After reviewing several statistical analysis tools I came to one conclusion... I still hate statistics.  I had a really hard time looking around at the tools because I do not understand statistics at all and freak at the site of having to work on statistical analysis.  I do believe, though, that many of the tools that are available would be a great help if I could figure out what everything meant.  When I started looking at the tools I began having anxiety because I just do not understand enough statistics to really be able to navigate around.  I think the ideal situation for myself is to do what many athletic trainer I know that have done some sort of research that required statistical analysis and that is give the statistics to someone that knows what they are doing.  Statistical analysis is something that I am interested in, but I have not been able to ever gain a good grasp on it.  I guess it may be time to take some more classes and gain a better understanding of them. 

I have had the opportunity to create and build both a personal web presence (PWP) and a LinkedIn profile.  I think that there is pro's and con's to both types of web presences.  I really like the idea of a PWP just because it is more personal.  I feel that the individual building the PWP can really show potential employers and other professionals just who they really are.  The cons is that it take much more time to build a personal website versus something like LinkedIn and there is also a learning curve in building a website.  I also used LInkedIn which I really liked.  I was able to connect with many more professionals than I potentially can with a personal website. The one thing that I do not like about LinkedIn is that you cannot really personalize it (from what I was able to find).  Also they are in the business of making money, so I was getting ads recommendations of companies that I really do not need to be linked to.  I think that both are great in getting an individuals name out there, and I think ultimately it comes down to personal preference and computing abilitie

What a crazy week!! The weeks started off with two days of school and our first basketball games of the winter season.  We then went into Thanksgiving Break and I had basketball and football practices on Wednesday.  We then had football practice Thanksgiving morning as we prepared for our Quarterfinal match-up.  i was then blessed to spend a great afternoon with my family and enjoy the holiday!! We left Friday morning for Artesia, NM to meet up with the Artesia Bulldogs.  The Bulldog Bowl is one of the most difficult stadiums to get a win in.  We came into the game as huge underdogs.  Our boys played amazing and we won the game in overtime 61-55.  We were the first team in Aztec history to win in the Bulldog Bowl and one of only a few teams to ever win there in the playoffs.  It was one of the best football games that I have ever been a part of.  What a truly amazing weekend!!!

For me the verdict is still out on Wiki's.  I look at websites like Wikipedia and I am not always sure that the information presented is valid.  I always have to question the website because anyone and everyone can publish material on the website.  I think that Wiki's do have their place in the educational setting, though.  I think that they can be a great tool for instructors to use in their class that allows students to add information they come across on their own so that they can easily share the information with other students.  The instructor would have to constantly monitor the Wiki to ensure that correct information is being added, but I think that the potential would be huge to allow students to connect.

When looking around the Library Thing website I found some things that I really like and some things that I think are lacking with the website.  I really like how I could easily search for books off of Amazon.com and easy catalog them for later use.  It makes it simple to keep a list of books that someone may want to purchase.  It was extremely easy to and there was many books to choose from.  One thing that could really improve the website is to match books with ones that are in your catalog.  It would be nice to be able to see different titles or authors that someone may not know about to be able to add in.  Overall I think that Library Thing can really help the avid reader catalog books and find new books for them to read. My library thing catalog can be found at http://www.librarything.com/catalog/jsegotta.

Well I made it through this crazy weekend.  It was a good weekend for athletics at my high school.  Our girls soccer team was state runner-up, our football team beat a county rival 63-0 and won a district championship, and winter sports got off the ground without a hitch.  I finally was able to sit down today and complete my podcasting assignment for class.  I was amazed with how easy it was.  I was able to finish it with no problem.  Garageband on the mac makes it so easy to do.  I thought that it would take me forever to do, but that was not the case.  I was able to complete it without any problems after watching a tutorial video on YouTube.  I really think that using podcasting in my class will greatly benefit my students and give them the opportunity to review lectures and what not when they are not in class or if they just need to hear the information agai

I began this week getting my winter sports athletes ready for their first days of practice.  That in itself is a chore.  I had to do Impact testing, make sure that physicals were turned in, get those physicals into the computer, and then make sure that coaches had emergency cards.  On Wednesday I then had to leave for our girls state soccer tournament in Albuquerque.  I got up bright and early today and went to their game, which they won, and will stay in town tonight to watch them play tomorrow.  As soon as they are done I have to get in the Suburban and drive 3 hours back to Aztec for varsity football, and then drive back right after the game if they are playing in the state championship game Saturday.  On Saturday I also have my son's third birthday party.  it has really been a crazy week, but at the same time, I feel truly blessed that I am having such a h

I am really intrigued with podcasting in the classroom.  I have been curious ever since my Research Methods class as to whether or not podcasting would work in my own class.  In my sports medicine class I have students who are athletes and tend  to miss class at least once or twice a week.  I have also taken note that the majority of students have Iphones or Ipods with them at all times.  I have a powerpoint for every unit that I am teaching and it is posted on a class website, but if they miss class they miss out on important information that was discussed in the lecture.  The article that we read for class really lit a fire under me to not only post the powerpoints online, but to also create podcasts for my students to be able to access them on their own and stay current with the content even if they miss class.  I once I had only thought about podcasting in education as a means to provide distance learning, but I am beginning to see the benefit to using podcasts in my own high school class.  I plan on beginning to use podcasting in the spring semester and working to see if students are really benefiting from it.  I think that it is a technology that can really help students not only not fall behind on their school work, but also help fill in the blanks on information that they may be having a difficult time with.  

As I have began this journey of learning about all of this technology I am amazed at how I am going to be able to utilize the technology into the athletic training room.  For example, I have already began using my Facebook fan page to keep athletes and coaches up-to-date with my schedule and when I have scheduled things like Impact Testing.  I am also planning on using my website next semester for my class.  I will post link to articles and videos as well as use the blog as a learning community for my class.  I think that the possibilities are endless when using technology to reach my students.  I have had so much learning this information and I cannot wait to be able to take this information and implement into my own classroom and athletic training room.  As students become more and more dependent on technology it is important that we give students the ability to have their information on the go. 

I have used Youtube quite a bit since I became a teacher.  I am able to find videos for almost every topic that we cover.  There are many times that students learn information better if they are able to not only learn it from me, but also see the information visibly on the video.  The one video that I use each year is the NATA Heads Up video.  I always use this with my athletes, but to also introduce concussions in my class.