Tracker video analysis and modelling tool.

I’ve been playing around with a cool little app on the DER laptops that are in schools in NSW.

Tracker is a free video analysis and modelling tool, designed originally for physics classes, but perfect for analysing movement in PE classes too.

While not being an uber sport scientist geek, I found the app to be easy to use and  engaging for the kids.

I shot some video of my students practising their golf chip shots.

Tracker screen

Importing the video is simple. The kids were intrigued to see their performances, and some great discussion about what a good shot looked like ensued.

For the more technically minded, there are a variety of analysis tools that can be introduced over the video.

Golf swing analysis

I then used a video of a pro playing pretty much the same shot at the students for comparison. This produced a lot more talk!

For those in NSW, the biggest feature that makes this eminently workable is that Tracker comes as a .jar file. This still doesn’t mean much to me at all, except that it doesn’t require installation to work. Which makes it a perfect tool in the DER laptops.

So now I have two options for analysing video. Tracker (thanks @benpaddlejones for the heads up), and The Zone, as suggested and blogged about by @mrrobbo. Both great tools for PE GEEKS and their classes.

Students making their Debut

Just a quick one.

Part of our Yr10 School to Work assessment task portfolio is to be “mock” interviewed.

In order to get ready for this (for some) traumatic experience, I decided to exploit a piece of software on the DER laptops.

Called Debut Video Capture, it allows you to easily record video using the webcam on the laptop. It comes preloaded on the laptop, but is also available free on the internet for webcam enabled PCs

I created an activity where the students responded to typical interview questions on a live PDF. They then used these answers as the basis of a “rehearsal” interview with a friend. But instead of just talking to their friend, they recorded themselves, and then showed me the product. I can then offer instant feedback on their interview technique, replay and discuss. Normally, I would only get to watch then once if I tried this “live” with every student in the class.

Worst case scenario, if they don’t finish in class, they can do it at home and email me the video, or put it in our class folder with Photobucket.

This tool could be used in any faculty, for almost any task or activity where kids talk. Practice speeches and  presentations ….you name it.