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OU Sport and Fitness Students: We Need Your Help!

On Tuesday 26th September 2017 (1-3pm), as part of our induction programme, we will be hosting a Student Hub Live session for OU Sport and Fitness students. For part of the session we are looking for a level 3 sport and fitness student to share their experience of studying sport and fitness at the OU so far.

The session would involve you being interviewed, alongside a sport and fitness lecturer, about how you have found each of the modules you have studied so far and any tips or advice you have for other students. The session will last for 30 minutes and will be live streamed through our Student Hub Live platform.

You can find out more about Student Hub Live here. Also, to get a feel for what the Student Hub Live sessions are like, you can watch the videos on the pages below:

If you are interested in appearing in the Sport and Fitness Student Hub Live session on 26th September 2017 please email WELS-Sports@open.ac.uk stating what module(s) you are currently registered on, what modules you have already studied and why you would like to be involved. The successful student will be required to be in Milton Keynes on the afternoon of Tuesday 26th September and will be reimbursed with their travel expenses and a £30 Amazon voucher. 

Priority will be given to level 3 students, however, consideration will be given to level 2 students who have completed at least 60 credits. Priority will also be given to those studying sport and fitness qualifications.

Downloading the E117 App

This page provides guidance to E117 Introduction to Sport and Fitness students on how to download and install the E117 App.

The E117 App is designed to support and enhance the learning of Level 1 Sport and Fitness students studying the Open University module E117 Introduction to Sport and Fitness The App comprises two augmented reality models; the muscular system and the digestive system.

Downloading and Installing the E117 App

Click on the links below to download the E117 App onto your Apple or Android device. Once you have downloaded and installed the E117 App you will need to use the trigger image below.

iTunes

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sport-and-fitness/id6443917566

Android

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.ac.open.sportsandfitness

Please note that the E117 Introduction to Sport and Fitness App requires access to your device’s camera in order to provide the Augmented Reality (AR) experience.  The application does not record any audio, image or video in the process of providing the AR experience.

Trigger Image

Below is a the trigger image needed for the augmented reality part of the App. If you are an E117 student you will have been provided with a copy of this image on a coaster. If you are not an E117 student, or if you have lost your coaster, you can download a jpeg copy of the image by right clicking on the image below and selecting ‘save picture/image as’ (or similar). Alternatively you can download a PDF version of the trigger image by clicking here.

Navigating the E117 App

Once you have successfully downloaded and installed the App on to your device point the device at the trigger image and you will see the augmented reality model of the muscular system as well as the ‘Menu’ option in the top right corner.  Click on ‘menu’ to reveal the full list of functions available in the App. For further information on each function located within the App please click on the link below.

E117 App Menu

To see a demonstration of how to use and navigate the App once you have it downloaded onto your device please watch the video below.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/uo8SXarFscE

What if I don’t have an Apple or Android device?

For those on the module who do not have an Android or Apple device there is a desktop version of the App available from the ‘Resources’ section of the E117 Module Website.

To download the desktop version of the App please follow the instructions in the document below:

Downloading the E117 App Desktop Version

The menu on the desktop version can be navigated in exactly the same way to show both the muscular and digestive systems, however the models will only be presented in 2D rather than in augmented reality 3D.

 

Volunteering opportunities with the Great Run Company

We’ve been looking for a way for OU Sport and Fitness students to develop their experience and CVs to help their career development and have partnered up with the Great Run Company to provide some unique TV Production/Course Operations opportunities in their mass participation event portfolio in Manchester, the Lake District, London or Bristol. To see how these volunteering opportunities may be useful to you take a look at the short video below. The Further Information Sheet tells you more about the events, volunteering roles and answers frequently asked questions.

 

If you would like to apply please complete the Expression of Interest form below and send it to the email address on the form. But hurry, the events in the north of England need applications in by April 4th or 11th (the other dates are later).

The Great Run Company – Expression of Interest

 

Calling all OU Sport and Fitness students

• Have you studied any modules in Sport and Fitness at The Open University?
• Would you like to share your experience and inspire others?

IF SO, THEN WE NEED YOU!

We would like to update our bank of ‘student stories’, which are profiles of OU Sport and Fitness students, and are looking for volunteers from our current students and alumni.

To be eligible to participate you need to have studied at least one Sport and Fitness module at The Open University. We are looking for both past and present students from a wide range of backgrounds with a range of career goals. Every OU student’s story has the potential to inspire others, so don’t think that your story isn’t interesting enough!

You can see some examples of previous student stories here.

If you are interested in participating, or want to find out more, please contact Caroline Heaney (caroline.heaney@open.ac.uk)

Under Pressure again: Can the England team bring football home?

By Candice Lingam-Willgoss

Tonight sees England’s first fixture of this year’s UEFA Euro 2016. Roll back 2 years and 2014 saw the country gearing up for the biggest event in the football calendar, the World Cup. The 2014 World Cup saw huge amounts of pressure and expectation placed on Hodgson’s 23 man England squad. This pressure and expectation came from representing their country, the public and their manager who openly stated before the tournament that he felt he had a winning squad. Roll forward to 2016 and exactly 50 years since England’s iconic 1966 World Cup win, could this finally be England’s chance to shine?

So what could make the difference? Perhaps remarkably England still have Hodgson at the helm, although often following a poor tournament result the first person to go is the coach/manager. Just look at Stuart Lancaster’s departure following England’s disastrous Rugby World Cup performance of 2015 and football is often managed in the same unforgiving way. However, despite a contract due to run till after the France based tournament it seems that this isn’t the only reason Hodgson is still in place. He not only has the backing of the FA with Greg Dyke openly saying they would back Hodgson but also he appears respected and supported by his players, ‘we are proud to play for Roy Hodgson. He’s a great Manager.’ Match this with the fact that the team have some phenomenally talented players.  Where the 2014 World Cup squad could have been deemed a young squad, short on tournament experience, four years down the line a stronger team is most definitely evident with some new superstars emerging. Vardy has recently been termed ‘the most electric attacker in England’ with Kane called the ‘unconventional superstar’ and these are two players who were instrumental in stirring a comeback from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against Germany in March . Finally much has been made of new kid on the block Dele Alli, Hodgson himself has been quoted as saying he can do  ‘anything in midfield’. He is a player who in the England vs Germany game played in March was billed  ‘potentially the best young English midfielder for a generation left even the arch-technocrats of Germany envious of his talent’.

So while the team is stable and highly promising this doesn’t take away from the fact that any international football event carries with it huge amounts of pressure which generates an increase in anxiety and stress.  These are terms commonly discussed within all spheres of sport from school level to the global stage.  The competitive environment is designed to elevate the arousal levels of not just the players but the fans as well. Anxiety at its most basic level can lead to co-ordination difficulties, and problems with attention to detail, all of which can prove debilitating to performance. The need for the athletes to control their emotions will be greater than ever as the team will have something to prove following their early 2014 tournament exit.

However, with some solid performances behind the team in recent months and players who have faced some highly pressurized situations within the domestic game there is a hope that the team as a whole will be able to manage their anxiety and cope with the unique pressure that international events generate. Hodgson’s 2016 team is a stronger, more resilient and more experienced squad that the one that lost out in 2014 and one can surmise that such a significant defeat will have made them even more determined to lay to rest the ghosts of the last 50 years.

Becoming a superhero: what are the limits of human Performance?

By Candice Lingam-Willgoss and Karen Howells

Introduction

Comic book heroes come in all shapes and sizes, but each possesses that one unique ability which makes them ‘super’. As children we are excited by these super beings and dream of one day being like them. As adults, these super abilities stimulate our childhood fantasies and allow us to suspend reality for brief periods of time. Whilst many of us have our favourite superhero, and have an opinion on the best film, it has been widely recognised that every superhero falls into one of Marvel’s five categories: altered humans (e.g.,Spiderman) high tech wonders (e.g. Ironman), mutants (e.g.Wolverine), robots (e.g.Ultron) and aliens (e.g. Superman).

Utilising the latest technology in cinematography combined with breath-taking special effects, the recent superhero movie Deadpool brought to life one of these categories, altered humans. In Deadpool, Wade Wilson is a former Special Forces operative who now works as a mercenary having being transformed into Deadpool by evil scientist Ajax. Demonstrating further that the superhero phenomena is still very prevalent in our interest, the much anticipated Batman vs Superman which is due in cinemas at the end of March 2016 portrays the battle between the high tech wonder (Batman) and alien (Superman). One possesses superior intelligence, high quality training and the best technology that money can buy while the other relies on his innate unattainable superpowers. With the ever developing areas of technology and science could future advancements mean we are not so far away from creating our own superheroes, or do they already exist?  In answering this question, we can look towards the popular and pervasive social institution that is sport. Does this provide us with an environment that has inadvertently created real life super heroes?

Physical Attributes and Physiology

The goal of elite athletes is to bike, swim or row faster, to run further, or to fight for longer, with more precision and more agility. Whilst every generation must wonder about how much more as human beings we can achieve, research by Joyner (1991) found that from a physiological basis there is still more scope for further physical improvements, which can translate into significant improvements in, for example, running times.  In the same way that Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile in 1954, it is possible that the athletes of today may be on the verge of attaining the elusive sub 2 hour marathon.  Whilst our imagination may wonder at the potential for the future, it has to be acknowledged that a range of physiological regulators including, VO2max, running economy, threshold running pace and thermoregulation will limit the ultimate potential of human performance. Frequently we hear of athletes challenging these limits through altering what the body would normally be capable of achieving. In the comic book world Peter Parker was a regular human being until he was bitten by a genetically engineered super-spider. Spiderman is the result, part human DNA, part spider.  Frighteningly, we are on the edge of genetic engineering in sport being a practical if completely undesirable possibility. In 2008 Professor Wells warned in the BMJ that “some commentators have raised concerns that genetic modification or “gene doping” will be the next step in the search for enhanced performance”. Although this still exists within the domain of science fiction, the recent doping scandals that have rocked World Athletics and Cycling demonstrate the lengths to which some athletes will go to achieve the physiological changes that will facilitate enhanced and superior performance.

Psychology

Talking in 2013 Michael Phelps’ coach, Bob Bowman acknowledged that there is very little in terms of physiology that distinguishes between the good and the very good.  He suggested that what distinguishes the superelite from the rest, is their psychology and how they think, feel and manage the pressures of elite competition.  Maybe this is where elite athletes’ characteristics mirror those of the superheroes of our childhood dreams.  Whilst the unique ability to handle extreme competitive pressure may or may not be innate, the competitive and challenging sporting environment may allow the development of strategic understanding, mental toughness and resilience, all concepts that are vital to these athletes whose physical successes may identify them as being superhuman individuals.  For Batman, genius level intelligence was one of his unique characteristics allowing him to be a master detective. Interestingly, the literature suggests that personal intelligence is a key factor in promoting resilience.

Science and Technology

While many of our comic book superheroes possessed innate qualities and elite champions possess physical attributes well suited to their specific sport, science and technology has the potential to contribute both positively and negatively to the development of the superhero athlete. Within comic books this type of superhero is prevalent, Ironman was created and powered by scientific advancements and Batman was able to buy the most cutting edge technology available, and while these two superheroes remain comic book creations, there are already versions of this form of technology finding its way into the real world.  Take for example the advances in robotics that are being used in military sectors such as the US military utilising swarm robotics as a cornerstone of future drone development or the innovation within exoskeleton technology that has come on to such a degree that the effort can be taken out of walking.  Forms of this technology are regularly seen in a sporting arena, consider the controversy that was created in 2007 over Oscar Pistorius’ use of prosthetic ‘blades’.  This led to the IAAF amending their rules to ban the use of “any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device”. Initially, Pistorius was ruled ineligible for competitions although following a lengthy appeal it was determined that blades did not provide a competitive advantage over able-bodied runners.

Conclusion

The fact remains that while the average human may be able to increase their speed, reaction time, power and mental strength we are still far away from the development of real life superheroes. And perhaps we should be grateful for this.  In the comic book culture, the superhero only exists in contrast to a dark force, each superhero has his or her evil nemesis Superman had Lex Luther, Batman the joker and it begs the question if we create heroes will we also create villains?

 

Join our team: Lecturer in Sports Coaching

Lecturer in Sports Coaching

Faculty of Education and Language Studies; Based in Milton Keynes
£31,656 – £46,414
circulation date : 03/03/2016
closing date : 31/03/2016
We are seeking someone to join our growing and vibrant team of nine staff involved in writing online/print materials, overseeing teaching activities and coaching related research that connects with our BSc (Hons) Sport, Fitness and Coaching. You will contribute to supporting some 2400 students mostly in sports-related employment and coaching.You will have excellent knowledge of coaching science and practice including a good understanding of sector training and development, based on some experience of working in higher education. You will be research active and have evidence of external collaborative activities; this experience may contribute to the possible development of a coaching related Masters programme.Your ongoing teaching will be in writing module materials and assessment administration. You will have an excellent command of written and spoken English, and will be used to communicating to a variety of audiences online and in print.

Experience of having used information and communications technology to enhance learning is also required.

Closing date: 5.00pm 31 March 2016

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE POST AND HOW TO APPLY CLICK HERE.

Join our team: P/T Tutor Vacancies at the OU on E314 Exploring Contemporary Issues in Sport and Exercise

image We are pleased to announce that we are currently recruiting part-time tutors for our new module E314 Exploring Contemporary Issues in Sport and Exercise which starts in October 2016.

Details about the post and how to apply can be found here: http://www.open.ac.uk/jobs/tutors/vacancies

Further details about the module can be found here: http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/modules/e314

We also have a number of E314 related posts on this blog which are available on this thread:
https://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/OU-Sport/?cat=74

The module is delivered through distance learning, using online group tutorials, which gives you a unique opportunity to work with students from the comfort of your own home at evenings and weekends.

** THE CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS IS 31ST MARCH 2016 **

Student Story: Simon Hemsworth

In this video BSc (Hons) Sport, Fitness and Coaching graduate Simon Hemsworth describes how studying with The Open University helped him to change his life and achieve his dream of becoming a PE teacher.  If you are interested in studying with us please visit the ‘Study with us’ section of this website.