I find that bloglines is a great place to find news that is personal and to ones own liking. The site allows for easy access of various sites, news feeds, and various other information. This is easily accessed through a free account and the site van even give suggestions for news feeds. Sites all over the web also have a button that when clicked sets up a new feed in your bloglines feed. This can very useful in physical education as studies in physical performance and athletics are always changing/advancing. My bloglines account is set to public so feel free to check out my personal feeds for suggestions for your own or just maybe an interesting read.....

http://www.bloglines.com/public/Zack4386

Plaxo/LinkedIn vs Myspace/Facebook

Plaxo and linkedin are some very good social networking sites and I can see the similarities when it comes to facebook and myspace. The biggest differences I see are the kind of people they draw. I find that plaxo and linkedin cam attract an older and more professional demographic. Possibly something that you would like to give yor coworker. While faebook and myspace are more geared to the college age ppl and true friends. Information shared can be quite similar while plaxo and linkedin get a little more personal and almost have a feel of a resume or portfolio with interaction.

Google docs

Google docs is a very useful and easy tool to use on the web. It give peopele the chance to interact and share different types of documents. This is very useful in the education field becuase students and teachers can use this to communicate with eachother Nd five feedback before the assinment is actually submitted to the instructor. I also find that this makes it easy to share documents over the web. On my comprehensive technology use project I use google docs as a sharing tool for another web 2.0 site (PEERtrainer). Google docs is a very useful tool and I am excitedto see it used in many ways in my future

Plaxo v. LinkedIn v. Google Sites

Building a professional portfolio can be a very time consuming task yet somewhat fun to do. The process is filled with excitement and pride. I have recently set up three. The first is using Plaxo. This site was helpful and easy to fill out taking about 30 minutes for the necessities. This site was easy to enter in other websites and connect them. This was a big plus as i have been all over the internet signing up for various sites over the past 6 weeks. What first turned out to be a big plus later turned into a huge problem. Once the site was set up with facebook it ended up looking like a facebook page with little extra information. The people who i am connected with take over the home page and it no longer looks like my site. I feel this is a good networking site, but i would not choose it to present a professional portfolio.

The second site used was LinkedIn. This is a great site and i liked it much more than Plaxo for the professional portfolio project. It was easy to set up and i felt more "invited" (if that makes any sense). I spent a little bit more time setting up this account but most of this is becuase of the technical problems with the site. Many times i tried filling in various sections and was given an error message with an apology. As i write this the entire site is down and it is very frustrating. In the end i like this site, and would prefer it over Plaxo for the professional portfolio. But without it working or being able to finish filling out neccessary information, it does me no good. Especially if i am going to count on this to get my personal information to possible employers! What if they cannot access the site? There goes my 6 figure job!

Finally, I used Google Sites. This is a great place to set up a professional portfolio and takes the lead easily. This site is a little bit difficult to work with and one needs a good amount of computer savy to get things done on it. But there is a plenty of easily accessible tutorials and videos to help you. Being able to create the home page and then add additional pages that all have the personal touch is extremely important to anyone wanting to stand out and get noticed by potential employers. This site facilitates creativity and breads inspiration. The sky is the limit! The negative to this site would be the amount of time it takes to create. I have spent over 3 hours figuring this out and have not even finished. Once again adequate computer skills are required and much time, but overall, Google Sites takes the gold. Check it out... http://sites.google.com/site/zackariapeters/

Library Thing

I feel that library thing is very interesting and was fun to play with for a few minutes but serves little purpose beyond this. I enjoyed searching for books and looking at "similar libraries" of other members. The site also had a huge amount of space provided for reviews, references, descriptions, and even recommendations. These were very useful for some books and gave the site the 2.0 feel. Although most of the books from my selection had little to no information. I understand this site is only meant to be a catalog and it does a great job at it. I think i just had my hopes up and was thinking maybe one could read books, or at least parts of books. As stated in the first sentence i feel this site was very interesting but i believe i could find just as much information on amazon.com while having more options regarding the book (buy, read excerpts, etc.)

eViL mOnKeY!!

So this is a picture of my family (excluding my brother) after a tabor football game my senior year. I added the evil monkey from family guy as i thought it looked a little funny. I got this from FotoTrix.com and it was very easy. I was able to change the size of the added cut out of the evil monkey and place it. I hope you enjoy.

Podcasts

Having looked at http://podcast.com/ and http://www.podcastalley.com/ i can now see a better picture of the usefulness of podcasts. These search engines create a very easy to way to find information that directly relates to whatever it is you are interested in. Podcasts can be very useful in the classroom because it is not uncommon to have students who would rather not read. These "articles" give the listener an easy and fast way to get the information needed without having to sit down with a book. One could easily download the podcast and listen while driving to work or school. Podcasts make it quick and easy to get the needed information and the search engines provide make the whole process that much better.

Tabor Football!

So this was a video taken before our last home game during the 2005 season. Hearing this video gives me chills to this day. That season we had some of the best talent in the NAIA and redefined the meaning of TEAM. We finished 10-0 in regular season play and 11-1 after playoffs. We finished 6th in the nation loosing to Sioux Falls, SD. I still have bad memories about those purple people eaters.
Anyway, "if this doesnt make your piss hot, i dont know what will!" The great - Coach Mike Gardner

Technorati p2

I seemed a little negative on my last post. This is because i could not even find any blogs i was searching for. Not the classes, not mine, not anything. Maybe i looked under the wrong rocks but i could not find what i was looking for. Just a side note in response to my assignment....

Technorati

Technorati...from what i seeing is a large search engine for blogs. I can see this being important to businesses, or a classroom if the classroom follows a blog. This could then be a good help to finding the blog at the beginning of class or checking if anyone out there is saying something similar. Other than this i do not see much to it. The statistics are pretty astonishing and make me think about changing my views on blogs and maybe try and use it more in the future. But once again i do not see blogging in class very helpful for me personally, unless i start teaching online courses.

Del.icio.us

After spending the last few hours playing with del.icio.us i find myself liking this a lot. The website is easy to use and easy to find whatever it is you are interested in. All of that said, i do not think i will be using this site within the classroom in the future. It is very easy to get distracted and loose you place trying to chase tags. I also think it might be a little bit distracting for a student in a classroom without a direct set of links to follow. If that would be the case then it would be a waste of time just entering the site. Once again i think this is a great site and i just might start using this instead of my bookmarks page. On my computer i have internet explorer, firefox, and safari all installed. I normally use firefox but have gotten on the computer many times with one of my parents using another browser and have had trouble finding certain sites. For this reason i am going to keep delicious for a few weeks. But i cannot say i will use it in the future or in my present classroom.

RSS Feeds

RSS feeds are an incredible part of web 2.0. I find myself checking my blog every time i get on the computer and then going straight to my bloglines account to check the new feeds. I find myself over whelmed with information. What makes it so amazing is that this is not just pages of random information but useful, importnat, personal information. I enjoy sifting through the articles that almost all of them interest me. The only thing i need to pay attention to is the clock to make sure i dont stay up too late, like now!

Technology in the Classroom

In the past 3 weeks i have explored many new uses of the web. At the end of the day i find myself thinking how these can actually be used in my classroom. I would not like to have my classroom be totally based around the internet as i enjoy the personal aspect of teaching. I enjoy when my students come to me personally for information and i get to see them progress. I do believe that they should have the web to gain additional knowledge and given the opportunity to go above and beyond. With this in mind, i see myself using this new found information as an optional part of the classroom. Possibly in the future i will find more ways to implement technology into the classroom but with most of the class having internet access only at the school, i find it hard to make it mandatory. I would like to give them more information based websites they could look at and use for research and random training questions they might have. This might be found through bloglines and rss feeds. But i personally need to find out a little bit more about these.

Web 2.0

So i checked out the site http://www.seomoz.org/web2.0/short and found some really great websites. Obviously given my background being a personal trainer and teaching people how to be personal trainers i checked out the site PEERtrainer under the health category. I love the accountability and motivation behind it. It enables people to help others within their "group" and jot down information from their personal workouts and share with others. Obviously those are great things, but as i look at this site what i find most interesting is the ability to gain knowledge from others experiences and build a personal library of workouts. I believe one of the most important aspects of exercise is the variability of workouts along with proper specificity and progression. Most have the specificity down and progress to some degree, but with this i believe it will be much easier for people to get new ideas without even knowing how to build a program. This broad body of virtually infinite workouts at ones fingertips gives the inexperienced a chance to use great programs without the use of a trainer or coach. Physical performance techniques and information about training has grown exponentially in the past decade, training is nothing like what it used to be in years past. Sites like this are the future of training as we share experiences; both positive and negative and continue to grow and get better.

Previous 3 posts

The previous three posts are for my KIN-710 class Technology in Physical Education with Dr. Scot Sailor at Fresno Pacific University. The title of the post is the name of the article i blogged about.

History to Do: Why iTeach with iPods

I literally said "WOW!" aloud when i finished reading this article. This is an amazing article that touched on a number of great aspects of technology in the classroom. A few standout points that i saw included the use of more than one learning tool; reading, writing, talking, listening. This is a great concept as students do not learn in a uniform matter. I myself learn by doing; writing and talking, and have had many students just like me. On the other hand have had classmates and students the exact opposite. This opportunity to absorb the material in more than one avenue a great concept! Another standout point for me was the responses by the students in the trial class presented. One of the students responded having a demand for higher learning thinking skills. The students clearly spent time out of class listening to the podcasts and spent the little class time they had discussing higher level, interactive concepts that would not have been discussed without the use of the ipods. These two points along with many others sold me on the use of technology and ipods in the classroom. I personally do not have an ipod as i was scared to spend the money for a "phone." I think i am going to buy one after my next paycheck!

Social Networking

"People have always been social creatures." This statement in the opening paragraph of this article clearly states one of the founding characteristics of humanity. The application of this concept to the www is just one of the ways it has evolved through the past decade. The article spent most of its content explaining various networking sites like myspace, facebook, wikipedia, and youtube. These sites allow us as humans to do what we do best; interact, socialize, share information and thoughts, and find friends. Not all people are outwardly ready to make friends, introduce oneself to the girl or guy on the other side of the room, or help a fellow classmate struggling with a math problem. These sites enable and empower users to not only better oneself but better others. Social networking has been something that i personally have tried to improve on in the past few years after i graduated from college. I found myself as a personal trainer in a gym trying to build a client base in a city i havent been in the past four years. Social networking, for me, was not only a way to express thoughts and opinions but also a way to make a living. The Internet is a great way to do that as i can post information about myself and what i do in the hopes of building client base. This is also true in education as teachers can post information about homework assignments and lectures before the next meeting. Social networking is the main reason i use the www and this article explains those reasons perfectly.

Web, Library, and Teen Services 2.0

This article creatively explains the future of libraries as it relates to the technological advancements and their implications on the now "sterile spaces, static collections, and vanilla catalogs. I liked how this article explained libraries as a place to find information and gave it an ill feel with much to improve on. I feel much the same way as i have spent more time standing on my hands in the past few years than in a library. The 2.0 view of libraries create an atmosphere that not only increases the uses of libraries but also has an appeal to almost anyone. I love how the author relates this text to teens and gives many examples of how teens can be drawn to the library instead of just telling their parents they are going to the library and end up in the back seat of a squad car. One of my biggest concerns in the future of education and information is its "draw." As an educator i find myself constantly trying to find ways to get students to enjoy learning. I believe learning and gaining knowledge is one of the most important foundational traits to a successful person (and this goes beyond career and money). Knowledge is power, but it is also confidence, it is fulfilling, it is happiness. The more teens, students, and citizens of the world strive for knowledge the better this world will be, and 2.0 is a great way to get there.

So i wrote the summer workout outline. I was just going to post it on this blog as a link or possibly an attachment, but i guess i am a little computer illiterate. I do not know hot to do this. If anyone knows how please let me know and i will get it up as soon as possible.

BUSY!

BUSY!, originally uploaded by zack8467.

So this is me! I sift through most of this on a daily basis. The computer has the home page of KIN 710 Technology in Physical Education, one of my classes i am enrolled in at Fresno Pacific University. Directly under the computer is the two three ring binders i have for this class as well as the other class i am enrolled in, KIN 745 Assessment in Physical Education. On the left is the Shafter football playbook, a notebook, and a three ring binder for the workout program. On the right is my grade book, books, and three ring binders for the three classes i am currently teaching at Santa Barbara Business College; Kinesiology, Fitness Theory and Practice I, and Assessment and Exercise Prescription I. BUSY!

Summer Football Workouts

Saturday morning all of the coaches for Shafter football from the youngest level to varsity high school met and went over the upcoming season. This was a very productive and informing meeting as we are implementing the wing-t offense that i have little knowledge on. This meeting helped bring together a town instead of 10 different football teams. It was great to see this kind of expertise come together and whats more it was neet to be part of this hopeful beginning of Shafter football as a whole.
This post for me is to ask for any ideas and thoughts on the design of the summer strength and conditioning program which i will be designing in the next two weeks. I have been given 6-7:15am and 5-7pm mondays through thrusdays. I understand this is not ideal but it is what works with the team. I will be implementing agility work mon/wed followed by lower body weights and plyos tue/thr followed by upper body weights. Again if you have any thoughts, suggestions, or ideas please feel free to let me know what you think. In the next few weeks i will be posting my ideas and design as it comes together.

Assessment Assignment

So i just turned in my very first paper in the masters program. Thought i would take a break and leave a blog before i move onto the next part of the assignment. The paper was on my philosophy of assessment in P.E. Definatly thought provoking and challenging but i think i did ok. Excited to see what i got though. Also, I am teaching as a fitness instructor at a career college. The current term will be over this Thursday and i could not be happier. I teach 3 classes this term but next term will only be teaching 2. I will take a pay cut but i am excited to have some more time to spend on my other projects. Aside from school and teaching i also coach football and track at Shafter high school. Tomorrow all of us football coaches will be having a meeting regarding summer practices and conditioning. I am very excited about this because i am the strength and conditioning coach and so much of what we do this summer will be in my hands. I cannot wait to see these guys get to work and bring Shafter football back up to the top!

Nu at FPU

This blog is part of my class at Fresno Pacific University. I am enrolled in the online Kinesiology Masters program and as part of my Technology in Kinesiology class we have been instructed to start a blog. If anyone reads this I hope you can find it thought provoking as well as entertaining. I am very fun loving yet very passionate about what I do so hopefully we can keep this fun and also interesting. I would love to hear what anyone thinks of my new endeavor as well as some of my thoughts as I post throughout the class.