This week was a productive week in my journey to do a flip, while also very unproductive at the same time. I have been instructed for this week to be a “deload week,” which means I am supposed to take it super easy in order to prevent injury. So, from a physical standpoint, I was not able to practice any jumps.
However, this did not deter me from making progress in doing my flip. Recently, as the weather has been getting worse, I have been waiting on access to the University’s indoor facilities for an indoor space to practice. Now that I have that access, I realize just how strict the Covid rules are, and am not able to use those facilities. In turn, I purchased a gym membership to Anytime Fitness. This gym has a nice little area that is solid enough to jump on, and when paired with mats, safe when I fall attempting my flip. Now that I have access to this facility, I am patiently waiting on my deload week to be complete, so I can begin performing these exercises shown in the videos below, and hopefully in the next 2-3 weeks, actually attepting and completing my flip!
The age of those who are having a digital citizenship has greatly decreased over the years. In particular, I am referring to those who have personal social media accounts. As we discussed in a previous class, children as young as ten or eleven are active on social media. Most people have access to the internet in some way, and there is always the danger of running into someone with bad intentions. This begs the question; how and when should we start teaching students online safety and about the Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship?
Growing up, I never learned much about digital citizenship until my upper years (approximately grades 8-12). That is because the internet has rapidly been gaining significance over the past ten to twenty years. The whole concept is very foreign to a lot of people, especially older people, which makes it tough for them to accept the changing world.
As previously mentioned, children as young as ten or eleven are active on social media. Based on this opinion, I think students should be well aware of the dangers of the online world well in advance. Sure, the Saskatchewan Curriculum does not have students learning computer science courses until the later years of their secondary schooling, but students will have had ample time to make a mistake before then. This is why I believe students should have begun learning about online safety as early as grade one or two. Arts education courses in the Saskatchewan Curriculum teach visual concepts, and students will have had lots of access to tablets and other devices in other classes. This is why I feel arts education classes are the perfect fit for students to learn a little bit about their online identities and safety behind it. If students are familiar with terms such as “Digital Etiquette” (Ribble, n.d.), they will be more aware of what they are posting online and will maybe think twice before making a mistake that will affect their future.
Before I begin, I would like to apologize. I was originally planning to get videos of me attempting my flip when I went to Apex Trampoline Park in Saskatoon. With the recent Covid protocols, I was not allowed to bring my phone on the floor, so sadly no footage this week.
However, I still made a lot of progress at Apex. I successfully landed a backflip on a trampoline using only one jump for momentum. Meaning I jumped, and bounced once before doing the flip, rather than doing it straight up. I was able to feel the motion and actually land the flip, which to me is a huge step forward in actually landing the flip on solid ground.
I found a very useful youtube/tik Tok video that made the backflip much simpler for me. This video helped me more than any other as it broke down the flip into three simple steps. These steps include: Raise the arms, the tuck, the back somersault. This helped because I have been way overthinking the backflip and trying so many things, when it is literally as easy as 1,2,3. Taking a more simplistic approach is the way to go for me now as it allows me to focus rather than think.
Moving into next week, I am kind of waiting on access to the indoor facility at the university as it is too cold and icy outside to attempt it anymore. So this week will be focused on practicing the three motions in the video above. I hope to maybe combine some of these moves and eventually work my way to doing all three together once I get inside.
This week was a huge stepping stone in my progress. Using that app illustrated in my last post called “Structured Day Planner,” I was able to make time for myself to work on my flip, and make some quality progress.
This week I worked on my mobility, particularly in my knees. I will link the youtube videos I used below, as they really helped me make progress. With track and field picking up, I have been lifting lots of heavy weight lately. The jumping element of the backflip did not help this at all, and I needed to do something before I got hurt. That is why I Planned this week to be a mobility week.
I focused on my knees and hips. One week in and I am already noticing a difference. For this reason, I have incorporated the exercises in the videos below into my warm-up and cool-down routine, in order to keep my body healthy.
The reason I am doing this is in preparation for a big week ahead. I am heading to Saskatoon to visit my girlfriend, where we have plans to go to a trampoline park. Being at the trampoline park will give me the space I need to practice the motions in a safe manner, and actually give this flip a try. I am nervous for this, but also excited to see where my progress has gotten me.
In addition, my girlfriend will be there. She is a former gymnast who has competed at the national level and knows how to do a backflip on solid ground. With her coaching, and the work I have put in, I feel like I am on track to maybe land my first backflip this weekend!
Technology has progressed exponentially, from when I started school until now. For reference, I started school in 2005, and I remember hardly using computers and other electronic resources in the classroom. Fast-forward to today, technology is almost essential in the classroom. By technology, I mean electronic resources. Some of these resources include: smartboards, laptops, cell phones, and tablets in many cases.
As we talked about in class, people are getting a digital footprint at a younger age than ever, and children as young as 11, on average, are active on social media accounts. This digital world can be very useful, but also very dangerous. The internet allows you to access millions of resources from anywhere in the world. In Michael Wesch’s YouTube video titled “An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube,” it is described that “anyone with a webcam has a voice and presence” (Wesch, 2008). This is a scary thought to me, as I just mentioned how children as young as 11 on average have a social media account, and can put forth their own content.
This, to me, illustrates how important it is for educators to teach online safety. Students need to be aware of the potential dangers out there. It is very common for people to catfish, or hack and steal peoples’ personal information. In addition, if students know that they should not post things that may be unattractive to future employers or other people of importance, it may discourage them from posting them and potentially ruining their future. Students must be educated so they do not fall into the traps of the online world.
I have highlighted lots of the dangers associated with this online world. There are also many benefits that this online society has to offer. Teachers and students have access to more resources and ways to find information than ever. You can literally search for anything and you will be greeted by thousands of links to resources to help you. This is amazing for education, as students can have visual representations of anything, or use alternative resources if traditional methods are not working for them. In my classroom, technology will be integrated, as the resources it offers are simply too substantial to ignore. Students will need to be educated on their safety before any of this is possible.
The internet is a wonderful place. It brings people closer together and opens up a world of opportunities for people. The crucial piece here is that people need to be educated on the dangers of the internet. Just like anything else, whether it be a job or a sport, there are safety hazards that must be addressed before people cause harm to themselves or others. The internet is no exception.
Much of the struggle I have had in keeping up with my backflip training thus far has been finding time to do it. This week, I tried to use some online resources to deal with this issue, and get back on track. While I would not consider myself behind on where I need to be, I could easily see myself falling behind as track and field picks up more and more.
My app of choice was “Structured Day Planner.” My reason for choosing this app is because it allows me to plan my day in advance, so I can ensure I have time to work on my backflip progress. In addition, it will help me with all other facets of life. My primary purpose is the backflip however.
The app is very simple to use. It takes you day by day, allowing you to customize and add tasks you would like to complete. Once your task is chosen, you can then adjust the time frame in which you want to do it. I tried planning out my day on October 9, and here are some snapshots of what I was able to do.
This was the App before I Had planned my day. The simple format makes it easy to use
Once I had my day planned, I could follow step-by-step what I needed to do. For the example day I provided, I was not able to do backflip training. However, the next day I did. Here is a quick snapshot of me including backflip training into my day planner app.
Indicating I will do backflip training from 2:30 to 3:30
I found the app very useful and I guarantee I will be using it in the future, even after I have completed my learning project. It is a very useful tool that helps you organize your day. Being a very busy person, this app provided me with exactly what I need to stay on top of my project, among other things.
As for my progress on my learning project in the last week, I was able to locate an area to do some drills. My original plan was to attempt the flip on solid ground for the first time and document it with video evidence. I was not feeling up o the task after doing the drills. My body was quite fatigued from other workouts all week and my muscles were quite sore. With a backflip being quite a risky move, I did not feel confident enough to attempt it yet.
This week was a very underwhelming week in my journey to do a backflip. As previously mentioned, I am a sprinter here at the University of Regina. With this, comes daily workouts, and approximately 21 hours a week in training. Between this and school, I am having a hard time being able to do extra workouts.
Luckily for my, the workouts I do in track translate well, so I have been dong lots of core and jump work to further develop. I have also been able to find some time to watch more instructional videos that I will link below. Having gathered lots of information and preparing my body for the motions, I feel as if I am ready to safely attempt a flip once I am able to find both time and a facility to do this in. The reason I am needing access to a facility is for something to land on under the chance I fail some attempts.
Twitter is a very new concept to me. It is something that I never thought of utilizing in the classroom.Social media in the classroom is something I was never very open to in education, however I am beginning to see the perks. The #saskedchat experience really opened my eyes to this.
The saskedchat was very beneficial for me personally. The thought provoking questions provided by Kelly were very good for me to think about and expand my teaching pedagogy. The most beneficial part for me however, was reading responses and being able to interact with other educators. We were able to see great insights and different views on the questions we were given.
I think twitter is an excellent tool for teachers to learn and become better at their profession. The available multimedia links and discussion rooms with other educators are a great way for teachers to expand their minds and learn more about being the best teacher possible!
Logan Fettes' Teaching Journey 