Bonnie's Fitware will be closed September 10 - 25, 2005.

Featured Articles

Handheld computers: Which One?

The first decision when purchasing a handheld computer is whether to purchase a Pocket PC or a Palm OS. The PocketPC tends to be a little more business-oriented and a little more powerful, and a little more expensive. If you are a Windows user - you can certainly choose either one, but if you are a Macintosh user, I would definitely go with the Palm OS. Popular Pocket PCs include the HP iPAQ (see information under new products) as well as Toshiba and Dell.

Currently, my favorite handheld is the Zire 72 handheld (seen above) - from PalmOne. It is capable of capturing photos and videoclips, comes with software to play music either through a headset or connected to a sound system. It is capable of handling a wide variety of software; both specific to physical educators (fitness report, record book, heart monitor/pedometer data collection, clipboard) and more general in nature (powerpoint, word, ebooks).

PalmOne, however, is raising the bar again with their new All-in-One Mobile Manager named LifeDrive mobile manager. It comes with a 4 GB hard drive; an INtel 415 MHz XScale processor; built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies, a 320x480 high-resolution color display with portrait or landscape viewing; and support for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat files. It also has a "smart" file management system that features folder sync(which automatically updates selected files when syncing), and drag-and-drop file transfer functions. In addition, with its expansion card slot which supports SD, SDIO and MultiMediaCard formats - the LifeDrive offers users an easy way to share movies, MP3 files, and photos in one compact device.

By the way, for those of you looking for a palm solution for SASI - have your technology people look into SASIxp to Palm X-port (TM) by L-Systems, Inc.

Tips/Tutorials

Excel Tips: Working With Text

Generally speaking, text can be added to an Excel document by clicking a cell and typing. But there a few tricks that for controlling the way in which the text is displayed.

Formatting

Highlight the text and make changes to the style, size, alignment, and font using the buttons on Excel's toolbars or menus. To change the default font and size, select Format and Style and make sure Normal appears in the drop-down menu. Click Modify and select the appropriate format. To change the default for all spreadsheets, choose Tools, Options, and General. Then, restart Excel so that the changes can take effect.

Formatting cells tells Excel how you would like the information in the cell to be treated. In the Format Cells dialog box (select Format and then Cells) you can set cell(s) to text, number, or dates.

Special Tips (Format Cells)

Alignment Format - set cells to position text in various positions on the horizontal or vertical axes.

Wrap Text - ensures that text will wrap and stay in the confines of the column.

Shrink to Fit - ensures that all the text fits in the cell.

Angle the Labels - use the Orientation controls and drag the line around the radius in the small box to change the angle of text in the selected cells.

Web Pages for August

Physical Education Resources

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

Dodgeball Lawsuit

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1104/
189041.html

USDA for Kids

http://www.usda.gov/news/usdakids/

Fall 2005 Online Courses

October 1, 2005 - December 15, 2005

Sign up:

• 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 November 1, 2005.

Devices

MP3 Players for the Physically Active

Convergence is the name of the game for the next decade when it comes to technology. Today when searching for an MP3 player, you can choose between an MP3, a handheld computer that plays music, or an MP3 player that performs other tasks. In the feature article of this newsletter we discussed handheld computers. As noted, handheld computers also are capable of playing sound through a headset or through a sound system. So, lets now take a look at some MP3 players:

The Philips+Nike MP3Run ($299 at www.nike-philips.com) comes with a wireless SDM (Speed and Distance Monitor) that attaches to the laces of sneakers and tracks distance, pace, and time. Press a button during your workout and you will hear exactly how far you have traveled and at what pace. You can also program it to announce the time, speed, and distance at set intervals. The device has 256 MB of storage (enough for 100 MP3 tracks).

The Rio Forge ($129.99 at www.rioaudio.com) includes a stopwatch and radio features. It comes with 128 MB of storage.

The Sony S2 Sports Network Walkman Player ($129.95 at www.sonystyle.com) comes with a protective cover for the USB port on the unit. It has 256 MB of storage and plays for 70 hours on one AAA battery.

The IPod (varies prices depending on model at www.apple.com) comes with the greatest amount of memory. But, be aware you should not run with your iPod, since the music is stored on an internal hard drive with delicate moving parts. If you bump your iPod or drop it, the hard drive will not sustain the fall.

For those with fancier tastes - consider the Oakley Thump ($495) - sunglasses with an audio player built in. You even get to choose rom seven different colors and 256 or 128 MB of flash memory.

Real Life Applications

Consolidating Fitness Data Files

Districts have asked about the process for consolidating fitness information from several schools when using Bonnie's Fitware Inc.'s Fitness Report for Palm OS/Pocket PC. Here are the steps:

At the School

Export the records into a plain text file

1. Select the File

2. Export records

3. Select tab delineated and name the file the same name as the school

At the District Office

Import the data into your master Fitness Report For Palm OS/Pocket PC file.

A second option is that the schools print out the summary page and send it or email it to the district office.

Devices

New CyberGlove

Immersion just announced the new Cyber Glove (R) II wireless data glove for high-accuracy joint-angle measurements. It has up to 22 data points. The CyberGlove II System lets motion capture and animation studios bring characters to life in real time. The glove features:

• Ability to capture finger movement anywhere within 30 feet from the host computer.
• Bluetooth(R) wireless technology
• Real-time digital joint-angle data
• Long battery life
• Lightweight comfort
• Seamless real-time data capture in Alias' Mocap via Immersion's Virtual-Hand(R) for Mocapsoftware driver.

Health Education

Web Activities: Drugs of the Millenium

http://www.nrhs.org/Departments/Health_Phys_Ed/ Anderson/millenium.htm

This webquest, designed by Ms Anderson from New Rochelle City School District sets up the task of asking each student to research a particular drug and then to share the information with the class. The assessment includes an outline and presentation to the class. An oral presentation rubric as well as a rating system is used to evaluate outlines. The standards addressed in this web quest include:

1. Personal health and Fitness

• Students will identify health risks associated with substance abuse.
• Students will learn concepts related to health promotion

2. Safe and Healthy environment

• Recognize behaviors that negatively impact on health
• Utilize information to prompt healthy decision making

3. Resource Management

• Advocate for personal health
• Access valid health information
• Recognize resources in the community that deal with substance abuse

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.

All orders received during this time period will ship on September 26, 2005. All orders received on or before September 8 will ship on September 9.

Questions and Answers

Q: How do I display more than the last four documents in Word 2002?

A: You can extend the list of recently used files - click Tools and Options and select General tab - check the recently used file list box and specify a new number of files that you wish to appear.