Inspired by a number of recent, disturbing situations in professional sports, as well as with all grades K-12, this edition of Technology and Physical Education will examine the subject of good sportsmanship. Included will be discussion starters and current thinking questions.

An introductory course in podcasting will also be reviewed for expanding our horizons, and disseminating information on what physical education is all about. This is a valuable public relations tool for communities, parents, teachers, and school boards.

Various sportsmanship codes and resources will be discussed that schools and organizations have in place to combat the dilemma of unruly behavior vs. sportsmanship and "showboating" in sports events.

A continuum of terminology, tips, and tricks often utilized with software and hardware applications and programs has also been included in this section. Technology is an effective way to disseminate information about physical education, and demonstrate to parents and community that physical educators are a viable asset.

Gerry Cernicky
Technology Section Editor

Please review the Technology in Physical Education archives for more in-depth information on the following vocabulary terms to help guide you through the articles of this issue and make them easier to understand.

Podcast - downloadable episodes of programs that are similar to radio broadcasts. It is a media file that is distributed by subscription over the Internet.

MP3 - an audio specific compression format.

Encoding - the process of transforming information from one format to another.

Streaming - audio or video, transferred over a network, that plays dynamically as the content is downloaded.

Ipodder - small program that runs on your PC to download audio files (MP3) directly to your Mp3 device.

RSS - acronym for Really Simple Syndication. Look for the orange/red symbol on Internet pages to subscribe to various shows. This is a Web content syndication format (XML), which is a simple, flexible text format for large scale electronic publishing.

Podcast episode - single radio show plus RSS metadata (title, description, enclosure).

Podcast series - ongoing series of radio shows, on schedule, with their own RSS feed.

Podcast channel - aggregation of feeds or series, similar to TV channel/series.

Audacity - free MP3 recorder to make a recording then save it to an MP3 file.

How Podcasts Work

	Podcaster records the show as an audio file.
	Add a hyperlink for the show to an RSS feed on a web server.
	Listener's podcast software checks RSS feeds at set intervals, downloading and adding new shows.
	When the listener docks a portable player, it updates the latest shows.

Check out my podcasts (PE TALK) and click the help menu and forum links from the TALKSHOE homepage for more information on how to podcast:

How To Make Your Own

	Plug a USB headset/microphone into your computer.
	Install the free audacity player, make a recording, then save it as an MP3 file.
	Upload the MP3 file to your website or blog and follow the directions at ipodder.org to create an RSS feed.

Here are some sites that will help in the development of homepages, html, and tech issues, and keep educators abreast with the global community of physical education:

Try out the new media player from PE Central. It offers public service announcements that depict the need for more physical education.

Need an idea how to promote the NEW P.E. with advanced technology? Try these devices to jump start your program:

	Nike Plus	Virtual Cycling
	VCycling	Eye Toy
	Sportwall	DDR
	Technology in PE

More than two years ago, I discussed a melee that occurred between the parents of a player and an official at a high school basketball game, resulting in permanent injury to the official and financial and legal consequences for the parents. Unfortunately, situations like this are still occurring, and the lack of sportsmanship in competitive sports has not improved. In fact, in many cases they are on the rise, and numerous demonstrations of despicable behavior plague sports from the amateur to the pro ranks.

In my area, a t-ball coach instructed another player to hit a special needs student with a ball during a game to prevent the student from participating like the other students.

The coach was brought to court and lost. This negative behavior is rampant in all levels of competitive sports, where, after athletes tackle, sack, touchdown, slam dunk, etc., they dance or pump their chest, often inciting ire in their opponents. There are countless cases of brawls around the country that occur from the so called "shaking line," where athletes are supposed to commend their opponents, despite winning or losing, on a game well played, but often engage in unsportsmanlike behavior, such as hitting, spitting, etc.

Alternatives must exist to make sportsmanship a viable part of the competitive experience. These can stem from codes of conduct for players, coaches, band, staff, and parents. Coaches should be accountable for attending specialized courses about good sportsmanship with their players. In many schools, a code of sportsmanship speech is said before each game. Another alternative would be to provide service announcements on TV ads that promote fair play.

Within the "program" for each sporting event, the sportsmanship code of fair play should be included to remind all participants of expected good behavior. Athletic directors and teacher helpers should be used to help monitor games.

Recently, after a basketball game between long-time rivals, "fans" at the game stormed the court and a principal was caught on tape behaving aggressively toward a student. Keep in mind it was mentioned on the P.A. system three times for people to not leave the stands. Does this justify the principal's behavior? Were the students at fault? How could this have been prevented?

In the next segment is an example of how to use discussion starters, called "Current Thinking Questions," which come from an article from the L.A. Times entitled "A Basketball Brawl." It discusses the fight that occurred between players of the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks in December (anybody remember the fracas between the Pacers and Pistons, a year ago?). Has the league learned anything from that?

	Inquire from your students if they have ever gotten really mad at somebody during a game.
	Is it okay to get mad at somebody else during competition? Why? Why not?
	Ask why fighting is bad. Why isn't it okay to hit someone if you get mad?
	What can you do instead of getting mad or hitting someone?
	Should fights be highlighted in newsletters and current events?
	Is it appropriate to have starters on the court at the end of the game when their team is way ahead, or should other players on the team have a chance to play?
	Imagine that David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, asked you for your advice as how to stop fighting. What would you suggest? Why?
	You could ask the students to create skits in response to any questions!

Mind Gym - In this personal story, the author writes about how computer innovations have enabled her to continue exercising her mind and to be productive in spite of severe physical disability from Multiple Sclerosis.

Technology: Everyone, Everywhere, Everyday
Judith Geppert is a regular contributor to e-Bility and a great story teller. Born in the 1950s with Cerebral Palsy, Judith talks about the freedom and possibilities assistive technology has brought her.

New technological options for people with physical disabilities - Accessing telecommunication technology has been an ongoing challenge for people with disabilities. With technology continually changing and mobile phones shrinking in size, the gap between people with disabilities and telecommunication technology has grown.

Off the shelf assistive technology solutions - Although the Eon3 was not produced or designed for people with disabilities, it is a very usable and economical piece of assistive technology. Greg has quadriplegia from a spinal injury and uses this single device to control his televisions, videos, pay TV, CD player, lights and appliances such as a radio and fan, all from his wheelchair.

In order to allow students ownership in discussions, coaches and physical educators need to use strategies that generate more involvement and promote discussion among all individuals. For example, a teacher or coach should develop a discussion question that will elicit varying responses. When discussing sportsmanship, each student should personally reflect about the dilemma "should trash talking be tolerated on our team?."

The next step in this approach is to team one set of partners with another to form a group of four. Each of the four group members then shares his/her thoughts, allowing the group to develop a consensus response to the question. A benefit to this activity is that participants will get to talk to classmates who they may not know very well.

examples: concluding statements

steps for implementation

	Prepare (show video, case study)
	Present a related question or dilemma
	Develop pros and cons
	Share pros and cons with groups
	Develop a conclusion
	Have a spokesperson present the conclusion
	Display written personal responses

discussion web

Should trash talking be tolerated on our team?
Conclusion: "Yes, but there should be limits."
(Strategies, January, 2007, Volume 20, #3)

NATIONAL SPORSTMANSHIP DAY
"A Dare to Play Fair" commitment to sportsmanship. Included are discussion topics for all grade levels, sports guideposts, messages from sports stars, an essay contest, and packets of information along with posters. Schedule March 6, 2007, as the day to join the fight to promote fair play.

SPORTS ALLIANCE, formed in 1997, promotes fair play at all levels to reinforce the value of sport as a test of character.

RUBRIC FOR ROLE PLAY. A great step-by-step lesson for promoting good sportsmanship with students.

NAME CALLING. This Web site offers a number of effective lessons for educating students about the negative implications of name calling. It also provides many positive alternatives to name calling.

SPORTSMANSHIP CHALLENGE. This Web site challenges students to behave with "grace and honor," even in the face of loss or unsportsmanlike behavior from their competition.

CHARACTER COUNTS. "Pursuing Victory with Honor" is the goal of this Web site. Take a look for more tools on how to inspire students to be good sports.

Check out animations and virtual projects of the body and mind at INTERACTIVE BODY.

Want to know your brain typing, then find out here in testimonials and video clips: BRAIN TYPES.

Explore the human anatomy with animations: HUMAN ANATOMY.

How well do you know the human anatomy? Try this virtual test. Play here. ANATOMY.

Need some sport science and online activities for cycling, surfing, baseball, and hockey? EXPLORATORIUM.

INNERBODY - 10 different body systems are presented. Select each individually to interactively learn about that system.

GetBodySmart: Interactive Tutorials and Quizzes On Human Anatomy and Physiology