Genius Hour: Week 3

Genius Hour

This last week, I experimented with using a GoPro and importing video into the Technique app. Below is one of the videos I took and imported into the app for analysis.

The GoPro was able to capture a wider field of view. However, it was difficult to thoroughly examine my rowing stroke as I had placed the GoPro at a far distance from myself. Below you can see a screenshot which was my attempt to analyze the video. I had to zoom in a great deal on the app to see how my body was moving, so the line takes up much more space than in previous weeks.

That being said, I was able to determine that I continued to improve my body positioning and placement at full compression. Below you can see that I appear to have significantly reduced the opening of my upper body at the initiation of the stroke.

Overall, I would say the GoPro is a handy tool for taking video footage when training alone. If I were to continue to use the GoPro, I believe I would gain a better understanding of the field of view, leading to better placement of the GoPro and cleaner footage to analyze afterwards. I also think the wide field of view of the GoPro will be incredibly useful when capturing footage of the athletes I coach in the spring and summer. The wide field of view will allow me to see the blade and body movements of all members of a crew at one time.

At this point in the project, I have learned that I can use video footage to quickly improve my own rowing stroke. The Technique app is convenient and powerful for pocket video analysis. However, the sharing features are a bit lacking when it comes to the reference lines. If I combine the sharing features of the Technique app with a blog to share the screenshot of the video with the reference lines, I will be able to effectively communicate technical flaws and improvements with my athletes outside of practice time.

Through both this course and the Genius Hour project, I have learned that when I am passionate about a subject, I will spend a great deal of time investigating and researching for the course. I have spent more time than was probably necessary on further background research for components of this project and the badges on my Google Site. That being said, I am quite proud of my work and have been able to learn a lot about technology in the classroom.

As the next step for my Genius Hour project, I should implement regular video review in my practice as a coach. I will aim to take and share video analysis with my rowers at least twice a week for the rest of the season. I will also share my research with fellow coaches at the rowing club to better our practice as a whole.

As the next step for my learning with this course, I should begin planning on how I can use and adapt some of the tools and techniques I have discovered for implementation in a senior level physics course. I know my next block will be in grade 11 or 12 physics and I would like to trial some of the items we have discussed in this course.