Instead of having to go in during finals week and write for about two hours on what I have learned throughout the semester in 255, we were all sent individualized final exams that we had to finish. Since iDance was my last teaching lab, for my exam I was supposed to write up new activity progressions as well as a block plan and lesson plan. I also wrote a letter to the superintendent of the school of my "dreams" about why iDance would be an excellent unit to add to our cirriculum. Lastly I wrote out two assessments that I would give if I had taught the unit to see what my students had learned. I actually enjoyed writing about the system and pretty much creating everything I would need to teach an entire unit of iDance. It seems to me that having this as a final exam is more authentic then having a written exam. I was able to get a taste of what I would need to do to get ready for a unit if I were teaching. Click below and you can see everyting that I accomplished!!
On Friday December 11th I was able to attend the 2nd annual exergame expo in the dance studio at Park Center. There were a variety of games that could be played, including the iDance which I taught for Lab D. There was also an older version of Dance Dance Revolution, a game where used used a bike to drive a car on screen, and a game where you fought your opponent but used feet pads and something to hit. All of the games were fun to try out as well as watch other people do. There ended up being a pretty good turn out of people and it seemed like everyone that came had a good time. I even got to write a letter to Santa for Macy's. Overall it was a very nice way to end my last day of classes for the semester. I really liked being able to relax and just have a good time with my friends for a few hours. It was definitely a great way to end the semester!!
For my final lab I got the chance to teach a brand new system called iDance. It is like Dance Dance Revolution, just more advanced. All of the pads are wireless and the system gives the results of each pad after each dance. Every student is able to see what percentage of steps they got right, and which steps they were too late or too early on. Because there is more to the system, it is more appropriate for teaching, and it makes it easier and more interesting to learn how to use the system. There is a wireless remote that controls the system, and you can help the students by turning on a or a "ticking" sound for when each step should be done. Luckily I was able to put in time during class and outside of class to learn how to use the system properly before I had to teach.
The theme for my lesson was "dancing like a star". All the students had a chance to practice a testing song that they would be tested on in the next lesson. The goal was to get a 50% or higher on the easy setting of the song "The Message" in order to pass with the judges and go on to perform in a dance competition. For my first task I had all the students get a partner and get a peer practice sheet. On the sheet were the five cues given in the lesson and a rubric. While one person danced, the other student gave them a number from one to four on how well they performed each cue. After that they switched roles. This activity was done to help the students get to know the cues better as well as figure out what they needed to work on in order to pass the test. After that I had all the students get on a pad and practice "The Message" on the easiest setting. At certain parts during the song I paused and went over the next couple of steps for them and had them practice before turning the music back on. After that activity I wanted to play a few fun songs for the students and allow them to pick different levels of difficulty to see what they were could do with the game, but I did not have time in my lesson. I thought that allowing the students explore with the different songs and levels would keep them motivated and interested in the game, and want to learn more.
Overall it was a fun lesson and I really enjoyed teaching it. I found the new iDance system very interesting and I definitely like it a lot more then Dance Dance Revolution. It has more aspects to it and I think it is more user friendly. I think the students had a good time during the lesson as well. I think it would have been more fun for them if they were able to explore a little more with the game itself, but because it was something new, I think they found it interesting and exciting. It was also very cool to know that we were some of the first students to use this system to teach, and it will come in handy in the future to know how to use this system.
I am a junior at SUNY Cortland studying to be a physical education teacher. I am from a small town just south of Buffalo and spend most of my time swimming and studying of course. I am on the swim team here at Cortland so come cheer us on if you get a chance! Hope you enjoy my blog!
