Call it Physical Education 2.0!

I love Physical Education and everything that goes with it. And I believe that the Web 2.0 goes with it! In fact, I think we can enhance the physical education environment if we connect it to the web through a various number of ways. Lately I have been thinking about how I can verbalize my area of research and how I want to specialize within PE as I go through my doctorate and begin multiple pilot studies. Here are only a few idea in how I see PE evolve as a subject to address the needs of the students, teachers, teacher educators and researchers.

1) Social Networks in PE: Motivation galore! Multiple social network sites encourage people to be active. They help you track your activity and nutrition and create a space to connect with others. Social networks can also assist with classes in PE that are online.
Right now I am exploring a few of them:
- www.gyminee.com provides opportunities to track your workouts, get gymbuddies and track your nutrition! Also you can set goals and commit to challenges that can push you to your goal. This Fitness class I will sample it with a group of my fitness students.
- www.dailymile.com provides a space to track the mileage you do every day whether it is running, walking or biking. You can set goals and create group competitions. You can let people know about the races out there, log and blog and meet people who also enjoy these activities.
- www.wowy.com is specifically for those doing beachbody programs such as Chelean Extreme or P90X to motivate each other, work out together and track nutrition and workout routines.
There are many others and over the next few months I will explore the net and create a list!

2) Wikis in PE: Collaboration in PE can and should happen for several reasons.
- Online textbooks can be created for each physical activity and for health the students are learning in school. They can have an elementary, middle school and high school book. Or even for each grade. I think it is important that students start to think and learn about what a sport actually involves. Using a wiki can extend the learning experience. They can explore the history, rules, equipment and even the bio mechanics of playing a game!
- Collaborating on games. Inventing games is an area that has shown many benefits as far as taking social responsibility within a group. By using a wiki, students can collaborate on games and learn to be creative. Their work does not just go on a piece of paper and in the garbage after it is graded! No, their work will be published and can be used later, modified, added on and played by people all over the world.
- PETE: wikis can be used in the same way with pre-service teachers. They can create lesson plans alone or together. They can build on each other ideas and enhance their knowledge in didactics by writing down their thoughts and experience on teaching, evaluating each others' lesson plans and building on these. Since I started using wikis in higher education, I have found them to be extremely useful in grabbing the students attention to the theory, history and mechanics behind the sports. My students started to learn more than I could ever offer in my course. They start to learn things they are interested in and that connect them with the sport which can create an appreciation for the sport at various levels. For example, students may not enjoy the activity but they love history. Once they start exploring the history of the sport, they start to gain an appreciation of it and this may encourage them to try it. They can later share their knowledge with the class. Wikis create an excellent foundation to teach to multiple intelligences and I do believe that is why most students enjoy using them.

3) Blogging in PE: You can start to blog early on in life! In fact, students as young as Kindergarten or first grade begin to blog about physical activity, nutrition and health and gain several benefits. They learn to reflect on these activities, they learn to communicate their needs and wants, they learn to comment and they practice literacy skills! Blogging can be beneficial at any stage in someones life. As for PETE programs, teacher candidates can blog during their internship, read each others' blogs, comment, reflect and share experiences.

Ok, This is just a beginning. I need to explore these areas and perhaps I need to specialize even more but I am now sure that this is an area worthy of my inquiry!
In the end, it would be great to develop an online program for PE students in schools or university that encompasses all the above aspects into one network!
If you have any suggestions related to these topics, please do leave a comment. Also, if you know of an interesting link to PE, teaching PE, blogs on PE, Social Networks related to fitness and health and wikis on PE, please share!
Thanks!