Webquest

I've always been a do it as I go type of person, so here is my completed webquest. I used google sites. If anyone happens to view this early please let me know if there are any viewing problem. I sent it out to a few people to test it, but it had a success rate of 85%.

PLN Week 15

So I know we went over this in class, but today I've decided to share the SmartMusic blog. Ever since we went over it in class, I thought that this would be a great tool for us as teachers. Enjoy!

Week 14 PLN

I found this article about Music as cognition. It's very interesting because it discusses music in very broad terms which can be important to stress to students: Music is all around us.

Week 14 Post

Assessment is something that music teachers constantly struggle with. In a group situation like an orchestra, it's hard to pick out one single player and decide how they should be graded. In that kind of situation, it's almost impossible to give a grade that truly reflects the students performance, and also the effort that they put in to learning the music, and producing a quality sound. Dr. Bauer's article was very informative in this aspect. He gave us many good ideas about how we could assess our students. The ways to use tools, such as checklists and rubrics were a very good reminder of what we should be doing in order to make sure our students are properly assessed. With technology it can also be hard to assess what is going on, as some of the work can be harder to assess. Although there are several ways that we are using technology to get around some of our assessment issues. This is one of the reasons that when we explored SmartMusic I was fascinated. It gives us the oppurtunity as music teachers to give tests the way any other teacher does. I think it's a tool that I will use in the future. The article about technology for people with diabilities was also very interesting. I really enjoy that technology is all inclusive so that anyone, regardless of what disability they may have can be something for everyone to use.

Week 13 PLN

This is an interesting video from TedTalks. It's all about electric looping and music. It was very interesting to me, and of course I like anything that involves an electric violin. Enjoy!

Week 13

Dr. Bauer's article about performing music in the technology assisted classroom was very informative. It lays out ways that we were can use technology in performance aspects. The situation layed out in the beginning of the article with a teacher using technology throughout every level of his music program, is something that could be doable for every teacher. It could help bridge the gap between digital natives and digital immigrants that we read about last week. The website outlines what we were talking about in class this past week. It further explain what copyright is. As music teachers, it's important that we know how copyright functions so that we know how we can use music with our students. Ignorance  of the law is no reason to break it, so were we to not know something about copyright we could still get in trouble for it. So dealing with a lot of copyrighted material means that we do need to have a good understanding of copyright law. The multimedia basics about video is something else that would be good to use in a classroom. Videos are a good way to illustrate a point. You can easily show an example about a composer or even a style of music through video. You could show a live performance, or maybe even a video of a presentation in another course. It's a really excellent tool.

Week 12 PLN

We've been looking into a lot of audio editing tools and this is an online one that I found on the delicious music ed hotlist. Enjoy

Week 12 Reading Reflection

The Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants article was actually rather eye opening. The way that the two groups were described, as almost entirely separate cultures being forced to combine, made a lot of sense to me. In high school, there was little access to a computer lab, and there was a ban on phone and a lot of other technology in school. It just doesn't occur to some teachers that some students might find it more beneficial to be able to take notes on a laptop. Most students type faster than they write, so what would be bad about letting students take notes on a laptop? The possibility of the students roaming the internet? Well thats to be expected, but if you're going into a school setting where you want to use computers you either have to disable the internet or deal with it. Sure there are going to be some students that will use it in a negative manor, but others may use it to their advantage looking for more background on the topic of discussion. What about all that annoying clicking? Honestly, it's the wave of the future, and it's something teachers are going to have to get used to. I think the gaps in tech based knowledge between teacher and student are a serious issue, because then a student can get it into their head that a teacher knows less than them, and then the student will shut down. What's the point of learning from someone that doesn't know as much as you do? I think there has to be some sort of compromise between the digital age, and those who are immigrants into it. The problem is getting people to actually try to work towards it.
The article on Webquests ties in nicely as a potential compromise. Perhaps there is a way that teachers can use the internet to their advantage, through something like a webquest. That way students are guided to specific activities that will help then learn the subject that a teacher is trying to get across. This is where the TI:ME strategies become very important to music educators because it is a set of standards that can help us meet with the Digital Natives and provide teaching the complements their learning style. The multimedia pictures also were a compromise. By learning about how to incorporate pictures into presentations and things like that we are bridging the digital gap.

Week 11 PLN

The Music and the Brain series in the Library of Congress examines how music affects different cultures. It also shows how studying music can affect your brain. I thought it was pretty cool so I'm passing it along to all of you! Here you go!

Week 11 Readings

The beginning of the How People Learn article, was no surprise to me. At my high school, you were not allowed to have your cellphones out during the day, and any technology was usually frowned upon. When it came to anything computer related, it was almost always home based, there was never any real integration with what was going on in the classroom. But the article offered ways that technology could be moved into our school system, and why it is quickly becoming an invaluable part of our education. The learning in context point made a lot of sense to me. When there was specific research for a paper that had to be done, it would have been extremely helpful to have taken the time in class to look up some things and then have the teacher guide us. The learning is active concept was also very technology based. Through technology, a student is constantly engaged in what they are doing, where as a lecture in a classroom can get very dull very fast. This is because students are just listening to what is happening, and can't get involved. In my personal experience, I do best in this type of class when I am using my computer to take notes, and even the internet to expand the notes I have already taken. Overall this article is a very good illustrator of different learning styles, and it also shows us how technology can be integrated to help benefit people of all learning styles.
The wave forms article was also very interesting. Telling us about the various wave forms that go through our internet was beneficial. I had never really understood the concept of bandwidth and what it did for our internet, and this article was very clarifying. And then all of the coding and compression steps are how different file can reach our computers. Also learning about different kinds of files is good because then we know how to save our files, and how they will translate to other computers.
The multimedia article was good for presenting. Each section made sense of how we could effectively use text, pictures, sound, and video to get our point across. We can clearly use technology in this manner is effectively present material to any kind of audience, and be able to have them be on our level of thinking based on our examples.

SmartMusic

This is an extraordinary resource. It gives music a way to assess students like you would with any other class. I know that a serious issue with music classes are way to assess our students. You can have them play in front of the class a short line from the music, but then you have to leave time during the class, and you would have to factor in a certain amount of stage fright when grading. This allows a music teacher to assign homework just like any other class. All that's needed is a computer. A student can play into the computer and re-do an assignment as many times as they want, just like they could with a math or science class. Then the teacher's job is to listen an let a student know what they need to improve on. For a student that may not have a computer at home, a computer could be made available for them. I know in my high school we had practice rooms, and as a teacher, I could do something like bring in my own laptop and leave it set up for them in a room like that, and that way each student would have the opportunity to complete the assignment. SmartMusic also gives students the chance to practice with an orchestra outside the orchestra setting. With home practice it can be hard sometimes to think about what the rest of the orchestra is doing, and short of practicing with a metronome, there really isn't a way to keep yourself in check. With SmartMusic, there is the chance to hear the rest of an ensemble, and know that what you are playing is definitively right or wrong. It takes away a lot of the guess work, and can make the job of being a music teacher a whole lot easier.

Week 10 Reading

Delicious seems like a seriously great tool. Its a way for music educators to collaborate and expand on their own knowledge. Its a way for everyone to make coming up with things to teach our students a little better. It saves so much time and gives us a way to save bookmarks without cluttering the desktop. I can't wait to get more involved with this site and get to use it for purposed beyond this class.

Week 10 PLN

I know that this class is mainly looking to the future of music and how we teach it, but heres a little something that looks into the past. I heard about this from a friend. Essentially researchers have found a way using technology to show how ancient people used sound to mark things like clay pots. This could be something to show students in a class, even link it with a history class. Enjoy!

PLN Post

I found this article about creativity very interesting. I know that I personally have issues with composing sometimes, and this showed me ways that I tend to hold myself back. I know I learned to not try to stifle myself. Enjoy!

CAI, White Boards, One Computer, Automatic Accompaniment

The first article this week was very informative. It broke down everything we could use in technology. It truly broke down every aspect so we could understand different ways to teach with technology.
Interactive Whiteboards are something that could be a serious help in a music classroom. When I was graduating, my high school had just started to install Smartboards is some of the english and history classes, so I got seriously limited experience using one. But interactive whiteboards can allow for students to complete activities in front of the class like in any other class. There could be music completion excersises, or identification, so these could be used in classrooms of younger and older students.
Right off the bat, I liked the One Computer Can Teach an Entire Class article. One problem I've been dealing with is how I could possibly add technology into what I was teaching, especially with in a situation where I don't have a technology lab, or a lab that I could use for musical purposes. The idea of a computer game seemed really great. Everyone gets a turn at the computer, and turn it in to a competition. With the adrenaline of the competition, kids are more likely to stay focused despite the lack of computer. The learning station idea was also a very good idea. It makes sure again that everyone gets a chance at the computer, and then everyone can being a part of an activity.
In the Automatic Accompaniment article, I really liked that we were told about all the different programs that we could use in our own classrooms. Band in a Box would be good for students to help develop their own music, which would be good in a theory or more composition geared class, especially because there is a chord based input. I think SmartMusic would be fun to work with. I liked that it came pre-programmed warm-ups that we could use with our own groups. iPas was also a good way to help plan out lessons. And the accompanist parts to help with band parts is good for practicing at home, and can improve the sound of your group.

More on MIDI

When reading the article "Using MIDI Accompaniments for Music Learning at School and at Home", I was reminded of what a great resource MENC is. By putting out magazines like the Music Educator's Journal, there is a place for teachers to share their ideas, and thus for other educators to learn from that and pass it along to their students. In the middle of this article, there was an entire laid out lesson plan. It was something that you could literally borrow, and take straight to your own classroom, which is truly a great resource. This article gave me another idea that would be good to implement in my own classroom. I know that in my high school, there was a class website, but it was never used. Of course it was the one sponsored and attached to the high school itself, but the music page never changed. Maintaing a webpage for your music class can end up being a great resource for your students can help their learning. Through the website you can post links to videos or recordings of the pieces you are going to play. You can also upload MIDI files of play along tracks so that your students can get used to hearing the other parts of the orchestra while they are playing. MIDI has become such a universal thing, that it would work on most computers, and would be easy for your kids to get a hold of. you could even record a performance in class, and put it up later, and use it as a way to improve performance; have your students tell you what needs to be worked on. And also from the "Picture This" article, the idea of having students identify waveforms is pretty interesting. You could input a MIDI file into something like Garageband, and easily see where main playing parts are loud. It could also help identify issues in dynamics. Overall, MIDI is a tool that can go a long way.

PLN Post

So I know the general order of things is to post about the readings first, but I stumbled upon (yes, using the random website generator stumbleupon) this and had to share it. Its essentially a composing tablet. It does cool things like write out the melody for you. It looked awesome. Hopefully it's the wave of the future!

PLN: BBC

This website was posted on the Delicious hotlist for music education. Although it hasn't been updated in a few years, it seems to have some great ideas. There is a bunch of stuff on getting students more interested in music, and things like helping kids choose the right instrument. I thought it was cool.

MIDI

Musical Instrument Digital Interface. No wonder it gets shortened, thats is a bit of a mouthful. The article called "An Introduction to MIDI" was really helpful. I had no real understanding of MIDI was or did or anything like that. But the article opened right away with 'Why MIDI matters', which pretty much made reading the rest of the article worthwhile. Without the understanding of what MIDI could do for me, the article would have truly fallen on deaf ears. One of the points made there that I really liked was that with MIDI you can play back your music instantly. Without that playback feature, we can't listen for mistakes. I know that during my notation project, the playback feature in Sibelius helped me catch several little mistakes, things like a missing sharp or flat, by ear, and easily correct them with the piano attached to the computer. Trying to compose without being able to hear as I went would have been a serious problem. It makes you wonder how any composer composed before computers; the anticipation of waiting to hear the finished masterpiece, and whether it actually sounded like what you thought it would, would probably kill me. MIDI allows you to attach a variety of instruments to a computer, play something, and then rearrange it or change the sound with the aid of a sequencer. It makes the world of musical possibilities endless, and lets creativity reign. The article also really broke down exactly what you need to operate everything, which I found really helpful. The second article looked at MIDI in a less technical way. It put MIDI into terms of a teacher as opposed to a computer programer. One thing that both articles really emphasized was that MIDI does not make noise itself, it just translates noise making signals between two programs. So MIDI is really more of a message sender, one that mainly makes music.

PLN: Classics for Kids

The past 2 weeks of the classics for kids podcasts were really great. The first is about Johann Strauss, Jr. himself, and this week is about the rest of his family. I really like these. This would be great in a class to give background on a composer, and would be useful in getting the correct style of a piece we are playing.

Creative Thinking and Music Technology

I really liked this article. So far everything we've focused on has been very much about composition type technology. It's focused on expensive programs and things that some districts won't be able to afford. And while composition is very beneficial, it could be harder for younger students to understand that. This article was more about moving with what you already have. Things like iPods being used to show musical examples, and even using an out of date computer as a message board are things that can be useful. And posting musical examples to email is something I hadn't thought of. Just putting practice parts out can help improve the quality of the group. All of these ideas are more basic uses of technology, as opposed to always being the more complicated composition things all of the time. It was almost like a dumbing down, or bring it back to the roots of technology. Sort of bringing it back to it's roots, where music fits into already established technology as opposed to always creating technology specifically for music.

PLN: Study Habits

I know that in my personal experience, the mantra has always been: sit down and study hard. Even the word study brings up feelings of tight confined spaces (aka my dorm room) where all I do is work. But this article that was posed by Delicious was very interesting. Through psychological tests, researchers have shown that by moving around and doing other things while studying, we are more likely to retain information because we can associate it with other things. Enjoy!

Notation Software

Until the article brought it up, I had never thought of using notation software as a way to rearrange music. In younger age groups, there is sometimes an issue of whether or not the students can play the music. Sometimes its not the entire piece, it's just parts of it. Notation software becomes a way to rewrite music to accommodate the playing abilities of your students. This way you don't have to compromise and play and overly dumbed down arrangement, you can simply edit a more complex one to be slightly easier, and more playable for your students. It can also be used to add to an arrangement, or fill a musical hole, or something that you thought was potentially missing from the music. This way you as the teacher can improve upon music, and make it more pleasing to the ear. The ability to edit can help your students to be better musicians. You could also write out warm-ups to improve their ability. It's a different aspect to the software that I hadn't considered when we first started exploring music technology. And letting your students do the arranging themselves could further promote musical ability.

PLN

This week I have been overloaded by the amount of new technology I have signed up for. Between the blog, and the reader, and the twitter, it's a lot to keep track of. I ended up with the twitter app for my phone so that it's one less thing I need to look at when I log on. But checking my twitter I found this tweet from @tomwhitby and was retweeted @teaching_music. It was:  tomwhitby 

Tech is only an Edu tool. In the hands of a believer it works well. In the hands of a doubter it crashes. When not used it does nothing. It tied in nicely to an article I found in my reader.It was from soyouwanttoteach.com titled Planting Seeds of Belief. The article was about getting different parties to believe in you when it comes to your teaching. You need to be able to convince your employer (the school district), your students, and most importantly, yourself, that you are capable of teaching students. You need to show everyone that you know what you're doing as far as teaching a subject. This goes double for technology. Not only do you have to be confident in the subject you are teaching, but you have to be confident with the technology you are teaching on. If you can believe that technology will help better teach your students then you can easily succeed in conveying all technology has to offer. 

Notation

The first article we read this week truly reinforced what I talked about in my last post. Notation Software: A Versatile Tool for Music Educators is about how we can apply different notation softwares to help compose in a class. Each aspect that was examined was another musical skill that could be improved by composition. The technology aspect of music education is very centered around composition. Most software has to do with composing, and this helps to build musical skills. When you can both create and play music, you have a better overall understanding of what you are trying to accomplish musically.
With the technology around today, it's possible to create an entire symphony without ever having to leave your desktop. It's a way to help almost expand our creativity. I can't tell you how many times I haven't pursued a project because I didn't have the necessary elements to complete it, or completion would take to long. Composition through notation successfully eliminates both of those issues meaning that there is no cap on creativity. The second article 11 Innovative Users for Notation Software also touches on way in which composition through things like notation software is important to not only to the creative process, but it also helps with our own musical abilities. I wish I had a composition class in high school, I think it would probably help with my theory ability, and creative thinking. This is something I would want my students to learn, even if it was just a one day in a computer lab type of thing, it could teach so many things.

A Bicycle Built for Two

Here is my transcription of A Bicycle Built for Two:  http://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/44e2456ef027ef9d65cde4cf02c23a306cba1f4a

Technology in Teaching

I knew that technology had become a part of our world, but I guess I had never really considered it essential when it came to teaching music. In high school, the most amount of technology I used was doing small compositions for my music theory class, and even then that was just writing out notes that I generally had already put on the page. But the technological aspect of music is becoming more prevalent, especially in things like the Vermont MIDI Project, where composing becomes a big part of teaching. I think that composing is a big part of technology in music. When you are at a computer composing, you can have all different instruments playing, as opposed to trying to imagine the sounds in your head, which could be hit or miss. Because most students are not able to hear each instrument in their head, and then translate that to paper, composing is often overlooked when it comes to teaching music. The TPACK knowledge can help teachers show students different ways to create music, and can help students gain a grater understanding of music.