HiTechHall’s Tech Waves

Obesity rates are skyrocketing in most developed countries, and in many underdeveloped ones. Even nations traditionally famous for their healthy diets such as Japan are seeing a real increase in childhood obesity and related diseases.

When I was in Tokyo a few years ago, I remember witnessing a group of chubby school kids trundling out of a McDonald’s, just like kids do back in the States, where being overweight is less of a surprise. It occurred to me then that this might have grown to become a worldwide phenomenon.

Since then, I’ve read studies that confirm my suspicion. I also recall reading that some health researchers predict that mortality rates in many countries may reverse their normal downward course and actually begin to rise due to this increase in caloric over-consumption.

Another worldwide phenomenon, the dependence on labor-saving technology tools, is also on the rise. Is our modern sedentary lifestyle, focused largely around the computer, to blame for our increase in obesity? There’s no question in my mind that it is. But here I’d like to discuss a few ways that schools are actually using technology tools to try to combat the “success” that computers have had in making all of our lives too physically “easy.”

Crooms Academy of Information Technology, a magnet high school in Florida, has created a technology-rich PE curriculum which not only uses technology to keep kids healthier and better coordinated, but reinforces math, science, reading and writing skills as well. Their PE curriculum uses a mix of stationary FX Cycles, Sony PlayStation with ATC Motocross, Dance Dance Revolution (a video game that directs players to where to dance on a wired floor pad), and pedometers and heart rate monitors.

Students are trained to calculate their stride length and heart-rate zones. Then they use this information with a pedometer and heart rate monitor to calculate the number of calories burned during exercise. While wearing the monitors, students engage in activities that include riding the FX Cycles while watching the ATC Motocross on a video screen, or playing the Dance Dance Revolution game.

After these sessions, kids wirelessly connect their monitors to computers and upload their individual health statistics, which are displayed in a multitude of ways using installed software. Every sessions’ stats are recorded by the software, providing a health time-line for each student.

Another program that connects technology to physical education and health is taking place at Tuttle Middle School in Indiana. This 1:1 laptop school initiated their “wellness program” for grades 6-8 in 2002, but due to it’s success, has expanded it down to 3rd grade and up through high school.

The program is based on partnerships with Polar, a major manufacturer of heart-rate monitors, and a local hospital. The Polar monitors record student’s cardiovascular data, and the accompanying software lets them measure various data such as flexibility and upper body strength. The school also uses a body fat analysis machine.

Another unique feature of Tuttle’s program is quarterly visits by EMTs and nurses from the local hospital, who provide blood pressure screenings for the students. This information, and all the rest, is combined, analyzed and ultimately put into an 18-page health profile for each student to continually update.

These are just two programs using technology in unique and creative ways that I wanted to tell you about. I think that technology, when thoughtfully and appropriately applied, really can make our lives better. And possibly even longer.

If you are interested in learning more, check out the Polar Education site, which has lesson plans, free training information, etc.

Hi y’all, it’s Friday so must be time for the 2nd installment of HiTechHall. I will return to this post to discuss the above, but now I’m off to International Day at Marian Baker School here in San Jose, Costa Rica. There will be free food, but just as important, I need to finish the school’s new anti-virus installation I started too long ago!

I shall return.

Ok, I’m back. And full. The food was great, (I really liked the Togolese spicy sauce the Lohrman’s brought), and now all of the 50 or so computers have the latest version of McAfee. While I was there, I ended up talking to the school’s business manager for almost an hour, learning about the history, plans and problems with the technology on campus. One of the issues that came up was student use, or over-use, of instant messaging. Administrators and teachers were annoyed and concerned that the computers were not being utilized sufficiently as learning vehicles. I’ve heard about this IM problem at almost all of the schools I’ve been associated with. And I agree it’s a problem, but one with no easy solution.

Sure, IM software can be be removed. Here’s how to remove MSN Messenger and some others. And there are many others, such as Yahoo, AOL, Gaim, ICQ, IMSecure, Trillian, Windows Messenger, Google Talk, etc. What’s worse (for those averse to IM), is that a new Web2.0 site called Meebo allows users to connect to the IM service of their choice though a browser only, there is no need to have these services installed on the computer the student is using. (I sure hope no students are reading this, but heck, they probably know about Meebo already).

So, I recommended that if the school heads really wanted to eliminate IM for the short-term, they would need to have a technician log on to each computer as administrator, remove all the IM software installed (and being familiar with the school’s machines, I know that every one had multiple versions of these programs), and then have the school’s content-filtering software configured to block Meebo’s IP address. But this solution would work only so long as another similar site didn’t come online, and I’d bet there are some Meebo-like clones out there already. Those would then also have to sought-out and blocked by the network content-filter. And who was going to do that job, anyway? This school, like many, doesn’t have a full-time network administrator.

In the end, I suggested that it would be far wiser to try to control “the problem” rather than try to snuff it out entirely, which would be futile. Besides, aren’t schools supposed to be trying to prepare our students for a work environment where collaboration and group-based problem solving is the norm? Most modern work environments have already successfully incorporated tools such as IM, wikis, podcasting, screencasting, videoconferencing, etc. This stuff comes naturally to our digital-native students and they will be using these tools when they join the work force. And they will certainly find a way around any technological barrier schools try to put up.

We educators need to focus on trying to master these modern tools ourselves and then use them to teach the traditional curriculum. That is a HUGE challenge, and we have a long way to go. But it’s just a matter of slowly chipping away at the stone. Eventually, we will get there. To be honest, I could not offer many solutions to control the “problem” of student IM use, other than to suggest more vigilant teacher monitoring during class time, possibly with the help of a tool such as NetSupport: School, which allows teachers to monitor all classroom computer activity from the teacher’s computer. But I did try to stress to the business manager that simply trying to ban all instant messaging use was a bad idea, and one that would surely fail both the anti-IMers AND the students.

A Great Firefox Extension

I used to be a terrible speller, but when I started using spell-check religiously on my emails, I became a much better one. I think it’s the same for students. So here’s a tool that I think is neat, and which I’m pretty sure will help my and most students’ vocabularies as well. It’s an extension to the Firefox browser, which most of us are using these days. (You are using Firefox, aren’t you?). The program is called Dictionary Lookup. It’s a tiny piece of code that basically adds a dictionary to your browser.

So after the install, when you are reading something online and come across a strange word, just right-click your mouse and you will see the option Define. A small pop up box will contain the words “to state or set forth the meaning of…”, for example, if you hovered over the word define above. It’s simple, it’s easy, it’s what computer geeks call elegant. I agree. This is what computers are supposed to do: Help us learn more and whenever possible, to keep it simple (KISS).

Hi, I’m Tech Hall and I plan to use this blog “Tech Waves” as an opportunity to keep people that are interested in educational technology up-to-date and aware of interesting ed tech developments, as well as document my opinions on a range of education technology subjects.

I started out many years ago as a high school Social Studies teacher, and became very interested in using the emerging “Information Highway” as a tool and resource for my classes. In the late ’90s, I developed several lessons incorporating email exchanges between my students and friends of mine who lived in Southern Africa. At the time, it seemed absolutely “magical” to be able to send and receive messages so quickly across such great distances. Today, that kind of stuff seems ho-hum to students, and most adults as well, and that just illustrates how rapidly technology is advancing.

Since those days, I’ve been a tech teacher, coordinator, computer/network repairer and Web designer, and I spend huge amounts of time struggling to keep up with insanely evolving tech developments. I know that most teachers and admins just don’t have the time to keep up with this stuff, but would like to know how to incorporate and use more technology and they just need some trusted person to advise them. It occurred to me that I might as well put all of my research to good use by documenting my observations, discoveries, recommendations, rants, raves, tips and tricks for anyone interested to see, right here at Tech Waves. So please check-in once in awhile.