Team Teach Reflection-Dance and Technology

This week our group taught on the topic of dance and technology. I have taken quite a few dance lessons while growing up, where I had to follow a choreographed set of moves; however, being on the other end of the receiver is really a different experience. Originally, I was familiar with the Cha Cha slide however I had never danced the moves myself, so I first taught the sequence to myself. After a couple times of practicing I was successfully able to master all of the moves easily and of course listening to the lyrics helped a lot. However, when I tried to break down the sequence into individual steps, and teach it without the music to the class, it became quite a complex task, as it was easy to miss simple steps throughout the sequence or confuse the order of the moves at times. Therefore I had known the sequence as a whole, but following a top down approach in my head wasn’t always easy. I now have a different appreciation of my dance teachers who always showed patience when they taught and made it seem so effortless. Overall, I am proud of my team and for all of our efforts. This week’s topic also included technology, and my first reaction to the thought of incorporating technology into physical education was negative. When I thought about technology I thought about convenience and laziness. Physical education is supposed to make you move, break a sweat, go outdoors, and be social. After reading the chapter, I have realized there are a lot of great apps and devices that educators could incorporate into PE, but I still don’t entirely agree with them all and by no means can any of them replace any aspect of PE. Although I am open to including technology as a supplemental tool to reinforce ideas, for example Edmodo can be used in addition to PE activities to carry on conversations and discussions about physical education, but technology such as online games that promote physical activity should never replace PE. Even management apps such as team shake or scorekeepers are all great, however I think those are experiences that children need to engage in themselves to learn these skills. Finally, physical literacy encompasses social, emotional, and physical development, and all of these can’t be achieved through the mere use of technology.

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