Technology for Physical Educators, Health Educators, and Coaches: Enhancing Instruction, Assessment, Management, Professional Development, and Advocacy

A wide variety of technology is available to physical educators, health teachers, and coaches—but technology is only helpful if people know how to use it effectively.

This text will help health and physical education teachers and coaches improve their abilities by learning to effectively use technology in the areas of instruction, assessment, management, communication, professional development, and advocacy. The effective use of technology as outlined in this book can improve student and athlete performance and assessment and motivate active and healthy lifestyles among students.

An important distinction with this book is that it goes beyond simply discussing the technology tools—it helps readers understand how to use technology to improve instruction. Practical examples of how to use various technological tools are included for different settings and a variety of age groups (child to adult). Readers will learn about the effective use of technology in physical education, health education, and coaching.

Technology for Physical Educators, Health Educators, and Coaches is a practical, hands-on text that offers a number of useful tools:

• What Does the Research Say? sidebars that provide evidence for which technologies do and do not work in physical education, health education, and sport coaching, with accompanying explanations
• Tips, examples, and interviews from seasoned professionals on various types of technology
• Chapter objectives, key terms, review questions, and open-ended discussion questions, which could prove useful for online discussion boards
• Instructor ancillaries, including PowerPoint presentations and learning management system (LMS)–ready quizzes for each chapter, that help instructors organize, plan, teach, and assess content effectively
• Online web resource that offers a variety of tools, including additional practitioner interviews; links to websites, videos, and podcasts; sample handouts, and other activities and resources from practicing professionals. The online web resource will be updated annually to keep current with the changing technology.
• Social media accounts (@Tech4HPECoach) on Twitter and Facebook allow readers to further connect and share ideas. Use the hashtag #Tech4HPECoach across various social media platforms too!

(The web resource is included with all new print books and some ebooks. For ebook formats that don’t provide access, the web resource is available separately.)

The text is organized into six parts. Part I focuses on how technology can assist in meeting specific goals, objectives, and national standards within physical education, health education, and sport coaching. Part II covers technology for class and team management as well as communication technology, while part III explores how to leverage technology to facilitate teaching and learning, including within a traditional classroom, online, and with special populations. The authors address how to use technology for assessment in part IV, and part V delves into how technology can benefit professional development and advocacy. In part VI, the authors detail the all-important legal and financial aspects of technology.

Seth E. Jenny, PhD, teaches within the department of public health at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. He previously taught within the department of physical education, sport, and human performance at Winthrop University and the department of health, exercise, and sport sciences at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Jenny has over 20 years of health, physical education, and coaching experience across K-12 and higher education settings, where he has been an early proponent of integrating technology into teaching and coaching. He has worked as a U.S. Air Force exercise physiologist and has coached athletes across all ages and abilities, from elementary athletes to Olympic competitors. Dr. Jenny has created and taught face-to-face, online, and hybrid technology courses for undergraduate and graduate students studying health and physical education teacher education, coaching, and sport management. He is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine as an exercise physiologist and holds Level 2 (youth specialization) coaching certification from USA Track and Field. Dr. Jenny is an active scholar, providing more than 100 professional presentations and publishing over 40 peer-reviewed academic journal articles within his prime areas of research: esports, motion-based video gaming, and elementary-age distance running. In 2016, he was named the Research and Scholarship Faculty Member of the Year within the College of Education at Winthrop University. Dr. Jenny cofounded and is the acting president of the nonprofit Grove City Athletics Club (Grove City, Pennsylvania), where he is a volunteer coach for elementary cross country and track and field athletes. He spends his spare time with his family and training for marathons, with a personal best of 2:48:30 (6:25 mile pace for 26.2 miles).

Jennifer M. Krause, PhD, is an associate professor of physical education and physical activity leadership (PEPAL) in the School of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC). She also serves as coordinator of the physical education K-12 teaching program at UNC and is a research faculty member of the University of Northern Colorado Active Schools Institute. Dr. Krause has over 15 years of experience teaching health and physical education in K-12 and teacher preparation settings and coaching youth sport. She currently teaches undergraduate- and graduate-level courses related to physical education and coaching technology, assessment, health education methods, and teacher and coach action research. She also mentors doctoral students in the PEPAL program at UNC.

Dr. Krause’s major line of research explores technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge preparation and self-efficacy among preservice physical education teachers, as well as the technology training and experiences among physical education teacher educators. Dr. Krause has published over 20 peer-reviewed research and professional articles and delivered over 80 research and professional presentations at international, national, and regional meetings. Dr. Krause received the 2017 University Physical Education Teacher of the Year Award from SHAPE Colorado. She currently serves on the editorial board for Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators and is a member of the SHAPE Colorado board.

Tess Armstrong, PhD, is an assistant professor in the department of movement science at Grand Valley State University. Dr. Armstrong has published numerous articles related to youth physical activity, and she has given more than 20 research and professional presentations at local, state, national, and international conferences. She has nine years of experience teaching at the preK-5 level and in teacher preparation programs. Dr. Armstrong currently teaches classes related to assessment in physical education; teaching methods of fitness, of dance, and of elementary physical education; and physical education for classroom teachers. She is actively involved in supervising preservice teachers at the university level.

Contributing author Matthew Cummiskey, PhD, is an associate professor at West Chester University, training future health and physical education teachers. He taught K-12 health and physical education for 5 years and has taught within higher education for 13 years. Dr. Cummiskey enjoys implementing technology in his classes to enhance motivation, involve students, promote learning, and showcase technology modalities students can implement. His technology-related scholarship includes two book chapters; two articles in Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance; 14 articles in the journal of the Pennsylvania State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (PSAHPERD); three SHAPE America national conference presentations; and four SHAPE America Eastern District technology presentations. Dr. Cummiskey currently teaches the course Assessment and Technology (HPE 347) at West Chester University.