And away we go…

I have really enjoyed this computer course!  I have learned so much that my head is spinning!  It was a lot more work than I thought it would be at the beginning, but well worth it.  I was frustrated trying to understand and learn some of the tools, while others seemed like second nature.  I was excited to learn about Google docs and its ability to save the Lower School music teachers many headaches and lots of time with music registration.  I plan to use this tool immediately.  Wiki’s were fun to do.  I can see myself creating a wiki during next school year.  I plan to take my time creating it as the year progresses.  Hopefully, I will be finished and happy with the results that I can use it the following school year.  Podcasting also is a tool that I can use as a music teacher.  From recording vocal parts, melodies, and rhythms, to uploading performances for evaluation, there are many uses for music classes.  I will need to research copyright more before knowing everything I could use in a Podcast. 

I am relieved to be finished with the course.  I feel a great sense of accomplishment that I set a goal of keeping up with the assignments while taking an online course.  I thought I would struggle not having a teacher and attending a class.  But the presentations, videos, and instructions were very well thought out and clear.  There were some glitches, but mostly with the computer, not with the course content.  I am very glad I took the course and hope to be of some help to others in the future who decide to take the course. 

Well, this assignment was not very productive for me.   After extensively searching both Classroom 2.0 and Ning, I didn’t come up with anything I could use for teaching music.  I did find one person’s blog which incorporated technology in the music classroom.  This teacher actually teaches music technology (she has a music lab with computers and midi equipment) – quite different from my teaching situation. 

I can see the possibilities for sharing technological ideas for the classroom, however.  There are many ways to collaborate with these tools.  Teachers can share classroom management ideas, course topic resources and teaching strategies, blogs, and ways to incorporate technology into classrooms.  While there were not many matches for “music”, perhaps a more general education search would yield more results.

I had a difficult time at first deciding what to include in my pagecast.  Over the weekend I thought about what I might like to start with.  Today, I completed the pagecast and am pretty happy with the results.  Over time, I will tinker with the page and delete and add things as I think of them.  I think pageflakes are great for education because each flake could “house” information the students need.  For example, flakes could list homework assignments, links to articles or music listening sites, links to parental forms, a calendar of events or due dates, test dates, field trip information, a blog about the classroom, recordings of songs to practice or foreign language pronunciation to master, and the list goes on.  Plus, the flakes are automatically organized, so the students wouldn’t have to spend time searching for things they need.

Here is Englert’s flakes page.

I was so excited to finally figure out how to make a big job easier using Google spreadsheets.  Currently we send home a huge packet of music information with forms to be filled out in pen and return to the appropriate teacher via snail mail.  We have not been getting a large percentage of the forms back.   I have possibly found a way to put the form online for parents to fill in the boxes and submit the info with a simple click.  No stamp needed!  And since it is collaborative, all students, regardless of grade or music class choice, can fill out the same form.  All of the music teachers can access the spreadsheet and print or save the data.  Now maybe we can find out who is going to be in our classes before school starts.

Another idea for a google spreadsheet is to inventory music equipment in a school.  Each teacher can add their own music instruments, books, recordings, etc. to a shared spreadsheet.  It can be sorted by where it is housed.  By sharing the info, the teachers can also share inventory throughout the year.  This may also lead to a combined class lecture/demonstration if all classes are learning the concept at the same time.  A spreadsheet is also valuable to keep track of inventory the school owns.

Along with our “dinosaur” way of getting registration forms to our school families during the summer, we also sent out lots of general information about each music class offered at our school.  Most of the time, the parents found the info overload to be overwhelming and put the papers in a pile to look at later (only they didn’t).  By using google documents, we can include the general information about all music classes, then provide links to pages with more information about specific music classes on another page.  This would surely tidy things up! And by sharing the document, each teacher can input his/her own information and help each other tweak what is published for our incoming families.

Can you tell I liked finding out about Google documents and spreadsheets?

I enjoyed searching on YouTube and TeacherTube this week.  I found several music videos that I really like.  One was this one of Bobby McFerrin in concert.  This video demonstrated how two well known classical pieces can be interwoven to make a new arrangement of the songs.  The audience was asked to participate. 

Another YouTube video I liked was about how to knit.  I am just a beginniner and was excited to find a video demonstrating a stitch I didn't know how to do.  I became somewhat emotional when I found a video of the late Robert Shaw conducting the orchestra and choir in Handel's Messiah (Hallelujah Chorus).  I sang under the baton of Mr. Shaw for many years and miss him terribly!  I think I learned more from him than any college course taught me.  The final video I'll mention is one I found on the National Standards for Music Education.  It is a powerpoint presentation set to music which lists the National Standards. 

I didn't have as much luck with TeacherTube finding videos for music education.  I found a simple video about orchestral instruments and instrument families.  I also found one which offered suggestions on how to incorporate technology 2.0 into elementary music classes.
 
Download Video: Posted by HighlandPark at TeacherTube.com.

 

I am considering making a video about the Curwin hand signs and how students can sing a scale using them.  Other ideas include making a video showing proper singing posture when seated and when standing, holding binders, and not holding binders.  Mouth shapes for certain vowel sounds would also be a good visual resource for demonstrating "what to do" when singing.  Choral warm-ups might also be beneficial for students and classes, alike. I will continue to search these "tubular" sources to find more videos that apply to music education.

I really enjoyed using Evoca.  As a music teacher, I can see many uses for using this tool.  Here are some of my ideas.

This week, our assignment was to explore podcasts and to subscribe to a couple of them.  I previewed several about classical music.  The first was naxos.com.   It is a podcast that includes performances of classical music and interviews with the performers.  Next, I discovered choircast.  It is a site featuring choral music performances including music from all around the world.   I also enjoyed finding Bookbites for Kids.  There are interviews with children’s book authors about their books and about writing for children.  Orchestra of Southern Utah was another classical music site featuring performances of the school’s orchestra and choruses.  The final podcast I subscribed to was From the Top.  This podcast features mostly teenagers performing classical music on advanced levels.

I found most of my pods in Podcast Alley and in NPR Podcast Directory.  Podcast Alley was overwhelming because of the tons of podcasts.  If you choose to try Podcast Alley, try searching for a topic of interest (on the left-hand side of the screen).

I would like to use podcasting in my choral classes.  It would be great to record singing parts, language pronunciations, accompaniments, choreography instructions, and performances in podcasts.  I’m not sure about copyright issues with the performance recordings, though.  Currently, I record vocal parts live onto a cd, save it to my computer, and post it on edline.  Severl of the students told me that they were able to save it to their computer, and then download it to their iPods.  Podcasting seems like it might take a few less steps.

Obviously, if my classes do listening activities, I will use podcasts.  It is free (compared to going out and buying the cd).  Plus, there are interviews with performers and composers in some cases in podcasting.  This would be so much more meaningful to the students. 

It is important to set goals and to try to reach them.  43 Things might be just what some people need to establish a support group for achieving their goals.  It is also a way to be held accountable to any groups that you might join on the site.    I could see how 43 things would allow people to peek at others’ similar goals and progress, as well as ideas or thoughts about how they have made progress towards achieving their goals.  This would serve as a source of inspiration for folks who are looking for information.  

I don’t see myself using this tool in the elementary classroom, however.  While searching, I came across some rather vulgar questions and comments that are not appropriate for students.  While, 43 Things might be a good tool for some, it is not worth taking a risk that my young students might stumble on some of the kinds of things I found quite by accident while searching on a rather benign topic.

Neither would I use this site for personal goal setting.  I have been subscribing to a health and wellness site for a couple of years now.  I started out logging in everyday.  But now, I hardly log in at all.  I’m not very accountable to groups online.

I really enjoyed playing with LibraryThing.  I was able to catalog 10 books that I have read recently.  What a great reference to have if I want to find out forgotten information (title, author, year of publication, etc.).  It also allows me to keep a log of all of the books I read.  I started an excel spreadsheet last year, but I haven’t kept up with it.  If I want to refer a book to a friend, all I have to do is log into LibraryThing and find the book.  If I don’t remember what a book is about, I can read tons of summaries and reviews from other readers.   I will definietly use this in my personal life.

I could also use LibraryThing as a resource in my music classroom.  Students can do a report on a book that has something to do with music.  I can search LibraryThing to find a list of books students can choose from.  After kids have done their reports, they can search for their book online and read others’ reviews and comments.  A follow-up idea is for the students to write about comments they agreed with and those they didn’t agree with.

I enjoyed my exploration using del.icio.us this week.  I found several sites that include music theory games and activities/tutorials that I can use in my classroom.  I have saved them to my del.icio.us page. 

I initially was confused over this week’s task because I didn’t really understand the concept of del.icio.us (the homework video didn’t work the first three or four times I tried to watch it).   Once I did get to see the video, the instructions made more sense.

I had a hard time finding sources for “children singing” or children’s choir.  I found a lot of references to music and children, but not the specific content I was looking for.   I will continue to look for more sites that I can use in my classroom. 

I like the idea of saving and adding tags to the sites I like.  When I want to use a specific site in class or for class preparation, I sometimes have a hard time remembering where I saved it.  Using del.icio.us, I will be able to find the sites easily by typing in tag words.  I also like the ability to locate my own sites saved in my favorites folder.