I have had minimal experience with OneNote and its applications for teachers. The videos on Microsoft's website were helpful in seeing the possibilities of its use. My husband uses it for his work, so I asked him what he things of OneNote. He explained it as making a notebook for different projects or classes. You can put all sorts of things into that notebook, just as they showed in the videos - website information, Word documents, Excel documents, free notewriting, images, videos, etc.
I can see using this to keep track of class work and grades. At the elementary level, I do not have an online gradebook to keep a running record of student work. OneNote could ease the burden of assessment and student progress by helping me make forms/checklists/rubrics and grading students on the fly. Granted, I would have to prepare these files ahead of time, but I would only have to make them once.
Overall, I think a program like OneNote could be very useful. Maybe once I'm finished with my Masters I will have some time to play around with it.
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Friday, May 1, 2015
Productivity, Professional Development, and Furthering My TPACK withTechnology
I was lucky enough to have spent the past two days at the CT Music Educators Association (CMEA) annual in-service conference. At this conference, I observed a variety of applications of technology specifically for professional development. One session focused on recruitment and retention in instrumental programs. The presenter used a presentation software with video and audio segments. She spoke of communication using technology (and paper and mail) with prospective students and their parents.
Another presentation was a Chinese-born teacher's arrangements of Chinese folk songs for elementary and middle school choir. She gave samples of her scores, 8 in all created with a publishing software, showed videos of her students performing some of the pieces, and a YouTube video made to teach the pronunciation of the Mandarin and Cantonese in her songs.
Yesterday, the first presentation I attended focused on using early literacy strategies to teach music literacy. This presentation was created with PowerPoint and gave examples of handwritten visuals, computer printed visuals, and found internet resources. The teacher used a spreadsheet to analyze her data for assessments.
Technology was not the central focus of any of these sessions, but it was instrumental in the presentation and planning of the information. I feel that I am quite comfortable with technology in all aspects of life. I use "Reminders" on my iPhone to keep track of tasks I need to complete. I use my iPhone calendar to keep track of personal appointments and rehearsals. I type up my lesson plans in either Pages or Word. I create attendance lists and sign out sheets in Excel. I use digital music in every music class. I record my students as much as possible (when time allows) to enhance their critical listening skills. This is not to say that I have nothing new to learn - I would love to learn more about Google apps (like Hangouts and Forms), or attend webinars to learn more about my craft, or create a Facebook page for the parents of my school to see what is going on around town and what their students are learning. (Honestly, I see that as more practical for older teachers than elementary, but it might be supported.)
Something that struck me from the sessions I attended was to tap into the students' minds, skills, and creativity. When recruiting younger players, teachers can have older students write letters or make videos sharing their feelings about music. When moving with students, let them come up with more ways to move rather than always telling. And when presenting a concert that features curricular learning, have the students model the learning separate from their performance. For example, the Elementary Honors Choir performed very musically and the director had them model a few of the skills they had worked on in terms of phrasing and dynamic treatment for the audience. It created a relaxed but powerful atmosphere, where the students were teaching the audience rather than the director lecturing. Our students will always be 8 steps ahead when it comes to technology - let's have them think of new ways to incorporate it in the music room.
Throughout this course, I have increased my confidence in using specifically musical applications of technology. I began using MuseScore instead of Finale NotePad since I can modulate (how novel) in the middle of a piece. I feel I could teach my students about Soundation and let them loose playing with loops. I stretched my creative muscles by writing a song and recording it ALL BY MYSELF! I even showed my students :). I look forward to adding one or two new applications to my arsenal a year and figuring out how they can enhance the learning happening in my music room.
Another presentation was a Chinese-born teacher's arrangements of Chinese folk songs for elementary and middle school choir. She gave samples of her scores, 8 in all created with a publishing software, showed videos of her students performing some of the pieces, and a YouTube video made to teach the pronunciation of the Mandarin and Cantonese in her songs.
Yesterday, the first presentation I attended focused on using early literacy strategies to teach music literacy. This presentation was created with PowerPoint and gave examples of handwritten visuals, computer printed visuals, and found internet resources. The teacher used a spreadsheet to analyze her data for assessments.
Technology was not the central focus of any of these sessions, but it was instrumental in the presentation and planning of the information. I feel that I am quite comfortable with technology in all aspects of life. I use "Reminders" on my iPhone to keep track of tasks I need to complete. I use my iPhone calendar to keep track of personal appointments and rehearsals. I type up my lesson plans in either Pages or Word. I create attendance lists and sign out sheets in Excel. I use digital music in every music class. I record my students as much as possible (when time allows) to enhance their critical listening skills. This is not to say that I have nothing new to learn - I would love to learn more about Google apps (like Hangouts and Forms), or attend webinars to learn more about my craft, or create a Facebook page for the parents of my school to see what is going on around town and what their students are learning. (Honestly, I see that as more practical for older teachers than elementary, but it might be supported.)
Something that struck me from the sessions I attended was to tap into the students' minds, skills, and creativity. When recruiting younger players, teachers can have older students write letters or make videos sharing their feelings about music. When moving with students, let them come up with more ways to move rather than always telling. And when presenting a concert that features curricular learning, have the students model the learning separate from their performance. For example, the Elementary Honors Choir performed very musically and the director had them model a few of the skills they had worked on in terms of phrasing and dynamic treatment for the audience. It created a relaxed but powerful atmosphere, where the students were teaching the audience rather than the director lecturing. Our students will always be 8 steps ahead when it comes to technology - let's have them think of new ways to incorporate it in the music room.
Throughout this course, I have increased my confidence in using specifically musical applications of technology. I began using MuseScore instead of Finale NotePad since I can modulate (how novel) in the middle of a piece. I feel I could teach my students about Soundation and let them loose playing with loops. I stretched my creative muscles by writing a song and recording it ALL BY MYSELF! I even showed my students :). I look forward to adding one or two new applications to my arsenal a year and figuring out how they can enhance the learning happening in my music room.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Udderly Delicious Meat
YouTube and Spotify are a part of my everyday teaching and recreation. If I don't have a recording for my students, I look on one or both of those applications to find a suitable performance for them to hear. Both are great resources for the young musicians I teach to learn about different genres and cultures.
This year, after inspiration from my World Music course, I structured my year around a different world culture each month or so. My third and fourth graders have learned about Australia and watched a video describing how to play the didgeridoo. They learned about Indonesia and created a 30-second ensemble piece in the style of Gamelan. They listened to various African pieces on Spotify and the fourth graders are about to learn some west African percussion by rote, after watching an authentic video from Ghana. The fourth graders learned last month about the Underground Railroad via Ritchie Havens on Spotify.
I can't describe how invaluable these resources are to expanding my musical knowledge and confidence in teaching about other cultures. As for tutorial type videos and things on YouTube, I see things all the time as I fall down the rabbit hole that I can learn from and my students can watch in class.
I created a video for my trumpet students to demonstrate oiling their valves. They watched it, we discussed it, and they could reference it later (if they had access to the Internet). I am going to use the video we had to crest this week for my class next week - learning how to put the mouthpiece, barrel, and reed together on the clarinet. I will be out at a conference (CMEA) so I want to give the sub tools to facilitate the classes I am missing.
I was pleased to read that elementary students have more open listening experiences than adolescents (Bauer, 2014). I can attest to that as my Kindergarten students enjoy anything I play for them. The first graders are about the same, with some individual exceptions. Second grade can be a little silly, third grade is mostly respectful and thoughtful while listening, and the fourth graders identify sounds as "different," "strange," or "weird" if it is an unfamiliar culture. I do not use listening maps or call charts. In fact, I had never even heard of a call chart until this week. Instead, my students come into the music room following a leader's movements to the music. I encourage them to respond to the music they are hearing - starting with a steady beat, then exploring different levels, then letting them express what they hear.
In the older grades (3rd and 4th), we discuss the music answering these questions:
The students discuss with partners while listening to the musical selection a second time (not the full length) and looking at the world map. They think about the instruments they are hearing, what function the music may have, and can get very creative with their answers to the second question :). At the beginning of the year, I would share my impressions of the music after they discussed theirs, as a model for them. Now, I simply tell them the genre and country after their discussion.
In terms of vocabulary, I try to use correct terminology whenever appropriate. For example, my second graders just started working with determining the meter of a song while listening. We first talked about putting the steady beat into groups, and then I told them METER. I feel that if we want them to be musically literate, we need to give them as many tools as possible from the very beginning. I am a firm believer that they can do whatever we can teach them, whether in general music or in instrumental music. They are sponges for vocabulary and new learning, so let's give them what they want!
Bauer, W. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding
to music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press
[I apologize for the initial short post - I was writing it on my phone since I had no wifi access Friday night. I hope you have a chance to read the edited one :) ]
I was pleased to read that elementary students have more open listening experiences than adolescents (Bauer, 2014). I can attest to that as my Kindergarten students enjoy anything I play for them. The first graders are about the same, with some individual exceptions. Second grade can be a little silly, third grade is mostly respectful and thoughtful while listening, and the fourth graders identify sounds as "different," "strange," or "weird" if it is an unfamiliar culture. I do not use listening maps or call charts. In fact, I had never even heard of a call chart until this week. Instead, my students come into the music room following a leader's movements to the music. I encourage them to respond to the music they are hearing - starting with a steady beat, then exploring different levels, then letting them express what they hear.
In the older grades (3rd and 4th), we discuss the music answering these questions:
1) Where might you hear music like this?
2) What does this music make you think of?
3) What genre of music is this?
4) What country is this from?
The students discuss with partners while listening to the musical selection a second time (not the full length) and looking at the world map. They think about the instruments they are hearing, what function the music may have, and can get very creative with their answers to the second question :). At the beginning of the year, I would share my impressions of the music after they discussed theirs, as a model for them. Now, I simply tell them the genre and country after their discussion.
In terms of vocabulary, I try to use correct terminology whenever appropriate. For example, my second graders just started working with determining the meter of a song while listening. We first talked about putting the steady beat into groups, and then I told them METER. I feel that if we want them to be musically literate, we need to give them as many tools as possible from the very beginning. I am a firm believer that they can do whatever we can teach them, whether in general music or in instrumental music. They are sponges for vocabulary and new learning, so let's give them what they want!
Bauer, W. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding
to music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press
[I apologize for the initial short post - I was writing it on my phone since I had no wifi access Friday night. I hope you have a chance to read the edited one :) ]
Friday, April 17, 2015
Assessing and Designing Instruction with Technology
Assessment is an ever-present part of teaching, particularly in the age of data-driven supervision and evaluation. I am assessing my students each class, on myriad concepts and skills, and keep a running "grade book" in my head for every one of my 300 elementary students. I watch, listen, correct, and critique throughout solfege warmups, Orff accompaniments, recorder playing, and responsive movement activities. While I can see how my students are progressing, it is difficult for me to show others without tracking data and plotting graphs of their accomplishments. While this is very important, I feel it gets in the way of authentic music making for my young students.
Last year, my colleagues and I created district-wide elementary assessments to gauge yearly growth in first, second, and third grades (we still need to create Kindergarten and 4th Grade...). These assessments are mostly authentic, but still a bit forced when applied as standard assessments in ELA and Math are in the regular classroom. I administer a pre-test in the fall, which as we all know is giving the students a test on material they probably don't know, and telling them to, "Try your best - this is just going to tell me what I still need to teach you." I collect the data from these pre-tests and then administer the same assessment in the spring as the post-test. That is basically the extent to which I comprehend standard pre- and post-test assessments. Here are the questions I still have:
1. Should I be showing the pre-test results to the students?
2. How do I give feedback to my students after the post-test?
3. Do my students have accurate self-awareness of their abilities and understanding of concepts
and skills? Are they musically self-aware?
While technology neither helps nor hinders my discovery of the answers to these questions, I feel I am pondering more broadly the process of assessment and evaluation of student learning. Bauer (2014) cites Marzano's 2006 goals of classroom assessment include clear feedback, feedback that helps students to see their progress and ways to improve, and encouragement to keep working toward their goals. I try to give constant feedback through formative assessments, but I am not sure how to give the same feedback for summative assessments. The text offers some interesting suggestions for giving feedback for summative assessments, but I do not see their application clearly in my general music classroom. For my Instrumental Music students, I could certainly have them submit a video of their playing and dub commentary over top, using an application such as a screen capture software (QuickTime on my Mac).
Designing instruction to support the "standardized" assessments we created will absolutely benefit from technological programs and devices. I am a textbook lesson plan writer who starts with the activities and builds the plans from there. I am the teacher Dr. Bazan (https://learn.kent.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-4192442-dt-content-rid-36989602_1/courses/21569.201510/Week%205/Lecture/index.html) was speaking about when he listed all the reasons we do not plan backwards as suggested - it takes time, my textbooks are sufficient, I assume my students are getting it, and I do just as well planning on my feet.
My biggest takeaway from the readings was that I NEED to work on plans from back to front in order to help my students get the most out of their lessons. Of course it makes sense to begin with the learning outcome, plan how you will know if the students have met the goal, then create activities to support the learning. However, I get brainstorms for activities to support learning outcomes while I am teaching, and I want to try them out immediately. Usually, the students are open to trying my activities, and they help me figure out what needs to be tweaked to be a valuable experience. The lesson is - I should be doing the figuring out WITHOUT the students so each time I teach the lesson it is at its peak.
I know this is my Music Technology blog and didn't write much about technology, but the readings this week took my thoughts in these directions. The technology out there I use already in my lessons and assessments will continue to be helpful whether I'm teaching by the seat of my pants or through backward design. My Interactive Whiteboard will continue to help my classroom move toward student-driven learning. The iPads will continue to provide authentic documentation of student work and learning through audio, still, and video recording. The instruments in my classroom will help students of all abilities to explore and interact with music concepts in a tactile and immersive manner. I am thankful for my resources and will tap into them to continue growing as a music educator.
Bauer, W. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding
to music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Last year, my colleagues and I created district-wide elementary assessments to gauge yearly growth in first, second, and third grades (we still need to create Kindergarten and 4th Grade...). These assessments are mostly authentic, but still a bit forced when applied as standard assessments in ELA and Math are in the regular classroom. I administer a pre-test in the fall, which as we all know is giving the students a test on material they probably don't know, and telling them to, "Try your best - this is just going to tell me what I still need to teach you." I collect the data from these pre-tests and then administer the same assessment in the spring as the post-test. That is basically the extent to which I comprehend standard pre- and post-test assessments. Here are the questions I still have:
1. Should I be showing the pre-test results to the students?
2. How do I give feedback to my students after the post-test?
3. Do my students have accurate self-awareness of their abilities and understanding of concepts
and skills? Are they musically self-aware?
While technology neither helps nor hinders my discovery of the answers to these questions, I feel I am pondering more broadly the process of assessment and evaluation of student learning. Bauer (2014) cites Marzano's 2006 goals of classroom assessment include clear feedback, feedback that helps students to see their progress and ways to improve, and encouragement to keep working toward their goals. I try to give constant feedback through formative assessments, but I am not sure how to give the same feedback for summative assessments. The text offers some interesting suggestions for giving feedback for summative assessments, but I do not see their application clearly in my general music classroom. For my Instrumental Music students, I could certainly have them submit a video of their playing and dub commentary over top, using an application such as a screen capture software (QuickTime on my Mac).
Designing instruction to support the "standardized" assessments we created will absolutely benefit from technological programs and devices. I am a textbook lesson plan writer who starts with the activities and builds the plans from there. I am the teacher Dr. Bazan (https://learn.kent.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-4192442-dt-content-rid-36989602_1/courses/21569.201510/Week%205/Lecture/index.html) was speaking about when he listed all the reasons we do not plan backwards as suggested - it takes time, my textbooks are sufficient, I assume my students are getting it, and I do just as well planning on my feet.
My biggest takeaway from the readings was that I NEED to work on plans from back to front in order to help my students get the most out of their lessons. Of course it makes sense to begin with the learning outcome, plan how you will know if the students have met the goal, then create activities to support the learning. However, I get brainstorms for activities to support learning outcomes while I am teaching, and I want to try them out immediately. Usually, the students are open to trying my activities, and they help me figure out what needs to be tweaked to be a valuable experience. The lesson is - I should be doing the figuring out WITHOUT the students so each time I teach the lesson it is at its peak.
I know this is my Music Technology blog and didn't write much about technology, but the readings this week took my thoughts in these directions. The technology out there I use already in my lessons and assessments will continue to be helpful whether I'm teaching by the seat of my pants or through backward design. My Interactive Whiteboard will continue to help my classroom move toward student-driven learning. The iPads will continue to provide authentic documentation of student work and learning through audio, still, and video recording. The instruments in my classroom will help students of all abilities to explore and interact with music concepts in a tactile and immersive manner. I am thankful for my resources and will tap into them to continue growing as a music educator.
Bauer, W. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding
to music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Chromatik and SmartMusic
Chromatik is an online performance accompaniment program. It allows the performer to practice their instrument or voice along with a professional recording of the piece, while reading the sheet music suitable for their instrument. For example, when I signed in, I selected my instrument as violin.
Every piece of music I sampled showed up with violin in the top left corner and all are in treble clef. The variety of music included on this website is vast - from Disney to current radio hits to jazz standards to folk tunes. This technology can be applied to individual practice, but may also support full class practice if all students are studying the same composition. The program links to professional YouTube recordings, usually music videos, for practice accompaniment. The mobile application contains more interactive ability than the traditional website, including annotation of the score, tempo manipulation, and recording possibilities.
In both the online and mobile app, the performer can select a segment of the video to loop for practice purposes. What I liked most about the website is the curating of music. As a 30-something, I do not exactly have the same taste in music as my young students, so this is a great resource for what is hip right now.
SmartMusic is an application that aids students in meaningful and efficient practice. SmartMusic is a subscription service - $140 per educator, $40 per student annual fees. Once you purchase a subscription, you have access to an incredible resource for practicing at home or at school. Teachers can create assignments for students to complete. Students have access to all music within SmartMusic on a computer or mobile device, much of which includes professional sounding backing recordings.
Students practice the selection assigned, modifying tempo if desired, and then submit their best performance of the assignment for grading. Teachers collect data on students as each student has his or her own account within SmartMusic. Parents can follow student progress through the student's account.
Were I to teach middle or high school ensembles, I would absolutely look into further applications of SmartMusic and how willing my district would be to purchase subscriptions for educators and all students. What I like most about it is the communication aspect, both for assignments and for assessment. Students can complete the work at home and submit their grade to the database accessible by the teacher. All data is collected on its own, with little to no effort on the part of the teacher. Obviously, the program cannot give all needed feedback to the student in terms of hand position, embouchure, or other technique, but it can give accurate assessment of pitch, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, and articulation. I am not sure I would consider using Chromatik for more than extra credit assignments for my students or simply making them aware of the website and mobile application.
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| https://www.chromatik.com/violin |
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| https://www.chromatik.com/static/about |
In both the online and mobile app, the performer can select a segment of the video to loop for practice purposes. What I liked most about the website is the curating of music. As a 30-something, I do not exactly have the same taste in music as my young students, so this is a great resource for what is hip right now.
 |
| https://www.chromatik.com/chart-toppers |
SmartMusic is an application that aids students in meaningful and efficient practice. SmartMusic is a subscription service - $140 per educator, $40 per student annual fees. Once you purchase a subscription, you have access to an incredible resource for practicing at home or at school. Teachers can create assignments for students to complete. Students have access to all music within SmartMusic on a computer or mobile device, much of which includes professional sounding backing recordings.
 |
| http://www.smartmusic.com/products/educators/features-and-benefits/ |
Were I to teach middle or high school ensembles, I would absolutely look into further applications of SmartMusic and how willing my district would be to purchase subscriptions for educators and all students. What I like most about it is the communication aspect, both for assignments and for assessment. Students can complete the work at home and submit their grade to the database accessible by the teacher. All data is collected on its own, with little to no effort on the part of the teacher. Obviously, the program cannot give all needed feedback to the student in terms of hand position, embouchure, or other technique, but it can give accurate assessment of pitch, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, and articulation. I am not sure I would consider using Chromatik for more than extra credit assignments for my students or simply making them aware of the website and mobile application.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
iPad Ensembles - the Bands of the Future?
I was intrigued this week learning about ensembles made up of laptops, speakers, MIDI keyboards, and iPads. I decided to explore these groups and see what I think of them - is this something I could do in my classroom?
Here are some of the videos I found:
- This is a short video of the Salt Lake Pops Orchestra playing traditional orchestra instruments and iPads and iPhone/iPod touch instruments to perform Beethoven's 5th (arranged). This was the first video I watched during my research, and it is an interesting combination of traditional and modern technology to perform an updated version of classical music.
- This was the second video I found which features all iPad instruments. The app the performers are using is called Seline HD, according to the video. The sounds are distinctly MIDI, but the composition is interesting for a chamber group of electronic instruments. I would like to check out the app to explore, but when I search for it on my iPad, no results are found.
- This video represents a performance technology application referenced in the Bauer (2014) text - the Concerto for iPad and Orchestra by Ned McGowan. The video is a collection of excerpts from the entire concerto, which is 25 minutes long in three movements. Click here to see which iPad apps McGowan used to compose the piece. Click here to see a video in which McGowan speaks about his composition.
- The video below was also reference in Bauer's 2014 text - the concert pianist Lang Lang having a bit of fun with an iPad. I am guessing that the app used is something like Smule Magic Piano as he can control the speed of the performance.
- This group from Estonia uses their iPads and GarageBand to perform as a traditional band with guitar, bass, drum, and keyboards.
- Finally, I found this educational application also using GarageBand for a school performance in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Each of these videos demonstrates professional and educational applications for iPads and performance. I am going to look into a project for my elementary students - let me know if you have any great apps for your iPads that work with your students - free or otherwise!
Bauer, W. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding
to music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Friday, April 10, 2015
Technology in the Band Room (or general music room...)
As I've mentioned before, I teach general music, K-4, and instrumental music grades 3-4. This week's readings and lecture were like a smorgasbord of applications for all of my teaching needs. From the anecdote of "Michael's" day (Bauer, 2014), I now have a shopping list for my district's technology coordinator that I could use in my classes, for all ages.
First, I would love Band-in-a-Box. I've heard of it before, but I never really thought about how it could be applied in my classes. How much fun would my third graders have with their rhythm flashcards if we spoke/clapped them along with a funky jazz track? Or playing fourth grade recorder warm-ups over a hip-hop track? They would dig their warm-ups! Kids could also create their own accompaniments over which to improvise on instruments. It would make for a practical and easy to operate center for improvisation or technique practicing. I'm not exactly sure how to use it, but I'm sure there a million tutorials online to help me out once the school buys it for me <wink> <wink>.
Next on my list is a document camera. I have scanned much of the music I use with my instrumental students onto my network drive, but if I want to scan in NEW music, I have to take the time to go down to the computer lab, log on to a school PC, wait for the scanner to warm up, and then scan the files...page by page... With the document camera, I could interact with music whenever I want. Showing off a score of an Orff accompaniment would be beneficial for increasing students' understanding of ensemble, as demonstrated in the Bauer anecdote at the beginning of chapter 4. This would also help students to see fine details of instrument assembly or hand positions. I could put the head joint of the clarinet under the document camera to show exactly how much mouthpiece should be showing over the top of the reed for my beginning students. For violinists, I could demonstrate the bow grip using the document camera rather than walking around the classroom, taking valuable instructional time, to show each student in person. While this may be necessary for some students, the majority will be able to see from the magnified image on the board.
Finally, I would love to have access to SmartMusic, especially so that I may learn more about the applications of the software. What I wonder the most about is if I am able to upload my own scores/arrangements for students to use for practice purposes. I understand it has already included method books for band and orchestra, but what about composition capabilities? The video from the lecture demonstrated the extrinsic and intrinsic motivation available through the application of SmartMusic, but at a secondary level. How practical is this software for beginning students? How about choral students? General music? Can my students practice their crossover bordun with SmartMusic? Can they play their bongo part on SmartMusic? Can they sing a canon with SmartMusic? If the answers to these questions is, "Yes!" then I can absolutely justify the subscription cost. However, if not, perhaps my teaching load is not quite suitable for its use.
In terms of technologies I already use that I find enhance student engagement and learning, the SmartBoard and video/audio recordings are integral components of my daily teaching life. I use the SmartBoard daily for discussion purposes and interactive lessons ranging from vocal exploration to rhythmic composition. My iPhone is my digital audio recording device. I use the "Voice Memos" app to record my classes singing then play it back for group feedback. My first graders can't wait to hear themselves and reflect on their performances. Lately, I have used the iPad for assessment purposes, both teacher and student assessment. Last year, I videoed my fourth graders playing "Hot Cross Buns" on their trumpets. I saved each one separately, then created a students self-assessment rubric and checklist. Students took turns watching/listening to their performance and rating their embouchure, tone, and pitch accuracy. I evaluated them on a similar rubric and compared the student and teacher results. I found that the majority of student assessments agreed with my own assessment of their performance. In my first grade classes, I videoed their solfege assessment. I watch the videos after class to assess them based on the rubric my colleagues created. This saves valuable class time while still assessing each student individually.
I am always looking for technology that can be integrated easily in my students' musical lives. I think the applications mentioned above would be helpful to me initially, but could also be used by my students once I had a handle on their functionality.
Bauer, W. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding
to music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
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| http://www.pgmusic.com/gfx/bb_logo_homepage.png |
 |
http://www.covalentmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Document-Camera1.jpg
|
Next on my list is a document camera. I have scanned much of the music I use with my instrumental students onto my network drive, but if I want to scan in NEW music, I have to take the time to go down to the computer lab, log on to a school PC, wait for the scanner to warm up, and then scan the files...page by page... With the document camera, I could interact with music whenever I want. Showing off a score of an Orff accompaniment would be beneficial for increasing students' understanding of ensemble, as demonstrated in the Bauer anecdote at the beginning of chapter 4. This would also help students to see fine details of instrument assembly or hand positions. I could put the head joint of the clarinet under the document camera to show exactly how much mouthpiece should be showing over the top of the reed for my beginning students. For violinists, I could demonstrate the bow grip using the document camera rather than walking around the classroom, taking valuable instructional time, to show each student in person. While this may be necessary for some students, the majority will be able to see from the magnified image on the board.
 |
| http://www.halleonard.com/ee/software/images/smartmusic.png |
Finally, I would love to have access to SmartMusic, especially so that I may learn more about the applications of the software. What I wonder the most about is if I am able to upload my own scores/arrangements for students to use for practice purposes. I understand it has already included method books for band and orchestra, but what about composition capabilities? The video from the lecture demonstrated the extrinsic and intrinsic motivation available through the application of SmartMusic, but at a secondary level. How practical is this software for beginning students? How about choral students? General music? Can my students practice their crossover bordun with SmartMusic? Can they play their bongo part on SmartMusic? Can they sing a canon with SmartMusic? If the answers to these questions is, "Yes!" then I can absolutely justify the subscription cost. However, if not, perhaps my teaching load is not quite suitable for its use.
In terms of technologies I already use that I find enhance student engagement and learning, the SmartBoard and video/audio recordings are integral components of my daily teaching life. I use the SmartBoard daily for discussion purposes and interactive lessons ranging from vocal exploration to rhythmic composition. My iPhone is my digital audio recording device. I use the "Voice Memos" app to record my classes singing then play it back for group feedback. My first graders can't wait to hear themselves and reflect on their performances. Lately, I have used the iPad for assessment purposes, both teacher and student assessment. Last year, I videoed my fourth graders playing "Hot Cross Buns" on their trumpets. I saved each one separately, then created a students self-assessment rubric and checklist. Students took turns watching/listening to their performance and rating their embouchure, tone, and pitch accuracy. I evaluated them on a similar rubric and compared the student and teacher results. I found that the majority of student assessments agreed with my own assessment of their performance. In my first grade classes, I videoed their solfege assessment. I watch the videos after class to assess them based on the rubric my colleagues created. This saves valuable class time while still assessing each student individually.
I am always looking for technology that can be integrated easily in my students' musical lives. I think the applications mentioned above would be helpful to me initially, but could also be used by my students once I had a handle on their functionality.
Bauer, W. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding
to music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
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