Interactivity #5

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Apw3zxbJNbnmdF9jMmhNd3M3LVhfY3phUVc5d3AzdlE

I interviewed a music teacher at West Milford High School, NJ.  This includes grades 9-12.  When I initially emailed him a little over a week ago, he was unfamiliar with both the NETS-S and the NETS-T.  I decided that sending him the links to the ISTE website would be a much easier and faster way for him to understand what I would be asking him about rather than to try and explain what they are myself.  After reading up on these standards, he wasn't at all surprised that his district was seemingly unaware of them, himself included.  He claims that, "West Milford's school district seems to be stuck in the Dark Ages when it comes to technology."  He continued by saying the most advanced piece of technology they utilize is the Honeywell Instant Alert system which automatically notifies parents when buses are running late, school is cancelled or delayed, or if there is an emergency.  Other than that I was told that the only technologies being used within the music department are audio systems, projectors, and electric keyboards; and some of the other schools don't even have projectors or keyboards.  Outside the music department, there is also a shortage of technological advancement.  In the high school there are few classes devoted to computers and similar technologies, and there is only a media center with desktop computers.  Also, there are usually only those portable old school projectors that require those sheets of plastic that can be written on.  He describes all this with frustration and sadness.  When I asked him what his ideal classroom in the music department would hold he just went on and on about all these different devices.  Laptops with Garage Band, Sibelius, Audacity, and multiple digital recorders were just some of the things he listed.

After concluding this interview through several emails, I wasn't really surprised about his responses.  I am a graduate of West Milford High School and I know it is a district that never tends to change.  Everything he described was exactly how it was from the time I started middle school in 7th grade all the way through graduating from high school.  Now that I'm aware of the NETS-S and NETS-T all I want to do is go to an open Board of Education meeting back in my hometown district and stress the importance of technology.  Even if they deny that funding is available to make a district-wide change in every classroom, I still would like to try and convince the Board to at least add a class requirement to the high school that teaches them about the most recent technologies and how they can be used.  Not only are these technologies important for future educators, but they benefit all other occupations as well.

If I come across the same problems in whatever district I will be teaching in after graduation I will definitely make my voice heard about this situation.  Technology can only improve a district, not cause it to regress.

At the press of a button

http://www.musictechmag.co.uk/

I literally just spent and hour and a half browsing this website.  It has everything you could ever need to know about what the best music technology out there is.  It keeps you up to date on new releases and updates and gives reviews on EVERYTHING.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Apw3zxbJNbnmdF9jMmhNd3M3LVhfY3phUVc5d3AzdlE

I feel this lesson plan was a bit of a change from what goes on in the everyday classroom.  The no talking aspect brings in a real chance to focus on the content.  If I walked into a classroom where music was playing, pictures set up and the teacher wasn't talking I would be more intrigued.  I enjoyed that at the end of the lesson plan its creator, Susie, gave several options of how to continue with this type of lesson.  When I saw Susie had already thought ahead for me, I was sold.  However, there were some parts of this lesson that I thought wouldn't work that well, so I made some of my own tweaks.  Even though I don't think the teacher should be talking, I would put some questions up on the projector for the students to discuss in small groups.  These discussions would be kept to a low volume so the music can still be heard, and they would only be conducted after the students had time to think about the questions individually.  This adds more teaching strategies that let the student get even more engaged without the help of a teacher.  Some other changes that I chose were in the technologies.  Instead of posters and a CD player, I would use Pandora Radio so more than one piece by the same composer could be heard in one lesson, and I would use a computer with PowerPoint shown with a projector.  These changes make the teacher's preparation easier and take away the potential of losing class time.  The technologies used in the original lesson plan were where it was lacking, but I chose it knowing this because I knew it would help me realize how technology can greatly improve the chances of learning.

Easy Access

This may be my new favorite site.  I just typed in "music technology" on the site's search bar and it came up with a ton of results.  The following link is all about these new digital instruments that make life easier for composers.  It's complete with videos for each instrument to give an example of how they work and what kind of sound they produce.

http://mashable.com/2011/01/02/tech-musical-instruments/

Honestly, I can't wait to continue on to the next search result on this site! Yay for making new discoveries :)

Keeping Up with the Times

I was just wandering around the internet looking for something interesting to read and came upon this article:

http://mustech.net/2011/11/soundtree-institute-music-development/

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm really excited about this!  I've always been worried that once I graduate and am lucky enough to find and maintain a teaching position for a while I will start losing touch with the  technology updates and become obsolete rather quickly.  This is definitely a reality considering how fast new technologies are arriving every day.  Knowing that I can take online courses and training anytime I want when I'm finally in a teaching position is rather reassuring.  Now if only I could get a handle on this whole conducting thing...

Interactivity #3

-How might this technology inventory serve your purposes (if at all) in CURR 314 and READ 411 this semester?

Because I haven't been able to take my Music Technology class yet, doing the research for this assignment really helped me learn about the tons and tons of new music technologies to help with composition, arranging, editing, performing, recording, listening, conducting, and so much more.  One of my favorite discoveries was SmartMusic, which is a computer program that offers a student version where you can practice with background accompaniment, and a teacher version where you can have students record themselves playing and send the file to you for evaluation, rather than having to schedule playing times.  This particular program made me think about how it connects to CURR 314.  That class is all about the different ways to assess your students and SmartMusic is an interesting, new, and easy way to assess.  Another way that you could possibly connect these technologies to the other classes would be that, although we are not teaching students how to read English, we are teaching them to read a different language: music.  The strategies that we are learning in READ 411 about how to teach struggling readers can also apply to musicians who are struggling with aspects of reading music.  Also, the characteristic list of dependent readers can be used to identify students that are just "faking" their way through a piece of music in an ensemble.

Interactivity #2

Towards the very beginning of the video we were assigned to watch for this interactivity it mentioned specifically music education.  In 1917, WHA started to broadcast music education programs on the radio.  It took three years for the concept of educational radio to be commonly used in the classroom.  As far as the video assignment is concerned, this was the biggest influence in education for my content area.

In my opinion, the piece of technology that had the most impact on music education is the CD/CD player.  With it's creation in 1969 and then eventual spread to common use about 15 years later, the CD player revolutionized the musician's capabilities of musical interpretation.  Today, recordings of live performances and studio recordings are widely utilized in the classroom to assist teachers in getting the students to understand what a piece they are working on is supposed to sound like.  For example, students may be having a problem with a certain rhythm and if continuously trying to help them count it out on their own, a recording can really come in handy to hear the rhythm in context if they follow along with their own music that's in front of them.  Recordings also can be used for inspirational means.  I know that when I was in middle school and high school I was always in awe of the sounds I heard coming from the musicians on professional recordings and it always made me work harder to achieve such warm and emotional or bouncy and exciting sounds.  CD players made using recordings a helpful and essential part of the instrumental/vocal setting.

Although CD players weren't specifically mentioned in the readings, I feel that it is just an extension of the phonograph which was clearly mentioned as being used in the classroom in the early part of the period we are discussing.  The CD player is an upgraded and modern version of the mechanisms of the past.

Even the most distinguished musicians can improve with ease and momentum through listening to those that came before them.