I definitely enjoyed playing with Photostory and digital storytelling. There were vast resources for me included in those tools, sources for music and photo applications, that I have really been needing in the classroom for a while now. I "made do" with others, but these do exactly what I need and will save me a TON of time and energy.
I'm always looking for more ways to use technology in my classroom effectively, and these tools will certainly help. I think that some of them applied to music more appropriately than others, but I can see how just knowing that they exist will come in handy down the road.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tool #11
Digital citizenship is a big deal in education. The first thing students need to understand is that once they post, or publish, or tweet, or state their status, or anything it is PERMANENT and cannot be deleted. There are infinite copies and they can never be erased. Students need to be vigilant that what they are contributing is viable and worthy of sharing.
Etiquette is also important - we create rules for class and small group work that as teachers we can easily monitor, but when it comes to outputting information digitally, it is much easier for students to publish without self-monitoring. This is dangerous for us as educators as well; why weren't we monitoring our class appropriately when Susie posted that statement about George? It all happens so quickly, without well-established norms in the classroom we can run into problems.
Etiquette is also important - we create rules for class and small group work that as teachers we can easily monitor, but when it comes to outputting information digitally, it is much easier for students to publish without self-monitoring. This is dangerous for us as educators as well; why weren't we monitoring our class appropriately when Susie posted that statement about George? It all happens so quickly, without well-established norms in the classroom we can run into problems.
Tool # 10
The first app I viewed was the NASA app through iTunes - I thought it was pretty cool to access the launch schedule, mission information, and beautiful photos. The second app I found was Baby Piano Lite also through iTunes. This one presented a piano onscreen, and the user was able to create songs by playing them on the "piano"
I'm not a hater, but I think that for the money spent on this technology (itouch, etc.) in elementary schools particulary, we could have gotten technology better geared toward actual curriculum. The piano app is cool, but will not substitute for a digital keyboard and recording station, which would allow the student to develop proper instrumental technique and still enjoy the benefits of recording technology.
Its not that I don't like itouches, etc., but the whole purpose of them, and the apps, is to create a piece of technology that is highly personalized. This is impossible to do efficiently and effectively when 25 kids in a room are sharing the same 2 pieces of equipment. It also focuses on entertainment based learning instead of enquiry based learning. I appreciate it, personally think its cool, but don't think it has much place in an elementary school when we could use so many other things.
I'm not a hater, but I think that for the money spent on this technology (itouch, etc.) in elementary schools particulary, we could have gotten technology better geared toward actual curriculum. The piano app is cool, but will not substitute for a digital keyboard and recording station, which would allow the student to develop proper instrumental technique and still enjoy the benefits of recording technology.
Its not that I don't like itouches, etc., but the whole purpose of them, and the apps, is to create a piece of technology that is highly personalized. This is impossible to do efficiently and effectively when 25 kids in a room are sharing the same 2 pieces of equipment. It also focuses on entertainment based learning instead of enquiry based learning. I appreciate it, personally think its cool, but don't think it has much place in an elementary school when we could use so many other things.
Tool#9
I can see using Jing with my colleagues more than my students, simply because of the nature of the beast. However, I can definitely see where such an application would be great for explaining homework instructions in detail and reviewing expectations, etc. Skyping is one of those things that is fantastic when it works, but cruddy when it doesn't. The potential here is so great, but requires web cameras, which were not in our technology upgrade. I would love to see more communication between schools, but I see the wiki as being a more usable tool in our district currently. Although, if they were willing to pay for the technology that we have learned in this "inservice" (hint hint) I would certainly be willing to use it, and could apply it effectively.
Tool #8
Love this video for demonstrating musicianship to kids! I have found Blinkx to be helpful, but only on days that I would have time to continuously mute the ads for depression medications. The videos it finds are very good, but tend to be buried. I was happy to find that the "minus" feature was usable in the search box, however, so I was able to separate the wheat from the chaff a bit. Definitely a tool I would use in the planning stages of a lesson to jot down ideas for using video media effectively.
Tool #7
I loved this activity - it was very easy to use and I can see using it with my students in the classroom very easily - particularly with their research projects. It was fantastic to find a music resource for royalty free music - I will be sure to use it again. Though I forgot to credit him in my photo story, Kevin MacLeod is my hero!!! Keep creating free music!
Tool #6
I did all of the tools last week, and am now, rather reflectively, blogging about them, due to issues with scheduling etc. Anyoo - this weeks subject is the WIKI. I like using Wikipedia when I need basic knowledge about a subject, but I always tell my students to treat anything they find on the web with suspicion and verify with secondary sources.
In other news, creating a wiki would be a useful tool for my purposes to coordinate with music teachers on other campuses, researching a subject like "composers" and creating a wiki for it. Each school could be responsible for different people, and they can publish their results and see what other people posted - a little compare/contrast exercise. Now that I think about it - thats really a pretty good idea...I've got a phone call to make...
In other news, creating a wiki would be a useful tool for my purposes to coordinate with music teachers on other campuses, researching a subject like "composers" and creating a wiki for it. Each school could be responsible for different people, and they can publish their results and see what other people posted - a little compare/contrast exercise. Now that I think about it - thats really a pretty good idea...I've got a phone call to make...
Tool #5
www.free.ed.gov
artsedge.kennedy-center.org
I found both of these sites through Delicious and the social tagging network. I originally searched for music technology,but kept getting hits back for things like Pandora and Rockbox, which was not what I was really looking for. I changed to music education - HUGE set of responses so I narrowed it down to Music Educations Grants, and both of the links above showed up. The first one offers free lesson plans on any subject, and also listings of available grants and grant sites. The second is operated THROUGH a grant, but is a tremendous resource and wealth of multi-media specifically for music and the arts. I already took one of the podcasts and am working it into my lesson plans for the first nine weeks. This is not how I would normally search for resources, but perhaps if I got stuck I would use this technique as a second choice.
artsedge.kennedy-center.org
I found both of these sites through Delicious and the social tagging network. I originally searched for music technology,but kept getting hits back for things like Pandora and Rockbox, which was not what I was really looking for. I changed to music education - HUGE set of responses so I narrowed it down to Music Educations Grants, and both of the links above showed up. The first one offers free lesson plans on any subject, and also listings of available grants and grant sites. The second is operated THROUGH a grant, but is a tremendous resource and wealth of multi-media specifically for music and the arts. I already took one of the podcasts and am working it into my lesson plans for the first nine weeks. This is not how I would normally search for resources, but perhaps if I got stuck I would use this technique as a second choice.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tool #4
Google Google its our friend - if it can't do it, no one can!
Um - unless you want your internet service to freeze a million times. I'm having to work wirelessly, because our docking stations have not been installed yet, so maybe that's the problem, but this took me almost 2 full days to complete (and I already HAD reader from the 24 things from 2 years ago....) simply because everytime I asked both reader and/or docs to attach or subscribe or do something it was supposed to I got the equivalent of the 6-yr old blank stare. And my principal had the same problem. Eventually I got it all done, but it took a heck of a lot longer than it really should have. I can see the benefits of both applications, so I'm willing to try it all again once I get a "land line" and see if that makes the difference, but if not, as much as I would like to avoid it, I will continue emailing my documents. Sorry, kids. On the flipside, I got my iGoogle to be my homepage again. HOORAY!!!
Um - unless you want your internet service to freeze a million times. I'm having to work wirelessly, because our docking stations have not been installed yet, so maybe that's the problem, but this took me almost 2 full days to complete (and I already HAD reader from the 24 things from 2 years ago....) simply because everytime I asked both reader and/or docs to attach or subscribe or do something it was supposed to I got the equivalent of the 6-yr old blank stare. And my principal had the same problem. Eventually I got it all done, but it took a heck of a lot longer than it really should have. I can see the benefits of both applications, so I'm willing to try it all again once I get a "land line" and see if that makes the difference, but if not, as much as I would like to avoid it, I will continue emailing my documents. Sorry, kids. On the flipside, I got my iGoogle to be my homepage again. HOORAY!!!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tool #3
Had a really good time creating my book, and I can see where I could use that in the classroom. My 4th graders create Texas songs, and they can use the Bookr tool to illustrate what they have written - a la Seuss with rhyme scheme, etc. More to ponder on that still...LOVE the BigHugeLabs - I think I will need to play with that more at home - I made motivational pictures and had a really good time doing it - looking forward to more! My favorite: Dino N. after singing on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre.
Tool #2
My initial response (and I know that it is the response of many others) is along the lines of "You want me to what?" and "How am I really going to have time to do all of this!" But when I think about it - a significant portion of my planning time is spent online researching ideas for lessons. Why not use that time discussing with my closer colleagues whom I trust? For most of my years I have been the only music teacher at my school - opportunities for discussion with other music teachers have been few and far between. Its possible now, however, to communicate more effectively. I see how blogging has the potential to be useful - I'm reserving judgement to see if I will actually use it to that potential! I loved the information on DC - Darth Commenter. That may be part of my reservation - how many times have we been warned that digital information does not disappear! Once I put my ideas out there - its a "judge me" free for all. Well, not really, but that is a hump I will have to get over...
Tool #1
Well, since I sadly neglected my blog after completing the 24 things, I figured I'd update it for the 11 Tools. And I love my Scotsfish Avatar :) But I'm bummed because I asked in June if I needed to complete the 11 Tools and was told no - and now I have 2 weeks to complete it. Which is ok, if you are not already busy unpacking your classroom into a completely new space. Which I'm lucky to have, because its gorgeous at our new school - and I will get new toys which is why I need to complete the 11 tools, so I guess I'm gonna put my Big Girl pants on, suck it up and get it done! YAHOO 11 tools!
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