Assignment 2 - Ipad Video Analysis Apps......

Assignment 2

So, I have spent some time today playing with the various video analysis apps that are available for the ipad using video footage that I took in one of Saturday’s training sessions.

The three that I am thinking of reviewing for assignment two are ;

•    Coach’s Eye
•    coachmyvideo and
•   iCoachView. 

 

 I have used the Coach’s Eye App before and have found this useful on the iphone, however often that athlete’s found  it difficult to see on when on the horse. The  ipad screen is so much larger and therefore better instant feedback is provided.

In yesterday’s training session I used video footage to coach one of my athlete’s. Footage was taken of an exercise. The rider was shown the footage and came up with a solution. Before and after pictures can seen above (I emailed a copy of this to the athlete) and illustrate just how powerful visual feedback can be. As my athetle said, "you could have told me that one thousand times and I still would not have realized how crooked I was".  It just so rapidly matches up the feeling with a visual image and the athlete is then able to correct the problem. 

The photo on the right was the rider’s first attempt and clearly demonstrates how the rider collapses her right side, which in turn places the horse out of balance. The attempt after she had viewed the footage is a vast improvement, clearly showing a more balanced rider.

Some notes I have made on each app so far include:

• The Coach’s Eye does not allow the comparison footage that coachmyvideo and iCoachView both contain.

• Coachmyvideo does have the added bonus that you are able to zoom in on footage.

• CoachMyVideo does allow footage to be emailed and saved, however only allows drawing tools, not voice over to be added.

• iCoachView does have a microphone function allowing voice over, however I have yet to work out if you can do this on still footage or if one video has to be running.

 

I would like to review all three as I think it would be beneficial for coaches to select the one that is most suitable for their form of feedback. For me, at this stage, the apps I would use in the field would vary depending on what I was trying to achieve, as would the one I would use in video analysis after the training session.

My investigations will continue……….

Video Editing

So, I have finished my first task. Video editing is not completely new to me - I have used it for my own riding and coaching and for producing videos of horses for sale. I am now aware, however that I have only produced a very amateur product using very basic functions, such as cropping. I am really looking forward to incorporating my new skills into my coaching, including the voice over and the addition of text to the movie.

Another point of interest is that previously I have used a PC for editing and this was the first time I have used a MAC - I am very impressed! The quality of the final produced is far superior to what I have been able to produce on a PC and it was very simple to use once I was aware of the function of the buttons. The process of converting the footage into a format suitable to upload to youtube has also been difficult for me in the past, however with the MAC it was basically just a click and it was done. 

As a coach, I feel that I now have the skills to produce quality educational video's that will enable me to accelerate the development and understanding of my students. I look forward to creating a database of videos that I can quickly email to the athletes as needed to enhance and improve my coaching.

For the last six months I have been paying to have my riding videos analysed by an International Coach. I am now aware of the technology which will allow me to offer this service to my athletes in the future. 

My advice to anyone who does a lot of video editing is buy a MAC!

The First Week......

Assignment 1

So, I may have over estimated my knowledge and abilities in Microsoft word, Excel, Powerpoint and imovie. The saying "you don't know what you don't know" is proving very true! Luckily, youtube is proving to be very helpful.

This week I have been focusing on the Excel, Powerpoint and video editing. I will provide a brief summary of each.

Excel

I have really learned a lot working on this task. It seems that people on blogs are very helpful and often have quick ways to solve problems that would take me along time. 

I can see value in developing my skills in Excel, particularly in my school teaching and in the evaluation and analysis of dressage tests. The thought of being able to easily flag particular movements if the score is below the average would be useful. I also started thinking about my effectiveness as a school teacher and if this could be increased by providing the students with data - through excel on their scores in tests and particular sections in tests. I think it is a powerful reflective and motivating tool. 

I am also looking forward to using mail merge as a tool to provide feedback. I would like to know if you can set it up to email the results directly? I am sure I will discover this along the way.

PowerPoint

After the tutorial on Thursday, I re-structured my initial PowerPoint presentation. I think previously I have used it like a black board to convey information to students. To see an example of one which provided a simple structure and diagrams or pictures, highlighted that if I am going to be successful in this task then I need to clearly map out the structure of my presentation and identify the key ideas. This was more difficult than I thought. To write less was very challenging! 

I am still a little confused about slide master. I watched a youtube clip about it, however I don't really see its purpose at this stage. We have a media specialist at school so I will speak her to hopefully gain more understanding of its purpose. 

I love how easy it is to insert video footage into PowerPoint. Next year I hope to start my own business in providing equestrian specific presentations to local clubs. This project has helped me gain more understanding about  the type of presentations that I would like to produce and I am excited about the quality of presentation I can produce on my Mac.

Microsoft Word

At this stage I have elected not to do the Microsoft Word assignment, purely because I thought it looked the easiest. However, after seeing all the things you can do with word at the online tutorial - such as identifying all the headings and subheadings and then instantly producing a table of contents, I can see the value in developing my skills in this area. 

Video Editing 

I am really interested in developing my skills in this area. I have discovered so many new tools - such as adding text to video. I have begun thinking about producing educational material for my students. I just need more hours in the day! The video editing is also an essential tool as I am often selling horses for myself or my students and to learn how to produce a professional video is essential. 

Visual Coaching

I ordered a sample CD online which arrived on Friday. I have asked the technician at school for a program to make my Mac Windows compatible, however apparently it is illegal. So, I will borrow my Mum's computer and explore the visual coaching program, if I think it has something to offer my coaching then I will continue with this as an assignment.

Dartfish

I have used Dartfish before, however I had no idea it could do all the things that Donna demonstrated in the tutorial. I only played with the slow motion and split screens. I again need to sort out access to another computer before I start this task. It will have significant implications to my coaching so I am exciting about learning the program.

Assignment 2

I have still not decided on my selection for assignment two. I did ask Donna if it was okay to do the iphone app "Coaches Eye". However, after searching for some of the other software that is available, I came across "coachmyvideo". This app is found on the ipad. The ipad provides the added advantage that the rider is able to see a bigger picture of themselve on the screen. The iphone was often difficult to see for riders as the screen was so small, plus,  I have smashed two of them in three months. So, I am off to buy myself an ipad this week in order to investigate the apps available.

I am also not sure if the video analysis apps are okay to use in this assignment as they are so similar to Dartfish, however I can not find anything else that I want to investigate that I think has specific benefits to Dressage Coaching. I will continue to look.

Assignment 3

This week I also watched two of the presentations at the Technology Conference. One was on using statistical analysis of speech to predict the likelihood of an athlete of being arrested or suspended. Although it was interesting it was not one I wanted to critique as I felt its application to dressage riders was limited. I did mention it to my year 9 class though in an attempt to have them reflect on the language they use. The video mentioned that it was initially based on CIA technology to distinguish terrorists from Presidents. Of course my year 9 class then suggested I had called them all terrorists.......

The other was on video analysis apps available on iphones. However, they did not video the app being demonstrated, they just continued to video the guy providing the lecture, hence I could not evaluated the quality of the app and will not use that one either. I plan to continue to watch a few more this week and hopefully find one that I am interested in.

The Online Tutorial

The online tutorial was quite a novel experience for me. It was beneficial to gain clarification on several points and also experience the technology. I started thinking about ways in which I could use it in the future.......

Initial Reflections

Initial Reflections - Sport and Technology

After reading the tasks for this unit I am excited about the opportunities that technology can offer to enhance my coaching. 

The three main areas that I feel that technology can assist me in developing are:

• feedback and evaluation
• communication and motivation
• business development

As Dressage training often involves transporting both the horse and rider, the number of sessions that a rider and coach can work together each week is generally limited. After viewing some of the current technology that is available, they appear to provide a medium which can be used to improve both the feedback and communication between the coach and rider.

Western Australia is particularly isolated. Another challenge is that examples of correctly trained horses and riders are limited. Here, technology presents new options to improve the athletes understanding of their training and ways for athletes to compare themselves against the standard of current world class competitors.

Another avenue that I wish to pursue is to develop my coaching brand and business. Here technology and social networking sites appear to be moving at a very rapid pace and this is something that I would like to be more confident in utilizing.

Task One 

I can see value in all the essential areas for coaches. I would currently rate my abilities in these areas as follows:

Presentation Application (Power Point)  5/10

Word Processing Applications                 6/10

Spread sheet Application                          5/10

Video Editing Software                            5/10

Video Analysis Software                          4.5/10

Visual Coaching                                No experience

The first task has only one item that I have never seen before - the visual coaching. After watching the tutorial this offers an exciting means to communicate with riders and keep them on track at times when training is not viable. My initial thoughts are that it will be most beneficial to tailor a program for the horse. 

Long term, I would like to prepare yearly programs for horses aged from 3 to approximately 10 years of age. This would then provide a reference and feedback as they progress up the training levels and I would be able to gain valuable longitudinal date about the speed of progression through the grades. One thing I am unsure of is whether or not I could scan common exercises for dressage training and then link them into the program, rather than using their human athlete exercises?

In most cases, I am able to use them, however it often takes me a while and I have to ask people to assist me and I recognise that I am not able to use the applications as effectively as I would like.

I am particularly interested in developing skills in the comparative video analysis. I am aware that NSWIS currently use this for their squad riders, giving the rider the judge’s view from both sides of the competition arena (short and long side).

Task Two

The second task - analysing and resolving issues in coaching by using technology and presenting it as a voice threat led me to investigate the technologies available. One that was interesting was a golf specific program that incorporated a website for the coaches business and was linked up to automatically publish video feedback analysis to Facebook, twitter and YouTube accounts. http://www.v1golf.com/ I had never thought of publishing my feedback on social networking sites and immediately began to question the legal implications and how my athletes would view this use of their feedback. A verbal survey of five athletes revealed that all were positive, some requesting that setting be adjusted so that viewing was only possible by my other athletes. This surprised me, as I don't think I would like my feedback published for others to see. 

This concept has definitely triggered an interest in developing a brand or website to promote my coaching and incorporate learning opportunities for my athletes. 

I am looking forward to the review of the technology that other coaches are integrating into their programs. I think this is definitely an area that I can improve in significantly. 

Task Three

The blog is not something that I would have previously considered. I am not always comfortable publishing information as I always think there is still so much to learn. I always think if I publish it then I will look back in five years and think "oh dear, how could I have thought that!” 

However, I do see value in reflection and posing questions. Keeping an online record will be a novel and new experience. I would like to start publishing some of my coaching ideas in equestrian magazines, so I hope the blog will assist me in developing a style of writing that is appropriate, educational and entertaining.