|
About Brenda:
Brenda is currently a Physical Education teacher at Melbourne High School in Melbourne, Florida. Originally from Wisconsin, she has been teaching for a total of 12 years, with the last 8 years at Melbourne High School. She started using Polar technology in her daily classes 7 years ago. Brenda is a member of both AAHPERD and FAHPERD.
About Melbourne High School:
Melbourne High School is part of the Brevard County School District in Melbourne, Florida. In this suburban area the typical P.E. class size is 25-32 students. Students are in grade levels 9-12 and currently use Polar E600 heart rate monitors (HRMs) in addition to the TriFIT700 system, TriFIT software and PE Manager software.
Core Activities:
Brenda uses cardio, weights, aerobics, and other strength and fitness activities to teach Physical Education. All her students are fitness tested at the beginning and the end of each year with TriFIT. In addition, Brenda focuses on the 5 components of fitness.
Using Polar:
Brenda tapped into several sources of funding in order for Melbourne High School to use Polar technology. She was awarded a mini-grant through the Pepsi money allocated to the school, and received funding from the School Advisory Council. In addition, community funding and a PEP grant allowed her to purchase Polar products. Melbourne High School first started using Polar heart rate monitors in Physical Education classes to expose the students to the technology. The school later expanded to other technology, such as the TriFIT system and PE Manager software. Physical Education teachers currently use Polar technology in their lessons 1-2 days per week. For Brenda, the most important reason to use Polar is, “to help support the grading process to parents and students alike.”
The Buzz:
Brenda likes "seeing the knowledge the students gain during class and how they relate it to their lives personally."
Students "love the immediate feedback and enjoy exercising with the monitors."
Administration likes "the exposure the students are getting to technology in Physical Education classes."
Personal Highlight:
Since using Polar technology, Brenda has observed that students are becoming more active during cardio days and even outside of school.
|
