The Possibilities are Endless
When I initially began my Web 2.0 class, I thought to myself, "There is surely not THAT much more software for me to use in the music classroom!" I was wrong. Web 2.0 has exposed me to so much technology, that it makes my head spin. I initially thought that Power Point and Finale were my limits, now I realize I have none!
I can use everything from wordles, to voice thread, to digital story, to story bird, to animoto...there are just too many name. Now, I could not use this technology every day in the music classroom, but these will certainly help enhance certain lessons throughout the week. For instance, it could be hard for students to understand non-western music and how it relates to them. I could use my newly learned technology to explain the benefit, uses, and beauty of non-Western music through digital story or story bird. These technological tools will enable me to engage my class more, rather than me just talking about it boringly in front of them. Kids these days are highly visual and tech savoy; sometimes, technology is the ONLY way to get there attention.
Although blogging is not new to me, I have never blogged for an educational and professional purpose. The blog assignments helped me organize my thoughts on what I learned, what I enjoyed, what I can do differently as teacher, and I also discovered what other people in the music education community had to say. While researching blogs, I came across some that were very helpful and insightful about music education and actually being in the classroom, such as Music Ed Magic. It's nice to know I have such helpful resources out there.
This class not only helped me as a teacher, but also as an overall professional. I learned how to make myself stand out professionally with appropriate cover letters, unique brochures, and engaging web pages. I feel so much more confident about graduating because I feel this class helped me become one step closer to being a professional, rather than just a student.
Web 2.0 with Dr. Parker opened up a whole new world and realm of technology for me. I feel like I have struck teaching gold with these newly learned resources. I feel as if I can sparkle in the classroom, and there is no excuse for me to ever have a dull lesson with the technological gems I learned.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
What's New?: My Third Blog
Communication
Some students may have great communication with their parents or guardians. Those students may go home each day and give them detailed reports of what they did in class and what they have coming up in school. However, those students are few and far between in the 21st century. Also, some parents may feel that they are barging in on their child's studies if they are not openly invited to come to a concert or check out a project. Classroom blogs are great ways to share the info that is going on in class, and they are great communication tools for the teacher to communicate with the parents or guardians of the students in his or her class. For example, Western Salem High School uses a blog to communicate with all of their music boosters. Instead of risking fliers and letters getting lost between school and home, this music program blogs about all of its upcoming events, concerts, festivals, and fundraisers. Not only does Western Salem High School use their blog to communicate upcoming events, but it is also used to post videos and pictures. If a parent, guardian, or family member could not make it to a concert and festival, they can access a certain performance easily on the blog.
Animoto and Voki
I think both of these programs are great resources, and will liven up any lesson. Animoto is nice because it incorporates many engaging tools, such as music, pictures, and movement and transitions of the pictures. If one is introducing a topic that your students may not be very interested in, such as multiplication, Animoto enables you to introduce it an interesting way. I think the music has a lot to do with the interests of the students. If it's a hip, upbeat song, the students are more likely to have an even larger interest in the topic, and may even think its "cool." I see myself using Animoto to introduce the visual aspects of music, such as singing posture.
I have to admit, having an avatar that uses your voice, is pretty cool. Voki is also great to introduce topics. I see myself using Voki to briefly talk about a dead composer. I would use an avatar to represent the composer, and record a short presentation of the composer talking to the class about themselves. However, I do find Voki to be quite limiting because it only uses the voice of the recording to communicate the info or activity.
New Technology
The past few weeks have been quite the whirlwind of technology. I have learned to use Excel and Access much more efficiently. I have always had an idea how to use these programs, but now, I feel very well versed in this software. While completing my assignments for Web 2.0, I took time to further explore what Excel and Access have to offer. For instance, I feel much more confident with my formulas in Excel.. It used to take me a very long time to create a table with formulas, now I can complete them in no time. This will help me relay information about assessments to my students more quickly and efficiently. In Access, I figured out ways to make info and projects more accessible to my students. In my Zoo Database, I not only created databases, but linked them to build a complete Form for my students to use, as well as use the Button Control to make my Form more user friendly to my students These assignments forced me to look more closely into these two programs to see what resources are available in each of the programs.
Some students may have great communication with their parents or guardians. Those students may go home each day and give them detailed reports of what they did in class and what they have coming up in school. However, those students are few and far between in the 21st century. Also, some parents may feel that they are barging in on their child's studies if they are not openly invited to come to a concert or check out a project. Classroom blogs are great ways to share the info that is going on in class, and they are great communication tools for the teacher to communicate with the parents or guardians of the students in his or her class. For example, Western Salem High School uses a blog to communicate with all of their music boosters. Instead of risking fliers and letters getting lost between school and home, this music program blogs about all of its upcoming events, concerts, festivals, and fundraisers. Not only does Western Salem High School use their blog to communicate upcoming events, but it is also used to post videos and pictures. If a parent, guardian, or family member could not make it to a concert and festival, they can access a certain performance easily on the blog.
Animoto and Voki
I think both of these programs are great resources, and will liven up any lesson. Animoto is nice because it incorporates many engaging tools, such as music, pictures, and movement and transitions of the pictures. If one is introducing a topic that your students may not be very interested in, such as multiplication, Animoto enables you to introduce it an interesting way. I think the music has a lot to do with the interests of the students. If it's a hip, upbeat song, the students are more likely to have an even larger interest in the topic, and may even think its "cool." I see myself using Animoto to introduce the visual aspects of music, such as singing posture.
I have to admit, having an avatar that uses your voice, is pretty cool. Voki is also great to introduce topics. I see myself using Voki to briefly talk about a dead composer. I would use an avatar to represent the composer, and record a short presentation of the composer talking to the class about themselves. However, I do find Voki to be quite limiting because it only uses the voice of the recording to communicate the info or activity.
New Technology
The past few weeks have been quite the whirlwind of technology. I have learned to use Excel and Access much more efficiently. I have always had an idea how to use these programs, but now, I feel very well versed in this software. While completing my assignments for Web 2.0, I took time to further explore what Excel and Access have to offer. For instance, I feel much more confident with my formulas in Excel.. It used to take me a very long time to create a table with formulas, now I can complete them in no time. This will help me relay information about assessments to my students more quickly and efficiently. In Access, I figured out ways to make info and projects more accessible to my students. In my Zoo Database, I not only created databases, but linked them to build a complete Form for my students to use, as well as use the Button Control to make my Form more user friendly to my students These assignments forced me to look more closely into these two programs to see what resources are available in each of the programs.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Diverse Populations and New Technology Discoveries
Application to Diverse Populations
One of the biggest questions I have heard from my friends who are student-teaching this semester is "How do I differentiate in the music classroom?" That's a very good question, that has many great answers. Whether one is working with exceptional individuals or ESL students, there are indeed ways to differentiate in the music classroom with ease. Sure, music educators' literature and content is very different from those of Biology or Math teachers, but there are still ways to differentiate.
In Chad Chriswell's blog, Music Ed Magic, he talks of using a lot of technology in the music classroom. If one is at a school that is fortunate to have iPads available for the classroom, there is an app called Singing Fingers. It allows the student to draw a picture with their finger as it records the sounds of the classroom around them. This is great for elementary ESL students. As the student retraces the lines, it replays the recordings back to them. This is great to get the students to feel more comfortable vocally and with the language around them.
It's nice that a lot of blogs offer recordings that cannot be found on YouTube. These recordings become resources for all of one's students. For ESL students, it becomes a great resource for them to listen to and model. For exceptional learners, they may need extra material to reference in order to grasp the idea. It they cannot quite get the rhythm of a certain song, these blogs allow them to listen to the recordings of it as much as they would like. Some choral music is not easy to find on YouTube or iTunes, so these blogs are great for finding models for one's students to listen to. A good example is The UAB Choir Blog.
Storybird
I never used Storybird until this semester. It was fairly easy to navigate: the themes were laid out clearly, and the artwork was grouped nicely. However, I felt like I was locked into a certain range of creativity because there was only a certain amount of pictures in each theme. On the other hand, it also gave me guidelines that forced me to not be too wordy or sporadic in my story telling. There were a few glitches with some of my slides, but other than that, it was easy to manipulate. I was lucky enough to have no trouble at all embedding it into my blog; the post and story works without any glitches
I think Storybird is great for the elementary classroom. It adds an element of surprise to lessons and stretches across content areas. For instance, my story, Mia Saves Obbleway, not only adds to a lesson that could involve the introduction of non-Western music and non-Western instruments, but it also talks about a different culture. Students need to see how fortunate they are to have a wide variety of opportunities in the United States. My Storybird not only aids in my content area lesson, but it also reaches to the Social Studies content area. Also, students have many different learning styles. Half of one's class may understand a certain lesson through explanation, but the other may need to see tangible evidence. Storybirds aids in this.
New Technology
Since my last blog, my eyes have truly been opened to many aspects of technology. I have now successfully worked with technology, such as Digital Story, Storybird, Google Sites and Glogster. I am blown away by the capabilities of these programs. Digital Story was extremely easy to navigate, and it was very clear. I can use this to elaborate on anything that I teach. For instance, I could use it to explain correct and incorrect singing posture and technique. I also feel that my students could use this easily if I were to give them an assignment using Digital Story. My other favorite out of these newly discovered programs is Glogster. I used this program in another education class this semester. I think its great to summarize a lesson or to tell a brief biography. I could easily use Glogster to create a brief biography of a composer for my students without getting bogged down with too much boring detail.
One of the biggest questions I have heard from my friends who are student-teaching this semester is "How do I differentiate in the music classroom?" That's a very good question, that has many great answers. Whether one is working with exceptional individuals or ESL students, there are indeed ways to differentiate in the music classroom with ease. Sure, music educators' literature and content is very different from those of Biology or Math teachers, but there are still ways to differentiate.
In Chad Chriswell's blog, Music Ed Magic, he talks of using a lot of technology in the music classroom. If one is at a school that is fortunate to have iPads available for the classroom, there is an app called Singing Fingers. It allows the student to draw a picture with their finger as it records the sounds of the classroom around them. This is great for elementary ESL students. As the student retraces the lines, it replays the recordings back to them. This is great to get the students to feel more comfortable vocally and with the language around them.
It's nice that a lot of blogs offer recordings that cannot be found on YouTube. These recordings become resources for all of one's students. For ESL students, it becomes a great resource for them to listen to and model. For exceptional learners, they may need extra material to reference in order to grasp the idea. It they cannot quite get the rhythm of a certain song, these blogs allow them to listen to the recordings of it as much as they would like. Some choral music is not easy to find on YouTube or iTunes, so these blogs are great for finding models for one's students to listen to. A good example is The UAB Choir Blog.
Storybird
I never used Storybird until this semester. It was fairly easy to navigate: the themes were laid out clearly, and the artwork was grouped nicely. However, I felt like I was locked into a certain range of creativity because there was only a certain amount of pictures in each theme. On the other hand, it also gave me guidelines that forced me to not be too wordy or sporadic in my story telling. There were a few glitches with some of my slides, but other than that, it was easy to manipulate. I was lucky enough to have no trouble at all embedding it into my blog; the post and story works without any glitches
I think Storybird is great for the elementary classroom. It adds an element of surprise to lessons and stretches across content areas. For instance, my story, Mia Saves Obbleway, not only adds to a lesson that could involve the introduction of non-Western music and non-Western instruments, but it also talks about a different culture. Students need to see how fortunate they are to have a wide variety of opportunities in the United States. My Storybird not only aids in my content area lesson, but it also reaches to the Social Studies content area. Also, students have many different learning styles. Half of one's class may understand a certain lesson through explanation, but the other may need to see tangible evidence. Storybirds aids in this.
New Technology
Since my last blog, my eyes have truly been opened to many aspects of technology. I have now successfully worked with technology, such as Digital Story, Storybird, Google Sites and Glogster. I am blown away by the capabilities of these programs. Digital Story was extremely easy to navigate, and it was very clear. I can use this to elaborate on anything that I teach. For instance, I could use it to explain correct and incorrect singing posture and technique. I also feel that my students could use this easily if I were to give them an assignment using Digital Story. My other favorite out of these newly discovered programs is Glogster. I used this program in another education class this semester. I think its great to summarize a lesson or to tell a brief biography. I could easily use Glogster to create a brief biography of a composer for my students without getting bogged down with too much boring detail.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Wordles, Blogs, New Info? Oh my!
What's a Wordle anyway? Through my exploration of provided resources and a bit of Internet hunting, I found out exactly what a Wordle does and how to make one. A Wordle is used to generate an array of ideas and thoughts throughout one's classroom. It can be very broad to very specific. The Wordle I chose to create is fairly broad, which was intentional. I want students in my music classroom to have a broad view of what music is and what music can do. To some students, music is an elective course with a bunch of confusing dots and squiggles on a sheet of paper where the teacher makes one sing songs that one does not want to sing. My Wordle is intended to let the students know music is much more than that. Music allows students to express themselves, to imagine, to tell a story, to create art, to play instruments, to sing about things that make one happy, sad, or angry, and to to captivate audiences. Also, I put the words "sound" and "silence" in my Wordle for a specific reason. Most students know that when making music they are creating sound; however, they do not know they are creating silences as well. The exact definition of music is the thoughtful organization of sounds and silences in time. This Wordle is great for the first days of music class for late elementary school students to middle school students as they explore the slightly more mature side of music.
Exploring Teaching Blogs
One of the music educator blogs that I ran across is quite interesting and refreshing. The author of the blog, MusicEdMagic, is Chad Criswell, who has taught music for thirteen years. His thirteen years of experience include high school band, as well a elementary school music. Not only is Criswell an educator, but he has published articles for reliable and professional publications, such as MENC's Teaching Music Magazine (I've been a dedicated subscriber since my freshmen year of college) and Technology and Learning Magazine. Criswell is also an expert in up-and-coming music technology; he was a 2009 presenter at The national MENC conference. (MENC stands for Music Educators National Conference).
Criswell's blog is very informative. It talks about an array of subjects, a main one being technology. As a music educator, especially if one has a piano lab, an orchestra class or a band class, metronomes are a big deal. However, they are also a big deal to the parents. How could something SO small, cost SO much? Simple. Metronomes provide the foundation of learning any music: keeping a steady beat. Most metronomes these days come with different timbres, tuning mechanisms, and subdividing techniques. They can range from a manual dial, to buttons, to a touch screen. Therefore, one of the key tools that a music educator would want for their middle to high school students is to have a metronome at home. Criswell has the answer. On his blog, he has listed some of the best FREE metronomes available online. There are TONS of free metronomes out there, but Criswell listed the best ones on his blog. Some of the metronomes include BestMetronome and Gieson Online Metronome. These listings are great resources for all music educators and their students. Check out Chris' entry for yourself!
Criswell also brought up new research completed by Kenneth Alpus and Carlos Abril. After studying the demographics of instrumental music in high school, they discovered males, non English speakers, Hispanics, and low-income students were less likely to stay in instrumental music in high school. It's our job as music educators to change this!
Check out Chris' entry for yourself!
One aspect that I found unique about this blog, is Criswell's ability to not only discuss music in the schools and new music technology, but also new discoveries in music history. Chris linked an article of National Geographic pertaining to the idea that Stereo Sound developed in Venice 400 years ago. Researchers believe that the Venice churches, as well the Basilica of San Marco, have structures that were created solely for the "wealthy dignitaries" to hear the choir in stereo . Pretty interesting, right? I think so. Once I have my students, I cannot wait to share this with them as we study music history and music through the ages. Check out Chris' entry for yourself! and also go National Geographic to get the full story.
This first blog post was not only informative for me, but fun! Yes, fun. Discovering the Wordle gave me new ideas to use in my classroom. If I am lucky enough to have a Smart Board in my classroom, I can have students create Wordles in class. For instance, we are learning a new choral piece that paints a variety of moods. I can have the students use words that they think describe this particular piece, create a Wordle (with their help, of course), and leave it up on the board for the next few classes as a reminder of what moods to focus on while singing. I found all of the technology information enlightening and new, both in the assignment and on Chris Criswell's blog. Not once in this assignment did I have a moment of, "Oh, I already knew that." It was all quite refreshing.
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