Featured Articles

Maintaining Your Fitness Equipment

The summer is a great time of year to check fitness equipment for any wear and tear that has occurred throughout the year and to ensure that you start the new year off with safe equipment. To help you with this task, we have included a checklist for your use below:

Cables - to check your cables, pull the selector pin from the wt stack so the cable moves freely tghrough the pulleys with no resistance. Pay particular attention to checking the areas most susceptible to wear, including the small section of cable that runs through the pulley track and also the ends of the cable where it connects to the attachments and wt stacks.

What to look for:

-cracks in the lamination that run across the cable - a sign that plastic is becoming old and brittle

-selections of cable lamination wewaring off- especially in areas that come in contact with the machine - such as the pulleys

-wire poking through the cable lamination - snapped strands will poke through - do a visual inspection first then run your hands lightly along the cable to feel for protruding wire.

- cables or lamination has a spiral look - indication that some of the wire strands have broken.

- check the diameter of the cable for stretching- look for areas that are wide then narrow and wide again - run the cable between your thumb and forefingers to test.

IF any of thes conditions exist - replace cable immediately.

Poor Pulley Condition - visually inspect the pulley for chips and cracks. Check for lateral (sdie to side) play. Too much could be a sign that the bearings are worn.

Frame: make sure all nuts and bolts are tight. Inspect frame for stress damage and cracks

Selector pins - these are normally for arm and seat adjustments adn spring loaded. Make sure they are not loose and the pin completely clears through the selection hole.

Upholstery - check for cracks and tears. Exposed foam tends to hold water which may lead to rust damage.

Tips/Tutorials

Word: Text Box

Text boxes let you create areas for pull quotes, sidebars, return addresses, and more. Creating a text box is ismple. Create one from the menu bar or the Drawing toolbar. Click Insert and Text Box to use the first method. Make sure the Drawing toolbar is showing to use the second method. Click View, Toolbars, and Drawing if it's not. Click the Text Box button.

Another way to create a text box is to click the AutoShapes button the Drawing toolbar and choose a shape. Shapes that can contain text include basic shapes, block arrows, flowcharts, stars and banners, and callouts. Click More Autoshapes to access many more shapes via a connection to Microsoft's online resources. Resize thes hapes in the same way you would a text box. Right-click the shape and click Add Text. A pointer appears so you can insert text.

The pointer turns into a crosshair and a drawing area appears regardless of which method you use. Click and drag the pointer to make the box big enough for the content you are going to place. Make your publications (e.g., newsletters) look more professional by adding text boxes!

Web Pages for July

Sport Sites

http://www.pesoftware.com/Resources/sports.html

Historic Games

http://www.funsci.com/fun3_en/toys/toys.htm

Summer 2005 Online Courses

June 15, 2005 - August 15, 2005

Last chance to sign up:July 10

• Fitness Software
• Record Book Technology
• Web Design and Activities
• Instructional Software
• Technology Devices
• Electronic Portfolios
• Spreadsheets

Each course is $100 plus an additional $50 for college credit if needed. Click on each course for more information. You may register through July 10, 2005.

Devices

Biometrics: Finger Tip Security

Biometric devices analyze biological traits. These biological traits are then used in lieu of passwords so that only the intended user has access to information. Historically these devices lived in sci-fi movies; however, today they not only exist - but have come down in price making them a viable option for securing your information.

The SanDisk's Cruzer Profile is a unique, biometric USB flash drive that provides the ultimate in portable data security. This high-security product stores all your data and passwords, accessible only with the swipe of your fingerprint. Just plug in the drive, swipe your finger, and you can log-on to any of your stored protected areas in a snap. You can use any Windows PC with your Profile without having to install any cumbersome software or leave any trace on that PC.

Real Life Applications

Health-Related Fitness: Tutorial and Portfolio

Health-Related Fitness: Tutorial and Portfolio Grant Usage Summary
Dawn Brahler
Independence Middle School
Bethel Park School District

Every year we teach a fitness unit on the health-related and skill-related components of fitness. During this unit, students are given a fitness notebook that contains the information being discussed along with areas in which to take notes. Also contained in the fitness notebook are various homework assignments on health-related and skill-related components of fitness that reinforce the information that is taught.

While teaching the health-related components of fitness, I had some of my classes use the Health-Related Fitness software. The students reviewed each category, which included cardiorespiratory fitness, flexibility, muscular endurance, strength and body composition, the FIT concepts, and went through the examples of the exercises. The students also calculated their resting heart rate and found their target heart rate zones. While using the Health-Related Fitness software, the students were to take notes that they later used to study for their written exam and use the information from the software to complete the homework assignments.

The classes that used the Health-Related software scored higher on both their fitness notebook and their written tests than the classes that did not use the software. The students liked the many different examples of activities that were given for each area of the health-related fitness components and felt that the examples helped them understand the components more thoroughly.

The use of the software was beneficial to the overall learning of the health-related components of fitness and will be used in the future.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to add the Health-Related Fitness Software to my current teaching practices.

Devices

Digital Media Hub

A digital media hub is a device that lets you play digital audio files on your home audio system. There are two primary types of digital media hubs. The first type is a self-contained unit that has a built-in hard disk and CD drive. You insert a CD into the drive, butn it to the built-in hard drive, and then play songs from the hard drive. The second type of digital media hub doesn't have a built-in hard drive or CD drive. Instead, it connects to your home network, accesses the digital audio files stored on your computer's hard disk, and then streams the music through your home aduio system. For more information, visit: http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php/ id;1597279793

Bonnie's Fitware Inc Grant Program

Software Choices:

1. Health Related Fitness
2. Volleyball Complete
3. Sim Athlete
4. Biomechanics Made Easy
5. Muscle Flash
6. Elementary Physical Education Dictionary

The application is simple (no more than two pages): Name of person submitting the proposal and email address; Name of school, address, phone number; Name of software (one title per proposal) and platform (Windows or Macintosh); Description of how (specifically) you will use the software; Description of how (specifically) you will determine if the software makes a difference in student learning.

Questions and Answers

Q: After reading the featured article in the last newsletter - I was wondering if there are any advantages to purchasing D-SLR cameras?

A: D-SLR cameras do deliver better picture quality (regardless of the megapixel rating), they let you use interchangeable lenses, and there is more operating flexibility. The question is: do you need these features considering the price?