Preparing for activity

Gym classes are using more online assignments to get students ready for activities

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Sophia McKinney

SHS students work on online gym assignments. Gym teachers use these assignments to introduce students to activities.

P.E. classes have recently been receiving more online assignments compared to previous years, and it looks like they’re here to stay for a while.
Due to COVID-19, teachers have transitioned from paper assignments to the majority of them being online assignments on Canvas.
“It was easiest for us to load that all in Canvas so that every student had access to it,” P.E. teacher Leah Enterline said. “That was kind of the decision to make it accessible for all.”
By helping students adapt to the ever-so-changing environment, the addition of these online assignments has proven to be beneficial for P.E. students, even ones that spend the majority of the time on their feet.
The online classes allowed students to view future activities ahead of time to better prepare themselves for the class. This, in return, tests students upon their new profound knowledge obtained from Canvas by putting it into action in the class.
“I believe they are necessary and beneficial because they help with learning the basics and rules of the upcoming exercises we do,” sophomore Vanhlei Thang said.
On top of students being able to come to class prepared, the shift to Canvas has also allowed for them to become more independent because they now have to look up the materials rather than a teacher telling them.
In addition to being able to come to class more prepared, the shift to Canvas has given students more independence to find their own resources as opposed to strict directions from teachers.
“It helps when it comes to exploring new items that they can research themselves and learn where to find the materials versus just having me find it for them,” P.E. teacher Jacob Harrell said.
Although this is different from the traditional P.E. class, both students and teachers have agreed that it’s been helpful.
“I personally love that it’s easy for our kids to access,” Enterline said. “It’s easy for our kids to figure out exactly what it is that they need to do. If they miss a day then they can see it in our module with all that work per week.”