Flashcards

This week in the Music Teacher's Blog I came across a YouTube video of a teacher using flashcards in a small Suzuki theory class. I really like to see ideas and strategies being used by teachers in real classrooms. I find it much more effective for me to actually see strategies in effect rather than simply reading about how they should be implemented. I think that teachers can and should learn from each other, and YouTube is one way for us to do so.

Video

Assistive technology

The topic of assistive technology is really important to me. I feel very strongly that IDEA legislation is essential to protecting the rights of disabled individuals, and I'm absolutely thrilled that the SoundBeam and other technologies like it are out there being used by teachers to make a difference in young peoples' lives. I don't really know how to sum this up, but just reading about the SoundBeam made me cry, so clearly this is an important topic for me.

PLN 11/13

This week, I found a great article on a subject that has constantly worried me when it comes to my own future teaching: classroom management.  On the "So You Want to Teach?" blog, Joel posted this about classroom management and rules.  If you ignore the constant biblical references, it's possible to read into the teacher's experiences without getting a religious bias (which may or may not be helpful to you).  Mainly, I thought that the ideas he expressed about expecting kids to know what to do without telling them and how to establish "rehearsal skills" were concepts immediately applicable to any new teacher's life.

Digital photos, citizenship, and Copyright

The article on digital photography didn't have much new information for me, but I did learn that cropping a photo reduces the overall photo quality.  That should be a fairly obvious concept, but I hadn't even considered it.  Using GIMP, however, has forced me to reconsider the way that I use my own digital camera and the resulting photography.  There are many times that I will take a photo and be displeased with the quality or content of the photo.  Now I know how to use GIMP to retouch or crop that photo to my liking.

Digital Citizenship is an interesting concept for me.  Having grown up as a "digital native," many of this articles concepts and ideas did not seem readily applicable.  After reading through it however, I think that this article addresses valid concerns about students and technology, not only pointing out the issues but also offering at the very least partial solutions.  I think that if we are going to require that individuals be held accountable and responsible for their own use of technology, they must be educated to become a digital citizen.

The article on copyright and fair use was extremely relevant to our status as current students and future teachers.  I'm sure all of us have had a teacher hand out photocopied articles or chapters for use in the classroom.  Depending how how much they copied and how often they copied it, our teachers might have been breaking copyright laws.  It is essential for teachers (current and future) to be familiar and comply with copyright laws so that we may continue to be awarded the fair use privileges that are enjoyed today.

PLN- Infinite Thinking Machine

This week I discovered the Infinite Thinking Machine, a blog/videocast about education in the 21st century.  The thing that I'm most appreciative of coming out of this service are the live interactive interviews that they host online through Elluminate, a collaborative online workspace.  These interviews are most often with interesting, dynamic individuals in the fields of education and technology.  The site is very progressive in its thinking and approach towards synergy in education and technology.  There are some really neat things going on in terms of combining new tech with education, and the Infinite Thinking Machine is right on the cutting edge.

Digital Learning

This week's information was fairly interesting when read as individual articles.  When combined, however, the concepts discussed were much more potent and immediately applicable to education.  I really liked the idea of not just catering to Digital Natives' desires and habits (such as networked learning and instant gratification) but instead combining both "legacy" and "future" approaches to learning and education.  I also really appreciated the fact that Ms. Driscoll didn't say that technology is always good and must be embraced, but urged teachers to use technology in context and explore the positive effects that the new and changing times can afford the educational system.

PLN #7

This week in "So You Want to Teach?" there was an article about 15 free ed-tech resources to utilize in the classroom.  I thought this was extremely relevant to our recent class topics and after looking through the post I think there are some great resources here.  Definitely check it out.

http://www.soyouwanttoteach.com/15-free-ed-tech-resources-to-implement-in-the-classroom/

PLN #6

This week, I found an interesting article on the Music Ed Lounge titled Beginning Flute Notes.  I'm not a flute player, and I've never been taught anything about playing the flute, so I have no concept of the challenges that the beginning player faces.  However, I found not just this post, but also the responses very intriguing.  I was interested to look at the approaches and the reasoning that these proactive educators are using to change the way they approach traditional problems instead of using the traditional instruction methods.  I think that it is important that we allow ourselves as educators to examine not only what, but how we're teaching what we are.  Without self-evaluation and re-examination of our techniques, our art form won't grow as a whole.

Multiple Students, One Computer

Mr. Kirk Kassner does a fantastic job of addressing one of the more common excuses that educators make for not integrating computer technology into their classrooms.  "I have 23 students and only once computer - I can't use computers with my students!"  Cue Mr. Kassner.  His point is clear and precise- you CAN be effective in using technology with your students in a classroom with limited space and on a limited budget.  You just have to think outside of that ever-present box.

Your students will greatly benefit from the exposure to technology that you can offer them through innovative use of resources and creative planning.  In short, I think the main idea here is not to let a budget get in the way of doing anything and everything to can to reach every student while delivering the highest level of education possible.

PLN # 5

School Administrators + The Real World = Have They Ever Really Met?

This article got me thinking about the aspects of teaching that we as future teachers (me, at least) don't like to think about.  Dealing with, nay, working with the administration of my school is something that I would like to be a pleasant and productive affair.  I like to think that I would comply with all of the guidelines and policies that my administration has in place and be perfectly complacent.  However, I know that may not always be the case.

Does anyone have any adverse scenarios (in terms of working with administrators) that they have experienced that they can share?  What were the resolutions reached?

Picture This/Capture Your Sound

While the Picture This article was a little bit dated for me personally, I still thought that it had solid, valid points to make about the educational applications of sound recording programs.  With diverse classrooms composed of kinesthetic, auditory, and visual learners, it is essential to approach your lesson plans from several angles.  I very much like the that this article is trying to provide insights into how to make a very audio-heavy activity (music-making) accesible to primary visual learners.

Capturing Your Sound was very informative.  I know next to nothing about recording live performances in any respect, but I would very much to utilize it in order to better my future students.  After reading this article, I feel much better prepared to tackle the daunting task of sucessfully recording my students.  The level of technical detail included in this article was perfect.  I now not only understand the type of equipment and how to use it, but why to do so.

PLN #4

Google WAVE!

This week in So You Want To Teach? I read about Google's latest software package, Wave.  It is being billed as how email would be if it had been invented yesterday.  Basically, Google Wave combines all of the "essential" elements of everyday internet activity (email, social networking, instant messaging, and Skype-esque programs) into one central program, complete with drag-and-drop functionality.  According to the post, there is a lot of potential for educators packed into this program, with features like step-by-step review that open up a vast range of possibilities for online group projects and publishing.

If anyone out there has one, I could really use and invite so I can get started!

Sequencing

This week's article of MIDI sequencing was an interesting read for me.  I really enjoyed the fact that the author took the time to offer some definition/history on sequencing and went into detail on how one might most efficiently use this technology in the classroom.  I especially liked the musical games that he devised to quiz his students on what patch (or "program") his synthesizer was using to reproduce a given excerpt.  More reasons to explore the use of MIDI in my future classroom(s).

PLN #3

This week on the Music Teachers Blog, I found a post about conclusive evidence that has been found showing that participating in music actually makes children smarter.  Professor Susan Hallam of the U.K. has shown through her research that over time, children can actually improve their IQ scores by and average of seven points, versus about four points through drama education.  If anyone's interested, the article can be found here.

This is great news for music educators everywhere seeking to justify their programs to fiscally-desperate administrators.

MIDI

I thought these two articles combined were the best readings yet.  I actually enjoyed reading about MIDI, probably because of the way the information was presented.  For me, MIDI is a relatively new concept in terms of actual application: I have known about MIDI and heard it used, but never actually looked into using it personally.

The fantastic thing about these articles is that they didn't just recommend MIDI's use in the field and supply some "novel" ways to use it.  Instead, they actually delved into the nuts and bolts of how MIDI actually works, which captured the engineering side of my brain and kept me interested with concrete facts rather than abstract generalizations.

I think that the application of MIDI in the classroom setting opens up many avenues for creativity and innovation, both on the part of the teacher and the student.  I will definitely look into how my future job can best benefit from the use of MIDI and see to it that I am at the very least knowledgeable in both theory and practice.

PLN #2

While reading through classmates' blogs, I came across Ryan Huch's post about a blog questioning the musical validity of Guitar Hero (and similar video games) and whether or not we as teachers can latch on to the fever-like nature of modern games for educational purposes. I myself have wondered if we can adapt current "musical" video games in order to retain students' attention while still sneaking valid educational tidbits in there. Ideally, someone would create a video game that was designed specifically for music education yet still retained some of the widespread appeal that the mainstream video games enjoy. I remain convinced that the synergy of video games and educational concepts is one of the most promising pedagogical strategies on the horizon.

Week 4 Reading

I thought this week's articles were fairly informative.

The creative thinking and technology article's content was not at all revolutionary to me. However, it wasn't the content, but the thought process that it provoked that mattered. After reading this article, I started thinking about all of the different ways that I can integrate technology into my future teaching career in order to seamlessly adopt the TPACK strategy. In short, this article was good for its provocation more so than its specific content.

The Vermont MIDI Project article was fascinating. What a revolutionary way to incorporate composition, improvisation, music theory, performace practice, distance learning, and collaboration! This is an absolutely fantastic project, and I can only hope to be involved in something a fraction as good, let alone start such a venture.

PLN #1

This week I read an interesting article about "Rule-Free Teaching." The main idea being communicated was that students don't really need a list of rules and regulations in order to be productive and civilized in the classroom. Mr. Michael Peters, the instructor for CWRU's Vocal Pedagogy class, actually mentioned something similar to this in class the other day. What he said and what the article is saying is essentially the same; the only rule that really needs to be established is mutual respect. The author of the rule free teaching article, Joel, splits this into two segments- follow directions, and do nothing that interferes with the teaching and others' learning.

I think that this is a wonderful concept. Teaching with a minimal rule set allows for there to be less enforcement and more time for music-making and education. In the process, it eliminates all of the loopholes that students will inevitably try and find in the established rules. If at all possible, I would like to adopt a strategy similar to Joel's once I am teaching.

Music Notation Software

This week's articles were actually fairly interesting. As I read, I found that in addition to the obvious features of programs like Sibelius or Finale (music notation, transposition, composition), there are many other uses for these types of programs that the music educator can and should take advantage of.

Of special interest to me was the idea of creating new or different parts for pieces currently being performed. Having been one of the "this is too boring/easy" students, the thought of being able to add some more difficult parts for the more advanced students in the ensemble is an exciting one. If there is anything that the music educator can do to even the learning gaps between students or keep everyone involved, it should be given strong consideration.

PLN

The concept of a Personal Learning Network (or PLN) is fairly perplexing to me.  As far as I have been able to grasp, a PLN is basically one's ability to keep current on relevant news.  In that pursuit, I have opened an account with Google Reader, a glorified RSS feed organizer.  So far, I like the interface quite a lot.  It is organized very similar to a stratified email inbox, so it is quite easy to find exactly what you're looking to read.  In hopes that I can stay informed not only on global events but also specifically to education and music topics, I have subscribed to "So You Want To Teach," "NPR," "Music Matters," and PBS' "Learning.now."  I really like all of these blogs/feeds, because each shines some light on a different facet of the educational world, and NPR's postings keep me informed on the world at large.

TPACK

Dr. Bauer's article on TPACK (Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge) identified the relationship between the components of said acronym.  I thought that most of the ideas/concepts highlighted were mostly common sense from an educator's point of view.  In short, the teacher's knowledge of technology and how it can assist his/her subject matter knowledge and the knowledge of how best to go about teaching students about a myriad of subjects leads to a more effective teaching strategy.  Dr. Bauer did caution that while technology is readily available in the the classroom, it is rarely utilized effectively by "non-native" users.

Basically, it is noted that younger, more "current" generations will generally be more adept at the implementation of modern technologies into everyday life, especially education.

Noteflight

After working with Noteflight for about an hour, I feel as though I've got a pretty good handle on the inner workings of the program.  Noteflight is a lightweight music notation software that runs in the browser (and therefore can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection).  My time using Noteflight yielded this transcription.

As an applied to music education, I think that this program is fantastic.  It is accessible from virtually anywhere, has a save feature, and perhaps best of all, is free.  In addition, I found Noteflight to be extremely quick to use and quite user-friendly.  After I figured out the keyboard shortcuts and general entry syntax, I was able to enter music in a three-stave setting at a rate of about three measures per minute.  I can see myself or other music educators using this software for everyday music notation, as a topic in a technology class for students, or even as a means to facilitate student compositions; students could be assigned scores to transcribe/arrange or have the ability to neatly notate their own compositional ideas.