ever so desired "dislike" button has advertisers written all over it. Those in advertisement benefit from the all of the "likes" and would definitely be at a disadvantage if the "dislike" button would be created (it never will) because that is considered negative feedback or criticism for them.

Despite some of Friesen's good points, it wouldn't stop me from using the social web as well as other technological advancements. The positives outweigh the negatives in my world of P.E. as well as the other subjects in school. Through this type of technology I can open a direct line of communication with my students in hopes that they will get more and more stimulation in the cognitive domain- something that I don't always get to in my lessons. It is a way to come into contact with those few students that may be too shy to answer or ask questions in front of their peers. Also, my lower skilled students can benefit from looking at videos of themselves and answering questions about their technique and skill level. The possibilities are endless, and I am very excited to take this on and bring it into my class!

Question #1: How can I keep my students safe when using the social web or the web in general in my Physical Education class?

A1: By following the school's internet policies:

-The student in whose name an online services account is issued is responsible for its proper use at all times. Students shall keep personal account numbers, home addresses, and all telephone numbers private. They shall use the system only under their own account number.

-Students shall use the district's system responsibly and primarily for educational purposes.

-Students shall not access post, submit, publish, or display harmful or inappropriate matter that is threatening, obscene, disruptive, or sexually explicit, or that could be construed as harassment or disparagement others based on their race/ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or political views.

-Students shall not disclose, use, or disseminate personal identification information about themselves or others when using electronic mail, chat rooms, or other forms of direct electronic communication. Students are also cautioned not to disclose such information by other means to individuals located through the internet without the permission of their parents/guardians. Personal information includes the student's name, address, telephone number, Social Security number, or other individually identifiable information.

-Copyrighted material shall not be placed on the district's computer system without the author's permission. Students shall not violate copyright laws or plagiarize documents.

-Students shall report ant security problem or misuse of the services.

Question #2: Will we ever get to a point where social networks such as Facebook do away with the advertisements?

A2: No, I truly believe that social networks such as Facebook are sitting on top of 3 gold mines one of which is advertisements. The other 2 are media (i.e. sharing and subscriptions) and shopping (i.e. rumors of a "want" button, a genius move considering the booming of social shopping networks such as Pintrest and Etsy).

Journal 2: Affinity Group & Digg RSS Stream

The affinity group I chose to join this week is “Edmodo,” I made an account and connected myself with the Health and P.E. community so that my feed would show topics in my field. From my experience in Edmodo I wish to learn helpful ways I can better myself as a P.E. teacher, for example: lesson ideas, teaching strategies, effective teaching skills, and much more. When I made my account I noticed that this not only pertained to physical education but the health of teachers themselves. One of the teachers was mentioning that he was a third year teacher who had devoted the last two years to his job/profession and had been feeling exhausted and started gaining weight. During the summer he began to get in shape again and has since then been feeling better in terms of his own personal health. It’s awesome to see that not only is this relating to students, but it is also reaching teachers who also need to be living a healthy lifestyle. I don’t have another physical education teacher to collaborate with at my school, so it would be nice to have some PLC-even if it is via Edmodo! Here is the link to my Edmodo: https://www.edmodo.com/home#/

Moving on to my Digg RSS stream, throughout the past week I have been monitoring it quite frequently and am surprised with how useful it is! To be honest with you, it’s addicting because all you want to do is try and find as many blogs, websites, and topics of your interests to flood your blog so that you have a variety of information to look through. Not only is this a way to stay up to date on blogs or websites, but this is also a way to acquire new ideas and grow in the future of your education. Physical education is always evolving just like with everything else, new research trickles in as well as the latest methodologies, equipment, exercise fads, etc. I definitely think the coolest part about Digg is that all the information comes straight to you, everything is on the news feed. Not only can you see the different streams, but you may also organize them!

Journal 1- Part 1: Getting Started

Robbins, J. (2012). Learning web design : a beginner's guide to HTML, CSS, Javascript, and web graphics. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly.

Summary Reflection:

While reading the first three chapters of the book I became acquainted with most of the basic terms that are going to be used throughout the book as well as in our class, how the Web functions, as well as the key pieces you need to know and have to begin web design and eventually complete your puzzle.

It seems like every month something new pops up in the world of technology, now, when you buy a laptop or desktop computer it almost seems like it becomes outdated the following couple of months after you purchase it. With web design you have to accommodate these changes and take into consideration a billion other factors such as browsers, devices being used, accessibility, etc. As I am learning more and more in this class I am beginning to notice the topics we talk about as I casually surf the Web or share documents so that I have them at home, work, and school. Robbins couldn't stress enough the importance of following the standards and rules to design the best possible website you can. Also, in web design there are many different components that partake in putting together the entire puzzle. While reading Chapter 1 I couldn't help but think how far below the learning curve I am starting out on! Although I might like one area of web design more than others, I have to become well rounded and be knowledgeable in a little bit of everything so that the outcome is a wholesome experience for the user.

Throughout the reading I had a couple of questions that needed to be cleared up:

Question #1: Essentially, do both progressive enhancement and graceful degradation do the same thing? In your opinion which of the two takes more time?

A1. From what I've read, it can be said that both progressive enhancement and graceful degradation try to do the same thing: keep our products useful to every user. Progressive enhancement is a more sophisticated and at the same time stable way of assuring that but it takes more time and effort. Graceful degradation can be used more easily as a patch for an already existing product; it means harder maintenance later on, but requires less initial work.

Question #2: What other alternatives can web designers use for better, easier accessibility other than those listed on pg. 41?

A2. How can using users with disabilities/elders benefit the web designer in the process?

Involving users early in projects helps you understand real-world accessibility issues, such as how people with disabilities and older people use the web with adaptive strategies and assistive technologies.

Involving users early helps you implement more effective accessibility solutions. It also broadens your perspective in a way that can lead you to discover new ways of thinking about your product that will make it work better for more people in more situations.