Journal #9

"Activating Your School: Movement-Oriented Learning" By Pete Rognli

Welcome to the School of the Future! The concept behind this idea it that students are simultaneously physically and cognitively active. The project ran in March of last year and was very successful. One school in Minnesota is trying to embed physical activity into every aspect of the day, not just recess. Teachers can podcast assignments and students have the freedom to work at laptops at standing desks, crouch on the floor, sit, squat, or stand anywhere that suits the lesson. Students can also write reports on wireless iBooks and can receive podcasted lessons while walking laps. In this article, Rognli explains how The School of the Future began and the support it needs from parents, teachers and other school staff to keep it successful. The main idea is to keep students moving by using technology. Though technology is important, it is not imperative. Schools do not need fancy technologies to place movement into their educational environment. They need to make major changes that bring physical education out of the gym. Rognli explains that the main point of this concept is to find a common area between physical and cognitive learning.

Questions…
1. What are some ways I can keep my students moving, outside of my physical education classes?
I think that using technologies such as podcasts, wireless networks, etc, there are many opportunities available to promote an active lifestyle while learning. I think that I can give my students creative ideas of how to be physically active while working on homework in different subject areas. I could also provide ideas/alternative ideas in which students can be active while doing things at home. For example, instead of playing a video game at home that leaves a student sedentary, they could play the video game which requires dancing.

2. What can I do to promote the change necessary to achieve goals that The School of the Future is trying to achieve?
I think that I can be vocal with other teachers, in expressing how important it is to keep the students physically active, and how beneficial it can be to do so. I think that teachers are very open-minded on topics related to the health of students, and will be open to change if it’s for the best interest of the children.