Free Inquiry: Initial Spark and Questions

When choosing a topic for my inquiry project, it wasn’t a difficult choice. I was instantly drawn towards a health and fitness inspired blog as it is something that has always sparked my interest and can always be improved upon. When beginning this project I looked at the diagram below to help me figure out what to consider and how to go about the project. In this first post I will be exploring the “I Wonder” block by going over my initial thoughts and questions.

For this inquiry I am hoping to explore health and fitness in the sense of being an athlete. I want to dive into the question of how can focussing on my health and fitness make me the best volleyball player possible. With this topic I will be considering things like:

  • What exercises are best for volleyball players?
  • How often should you work out?
  • What role does cardio and jump training play in making me better?
  • How important is recovery? What does recovery consist of?
  • How does eating affect my performance? What foods should I be eating? How much should I be eating?
  • How does watching game play help improve your skills?
  • What affect does sleep have on performance?
  • What volleyball specific drills will help me become the best player I can be?

Now that my questions are laid out, it is important that I consider how I will go about the rest of the project. With these questions in mind, I plan on exploring the investigate, record, discover, think, and try blocks of the diagram above. For the investigate and record blocks, I will do research on my different questions and begin formulating ideas. For the discover block, I will observe and examine different volleyball players, game play, ways of training etc. For the I think and I try blocks, I will relate my findings to myself and put them into practice (as much as possible). Finally, the reflect block will be my blog posts where I post my own journey and experiences and reflect on the outcomes. These posts will include pictures/videos of me taking on exercises, looking into nutrition, dealing with recovery techniques and more. It will also include some of the research I have gathered and links to sources that have guided my journey. The blog posts will also be a place for me to consider how I can change and improve things and ask any further questions that may come up. Overall, with this blog my ultimate hope is to figure out something new about myself and further my health, fitness, and volleyball journey!

Photo Credits: Cover photo by Victor Freitas & Diagram photo by Brynn Courtney

Week 1 Reflection

The first EDCI 336 class went surprisingly well. I am really looking forward to the inquiry project as we get to explore an individualized topic that interests us. I have decided to look at health and fitness for my project and am super excited to dive in and get started with my journey. In terms of learning, this week has required me to become acquainted with quite a few new learning platforms including WordPress, Mattermost, and our edtechuvic website. There is a learning curve but overall all these platforms are relatively easily to navigate. Mattermost and our class website were a breeze; however, WordPress required a bit more time. Dr. Paskevicius provided us with some good information to help us begin navigating these platforms; however, I also googled some additional sources that could be used to assist me (and others) in getting acquainted with these platforms. One specific thing I struggled with was figuring out how to have multiple blogs going on my website. I was able to find a really short and easy to follow video that helps explain how to set this up. I have attached this link, as well as a few other links, below in order to have them for future reference and to provide to others who may find them useful!

VIDEO RESOURCES:

LINKS: