Welcome to your number one source for all things tech! Providing high-quality, standards-based instructional materials at affordable prices.

If you cannot see the pictures in this email or the newsletter is not formatted, then go to http://www.pesoftware/technews
/news.html to see the entire newsletter formatted correctly.

Upcoming Seminars

Take the time to learn! Sign up now for Using Technology in Physical Education Seminars - click here for one day seminar:

• September 24, 2007 - Nashville, TN
• September 26, 2007 - Charlotte, NC
• September 28, 2007 - Savannah, GA

Click here for a two-day seminar:

• October 23-24, 2007 - Buena Park, CA (new 2-day seminar)
• November 12-13, 2007- Newark, NJ (new 2-day seminar)
• March 17-18, 2008 - Chicago, IL (new 2-day seminar)
• March 20-21, 2008 - Milwaukee, WI (new 2-day seminar)

Sign up now for Teaching Standards-Based Middle School Physical Education - click here:

• December 4, 2007 - Buena Park, CA
• December 6, 2007 - Burbank, CA

Here is what participants are saying about these seminars:

"This course has given us a lot of the tools and resources we need to bring our current class offerings up to a “distinction” level."

"Thank you for your direction and inspiration."

Can't attend - you can still purchase the presentation on CD to watch at your leisure.

You can also visit with Bonnie at the following upcoming conferences and events:

PA AHPERD - 2007

CAHPERD - 2008

AAHPERD - 2008

Featured Articles

Exercise and the iPod

The Nike+ iPod Sports Kit measures and records distance and pace of a walk or run. It consists of a small accelerometer attached to or embedded in a shoe. The Nike+ communicates with a receiver plugged into an iPod Nano. The kit can store information such as elapsed time of the workout, distance traveled, pace, or calories burned by the individual wearing the shoes, and displays it on the screen or broadcasts it through the headphones of the iPod.

Nike+ shoes come with a special pocket to place the device. Users who don't want to change shoes place the accelerometer in a cavity. They create the cavity under the insole of a regular pair of shoes or attach it to the laces with a pouch or other means.

The battery in the transmitter is not removable so the entire kit must be replaced when the battery dies. For physical education, this is a real weakness.

Subminiature PCs

If a laptop or a Tablet PC are too big for you and a handheld computer and a cell phone are too small, then you may be a good candidate for the Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC). These devices run about the size of a slim paperback book and run Windows XP. You can use a thumb pad, a directional pad, or a Tablet stylus for input. Generally speaking, UMPCs are seven inches or smaller and weigh under two pounds. They typically have 2.5 hours of battery life, a 30 GB hard drive, and at least 258 MB of RAM. Some of these devices come with a GPS and/or 3G wireless networking for broadband. The cost starts at $1300, but most run between $2000 and $2500. Potential buyers should compare the UMPC to the ultralight laptop that converts to a tablet. Ultralight laptops/Tablet PC come with full keyboards, 160 GB hard drive, and 2 GB RAM along with Vista OS. The Ultralight/Tablet weighs in between 3.8 and 4.5 pounds.

Click on the icon below for more information about Physical Education Planners.

Vocabulary

In an effort to bring folks up-to-date with new terminology we will be including a few new vocabulary words in each issue. We are starting with words related to the Web 2 and wireless phones.

Web 2

Web Application: Refers to a Web-based application that uses scripting such as AJAX, ASP, PHP, Java, and others, or Adobe Flash to interact with an online database providing conveniences such as Web-based email, forums. Web 2.0 extends the genre to online document-based software such as word processors.

Folxonomy: What you get when you let users classify the content by tagging blog posts, photos, and videos with their own keywords, rather than pigeonholing content into predefined categories.

Wireless Phone Terms

TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access): Lets multiple cell phone users talk to one receiver at the same time on a shared frequency.

CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access):Supports multiple transmitters encoding each unit's data with a unique decoding key so multiple encoded signals can share the frequency without interfering with each other.

Device Of The Month

Pedometer vs Accelerometers: What is the Difference?

Pedometers are accurate, inexpensive, noninvasive, and easy to use. However, those that include distance and calorie expenditure do include in accuracies. This occurs since people’s stride length varies and the device does not distinguish vertical accelerations above a certain threshold. The device assumes that a person expends a constant amount of energy per step. For example, one pedometer assumes that the value is about .55 cal/kg/step regardless of the speed at which the person is moving. This oversimplifies the true conversion. When purchasing a pedometer, you will see a variety of features: stopwatch function for recording exercise time, distance covered using stride length, calories expended using height and weight, and the ability to differentiate between walking and running. There are even models that interface with a personal computer via a cable to download data from the workout. The personal computer software then creates detailed reports and graphs showing distance, speed, calories expended, and pulse rate. However, most experts agree that the simple step counter is the most accurate, useful, and least expensive device.

Accelerometers are accurate electronic devices used to measure the quantity and intensity of movement in one or more dimensions. They provide information on the intensity of acceleration or movement at user-specified intervals and some can be downloaded to a computer for data reporting and analysis. The device contains a motion sensor and a very small computer programmed to convert acceleration to activity counts or energy expenditure (kcal). Depending on its design, the sensor can measure acceleration in one, two, or three planes. Although most accelerometers are based on the same design, they differ in the amount of memory, software capability, size, and sensitivity of the sensor. It is well known that accelerometers are more accurate for walking and running than for biking and other physical activities. It also is well known that the accelerometer cannot account for the increased energy expenditure of going uphill or carrying a load.

Integrating Technology and Pedagogy

This book provides guidance for modeling the use of technology in physical education teacher education programs (PETE). The NASPE/NCATE Beginning Teacher Standards (NASPE/NCATE BTS) list and describe the competencies that are expected of preservice teachers. Similarly, the National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) provide guidelines for what the induction phase teacher should know and be able to do when using technology as a resource for planning, instruction, and assessment. Click here for sale price.

Fall Online Courses and College Credit

Fall 2007 Online Courses
The registration fee for each course is $100. The registration fee covers the online course materials and a letter of completion. Textbooks are required for some courses. Click on each course for additional information. The fall semester will run August 15, 2007 - December 1, 2007. You can sign up anytime between now and October 1, 2007. You may take as many courses as you like.

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

College credit is available from Emporia State University. These are 700-level courses - one unit each. The additional cost for college credit is $356 for out-of-state residence and $277 for Kansas residence for each course.

Office Tips

Creating Excel Charts Quickly

1) Highlight your data

2) Open Chart toolbar (View-Toolbars-Chart)

3) Click the Chart Type button.

4) Choose the kind of chart from the 18 choices.

5) The chart appears.

PowerPoint Animation

Having trouble with your animations - well lets look at couple of common problems and how to fix them. First: Select Slide Show-Custom Animation. This opens a panel that contains all the relevant information about your animation and the tools for adjusting them.

Animations Start at the Wrong Time:

On the panel's animation list, mouse icons mark animations that run when you click the mouse, while clock icons indicate animations that run after the previous animation on the list. If there's no icon, the animation runs simultaneously with the one ahead of it. Click Start to indicate whether an animation should run with or after the previous one or when you manually click the mouse.

Animations Run in the Wrong Order:

Icons beside each animation on the panel indicates its setting. The numbers designate the sequence in which animations will run and match the numbers appearing beside each slide element in the main window. To change the order, click an item on the list and click the up or down arrow near the word "Reorder" at the bottom of the panel.

Browser

Customize Internet Explorer's Toolbars

Bring up the toolbar-related commands by right-clicking any blank spot in the command bar area.

• Menu Bar - choose to show or hide
• Links Toolbar - choose to show or hide
• Status Bar - choose to show or hide
• Lock The Toolbars - freezes any changes you've made to the position/size of the toolbar
• Use Large Icons - makes browser buttons larger
• Customize Command Bar - you can add or remove buttons from displaying
• Full Screen - expands the browser window to fill your entire screen

Software of the Month

Track performance-a great tool for coaches, athletes, and parents
Easy to use, point and touch
Real-time on-screen summaries
Printed stat reports and attack charts
Team and individual stats
Game and cumulative stats
Select from four levels of game tracking: Lite, Full, Pro, No Chart
Track rotations

Works on both Pocket PC and Palm OS.

Click here for more information.

Future Tech that is Here Now!

Researchers in the United Kingdom have found a way to tap the chemical-electrical properties in DNA to create a microscopic electronic switch. The development is being called a bio-nanotechnology first. Possible applications include: interface between muscle and external devices, and sensing airborne pathogens.

You have questions?

Send them to Bonnie Mohnsen at: bmohnsen@pesoftware.com - you may see your question show up in our Q and A section next month!

Upcoming Features:

September: GPS

October: White Board

November: Student Response Systems

December: Podcasts

January: Media Centers

Questions and Answers

Q: When I double-click a file, it says "This file does not have a program associated with it." What can I do?

A: Your Operating System associates files with certain Applications. Windows OS uses file extensions, such as .DOC or .PDF to associate a file with an Application. The message you received occurs when the OS does not know which Application to use. In Mac OS you are presented with options. In Windows OS, you need to associate the file with an application. Open the Control Panel - double-click Folder Options. Click the File Types tab to see a list of the Registered File Types. Highlight the document type you are trying to open, click the Change button and select the program you would like to use to open the chosen file type.

Q: My printer is printing very slowly. Is there anything I can do to speed it up?

A: There are many variables that determine printing speed. However, there is one thing you can do to speed it up. Open the Print dialog box and choose a low print resolution (e.g., black and white) or high-speed mode.