Podcasts in Education (4.20.12)

podomatic.com allows people to create their own podcasts. We discussed the use of these podcasts in the clasroom, mostly so that parents can stay involved. While I think these could be helpful, I do think that a parent's involvement is thair own responsibility. Parents that want to be involved will, podcasts or not, and parents who do not plan to get involved won't, podcasts or not. These tools are all just extras. I can see how it would be helpful in some situations, but I don't know that it is really a necessity for a teacher to create these.

Video Interview Project

Video Project

Video Interviews (4.13.12)

During class today, we discussed the uses for iMovie in regards to interviews. We talked about how to do fade-outs, how to use the equalizer to tone down too much of the high tones, how to add text and change the font, etc. We saw how this was used in classroom interviews and I think that this is useful material to have in my back pocket. I could use it to interview students about their feelings about arts in schools come levy time.

Smart Music (3.30.12)

During today's class, Dr. Ryan gave us a demonstration of Smart Music, which is a software program that I remember using a lot in high school. I know that my Dad, who is a middle school and high school band director, uses this program often in his classroom. I know that even our elementary band director from home has been using it.

I love that there are so many literature books available via this program, from band method books, to "56 Songs You Like to Sing," to the "Building Beautiful Voices" warmup series that I plan on using Also, I love that after the student plays, Smart Music gives a percentage of accurate pitches if this is something that I would like to use as a grade.

I do feel like the program is still mostly focused on the instrumental side of things, but it has definitely expanded more into the vocal world since I used it last. I used to use it when practicing my trumpet, and I know that my little brother does the same. My parents have used that to have him show me what he's bee working on and how he's sounding by sending a recording of him to my email; the recording includes the Smart Music accompaniment, and he gets really excited to be able to play for me.

I thought that it was also excellent that it could be connected to Finale and Sibelius, so if there are exercises that I would like to do when I'm teaching that are not available to purchase, I can make whatever I need and save it as a Midi file.

I definitely plan on making use of this software if I end up teaching middle school, upper elementray school, and may be even high school.

The Khan Method

In watching the remainder of the video that we began in class on the Khan Method of teaching, and I thought that the idea of reversing the normal classroom procedure to be fascinating (that is, lectures go home, and homework is done in class). While I see the obvious benefits of this, such as students being prepared for class the next day and being able to watch the lecture at their own pace (because of being able to fast forward and rewind), I also see a couple of potential flaws. Now, I have not tried to teach using this method, so I know that I "shouldn't knock it until I try it," as they say. I worry, though, that there is not a great way to hold students accountable for watching the video lectures because they have no concrete assignment to turn in. Also, in a music classroom, I think that the lectures and rehearsals with the teacher are irreplacable. However, I think implementing this style of teaching into a classroom can be beneficial if used in conjunction with a more traditional teaching style. For example, in a choir classroom, I'd love to give students reordings of what we are learning, or perhaps (in more of a general music setting), I could record the lectures in class and post them on an online resource, such as a blog, so that they can be accessed should the students need any extra help. There is definitely something to be said for this new way of looking at education, and if I feel like the students would actually make use of it, then I would definitely be willing to do that extra work to help them understand.

Technology Google Docs Spreadsheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?pli=1&key=0AjKnij-Q3P8bdEpBNHNvRldhWjI3ZFhUdGp6Qjhzb2c#gid=0

Copyright

I was unable to be in this class as well due to my attendance at the ACDA conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but in looking through the PowerPoint, here are the main discussion points:

• Intellectual Property:
• Copyrights
• Patents
• Trademarks
• Trade Secrets
• Copyright lasts for 70 years after the composers death
• Copyrights grants the author rights to reproduce the work, create derivative works, sell and publish the work.
• Public Domain: material available for unrestricted use
• Fair Use allows limited use of the material
• A Creative Commons License means the author allows certain additional rights to the consumer

Microphones/Audio Recording

I wasn't able to be in class when we discussed this because I was attending the OMEA conference, but in reviewing the video, I learned some more differences between the microphones that I discussed in the first audio recording blog. When I recorded that, I used a Shure SM58 microphone , which is a pretty standard vocal microphone because, unlike the SM57, there is a screen to block the sound of the air flow created by the voice. These are both examples of condenser microphones.

Also, feedback is one of the most commonly encountered issues when using microphones, and there are four ways to avoid that: Point the microphone away from the speaker, aim the microphone toward the sound being produced, hold the microphone in the correct position, and keep the volume at a reasonable level.

Audio Recording Using Logic

For this project, I used a Shure SM58 microphone, which is an SM57 that has been modified for vocals. I thought that making this recording, although a simple thing to do, was fun and easy, and could be utilized so well in a classroom. For me, especially for women's music, this would be a great way to give examples of the sounds I'm looking for. Also, in a general music setting, this is great for teaching pieces in rounds, like the example in the video. I think that as I go through teaching, I would like to become more and more familiar with these sort of techniques, and it could also be so much fun for students. This could be a fun, end of the year activity.

Web Apps and Such

In class last week, we dsicussed musical activites, games, etc. that can be accessed online, and one that I have found is called and I have found that it has some really neat games on it that I think would be appropriate in a middle school clasroom setting. http://www.sfskids.org/templates/splash.asp is another link that I have found helpful especially for younger students, and although a lot of the sounds are not exactly ideal representations of their instruments, there are a number of fun games and learning tools on here that I think could be used well in a classroom. http://www.virtualpiano.net/ is a link to a virtual piano that I know could be used for a number of classroom activities, including learning the note names in relation to the piano keys, learning about chords, etc. http://www.pandora.com/ Pandora radio is a web app that I use often. Although the classical music is not the greatest here, I find that so many other styles are easy to search, and I like that it tells you why it chose which pieces it did for your playlist. It tells you which characterists your pieces share with the ones that it chose. http://soundcloud.com/ I know we use soundcloud often when we put choir recordings on our study site to listen to, so this is definitely a useful tool. http://hypem.com/ Hypem is an app that I had never heard of, but I wanted to look up at least one new app for this blog so that I could check it out and see if anyone else gets any use out of it. It seems like something that I wouldn't use very much, but maybe I'm wrong... its a way to look at other music blogs, so there could be some hidden vaue in it. Also, in class we discussed NoteFlight. It is something that I don't think I"ll use yet, because I do have Sibelius on my computer, but I can definitely see the value in it (I mean it's free, and what college kid doesn't like free stuff?). It looks lise something that students could potentially learn to use as well, should I be lucky enough to end up in a school where we have access to computers for things like that.

Carol Burnett Presentation Using Glogster

Carol Burnett Presentation Using Prezi

CAROL BURNETT on Prezi

Kids and Technology (2.3.12)

In class this past Friday, we got into a discussion (almost an argument, really)about kids' use of technology, and how much is appropriate. I, just like everyone else, have a number of opinions on how children should be using technology, but in this particular blog, we are discussing technology in the classroom. Do I think kids should have cell phones before high school? No. Do I think that kids should be on their gaming systems at home for hours and hours on end? No. But I'll have no control over that as a teacher; those are the parents' decisions to make. I know that in my classroom, technology will be used as a learning tool and a privilege. I think that an excessive use of technology is one of the reasons that we live in such an "I-want-it-and-I-want-it-now" society, and the younger generations are suffering from it even more than we are. I will use technology at the times that I feel it is appropriate in the classroom, and if I think that it will help the students to better understand a praticular concept (and I do have a number of ways planned in which I think that technology will be used in my room). However, kids aren't entitled too the use of technology. It is a privilege and I plan to treat it as such. I feel that in a music classroom, this is less of an issue, though. The best way to learn music is to dive right in and sing it (or play it, in other cases than my own), and technology can't replace that. We can listen to recordings (which I do plan to do), but the only way for the students to truly know their parts is to sing them themselves. In class, we mentioned ways to get the word out about performances. I think that there really shouldn't be a need for even more ways to remind students. I plan to give a list of performance dates at the beginning of the semester, post the dates online, give handouts, send emails,and remind the students in class. If they can't keep track of the performance dates with all of those resources, then that is beyond me at that point. I will be a music teacher, not a babysitter. I will give them all of the resources to find the information that they need, but if their excuse for missing a concert is "It wasn't on my Twitter page," then the fault is theirs, and they need to learn that the real world doesn't revolve around their Twitter account. As a teacher I think it is my respnsibility to help prepare students for the next stages of their lives, and handing them all of the information on my class via their personal social networking accounts doesn't do that. If we had and extra even or something over the summer, then I would be willing to maybe dive into those other ways of communication, but for the regular school year, I just think that it's unnecessary. Maybe that's an old fashioned view, and I do plan to keep an open mind, but as of right now, that's the way I plan to run my classroom.

Natalie Dessay's Debut 1993

Twitter as an Educational Tool for 1.27.12

Yesterday in class, we discussed how Twitter can be used as an educational tool. I have never had a Twitter account before, because I never saw a need. I've been asking around as to why people use Twitter, and I haven't found a reason yet that makes me want to use it. I know that in class we discussed educational uses such as #musedchat, but even looking at that, I'm not sure that those conversations are enough to convince me that a Twitter account will be useful. I have no way of knowing how skilled those teachers are that post with that tag, so I'm a little nervous about taking thieir advice in my classroom. Maybe with more of an exploration of the meduim on my part, my mind will change, but I don't plan to use Twitter in my classroom. I think that the blog would be a much more useful tool, especially because, as a teacher, I would be able to moniter what was posted more closely. I'm still trying to be open minded, but so far, I don't see enough educational value in it yet to use it.  

Composer Profile

I just discovered Ola Gjeilo this year when we sang one of his pieces, entitled "Förklaring" in choir. I fell in love with the understated, gentle musical language that he used, contrasted with the romantic, powerful text, which we sang in Swedish.

In researching further, I doscovered that not only does Gjeilo write for choir, but he also enjoys writing for wind symphony and piano as well. He was born in Norway, but came to New York City in 2001 to study at the famous Juilliard School of Music for his Master's Degree, which he earned in 2006. He is now a full time composer in New York City.

I have attached a link to the video page of his website - while Förklaring is not there, there are a number of his other pieces to enjoy!

http://olagjeilo.com/videos/

Blogging About Blogging for 1.21.12

In class today, we discussed how blogging is now being used for educational purposes in classrooms, as well as for recreation. Professor Riley showed us an example using his wife's classroom page, and I must say, I was surprised. I will be the first to admit that I am not the most technologically adept (which is a little unusual for my generation) and I never understood why anyone would want to have a page to post about their lives. I never would have thought that blogging about class projects would have been so interesting for the students. It was absolutely great to read about how enthusiastic all of the students were about their projects, and how excited they were to share what they had learned with others! I think that in my own classroom, especially if I end up teaching middle school, that blogging would be a great way to share videos of different musicians, recordings of songs we're working on in class, as well as general classroom information. I think it would also be a great place for kids to come and share their own musical tastes so that I could get a sense of their musical personalities. I also liked that all of the comments and posts could be approved by the teacher, because I think keeping the site as a safe, positive learning environment would be so important! If I end up teaching middle school, this would be a great learning tool, and I am excited about using it in my classroom!