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!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Thing 20 - albiet order free
OK - so I'm the person who always reads the last page first. As such, I'm doing thing 20 last instead of in order because, well, that's just the way I am. However - I didnt get very far with my experiments. I plan to do more investigating - particularly the "how to transform YouTube so you can use the files" part. Couldn't do it before because the aforementioned VISTA was causing issues with the whole flash download bit. Now I think I've got it figured out so I can start using it. I hope at somepoint we will be able to use YouTube videos - I know that some of them could be very valuable in the classroom. Once more into the breach!
Thing 23
I tried completing the survey - but my vote would not submit. Yay, technology. Anyhoo - here to conclude this marvelous journey is my "Ode to Library2Play"
An email came to me one day,
"Come join us at Library2Play!"
"What's this?" I thought, and with a grin,
I looked it up and jumped right in.
Techno-gadgets are such fun -
Don't I use every single one?
How little I knew - my mind in a fog -
Confounded I was by the simplest blog.
Creating my avatar took hours three,
But then - hey, wow, it looks just like me!
I Flickred and Mashed Up and used Google's tools,
I did try my best to follow the rules.
I learned how to access the RSS feeds,
And the Trading Card generator just suits my needs!
Technorati in general gave me great pain,
But I learned how to tag things again and again!
Web 2.0 led me to Wiki,
And opensource coding was really quite tricky.
Productivity tools made me shout out "Hooray!"
And adding the videos just made my day.
This process was great, in many ways big and small,
Library2 Play is the best thing of all!
So a'podcasting I go, with these wonderful things,
And the best part of all - I discovered the NINGS!
An email came to me one day,
"Come join us at Library2Play!"
"What's this?" I thought, and with a grin,
I looked it up and jumped right in.
Techno-gadgets are such fun -
Don't I use every single one?
How little I knew - my mind in a fog -
Confounded I was by the simplest blog.
Creating my avatar took hours three,
But then - hey, wow, it looks just like me!
I Flickred and Mashed Up and used Google's tools,
I did try my best to follow the rules.
I learned how to access the RSS feeds,
And the Trading Card generator just suits my needs!
Technorati in general gave me great pain,
But I learned how to tag things again and again!
Web 2.0 led me to Wiki,
And opensource coding was really quite tricky.
Productivity tools made me shout out "Hooray!"
And adding the videos just made my day.
This process was great, in many ways big and small,
Library2 Play is the best thing of all!
So a'podcasting I go, with these wonderful things,
And the best part of all - I discovered the NINGS!
Thing 22
"I think that I shall ever sing,
The valiant praises of the Ning!"
Well - doesn't common sense rule us all! What a great idea! As a music teacher, we are limited in our curricular interaction with others because there are only 1 or 2 of us on campus - I would love to see a Spring Branch Music Teacher Ning! We could post lessons - and upcoming trainings - and link to cool websites - and not fill up our email boxes!!! What a fantastic idea! Now having said that - I'm looking for a brilliant person to nominate to set that up. :) But I think this is an idea whose time has come - its as easy or as complicated as you make it, its accessable, it can be such a great support tool. My joy with Wikis has been overwhelmed by Nings. And that's just the vocabulary! I can see using wikis with my students and Nings with other teachers. Long live the Ning!
The valiant praises of the Ning!"
Well - doesn't common sense rule us all! What a great idea! As a music teacher, we are limited in our curricular interaction with others because there are only 1 or 2 of us on campus - I would love to see a Spring Branch Music Teacher Ning! We could post lessons - and upcoming trainings - and link to cool websites - and not fill up our email boxes!!! What a fantastic idea! Now having said that - I'm looking for a brilliant person to nominate to set that up. :) But I think this is an idea whose time has come - its as easy or as complicated as you make it, its accessable, it can be such a great support tool. My joy with Wikis has been overwhelmed by Nings. And that's just the vocabulary! I can see using wikis with my students and Nings with other teachers. Long live the Ning!
Thing 21
OK - so I'm doing this out of order - but I got so excited!!! I use Audacity everyday, so I'm really familiar with it (I taught several Audacity classes to music teachers) but I've wanted to get my hands on Photostory for a while - how cool it is!!! Someone made the comment that this thing was not easy - and its not - it took me several tries to get correctly downloaded - but Photostory is VERY user friendly - and the help buttons actually help! I will be using this for several projects in my classroom - I'm very excited :)
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Thing 19
WOWIE WOW WOW! (Thank you Junie B. Jones!) It's perfect! I just discovered pandora.com, which is based off of the music genome project at the Web 2.0 awards. All you do is type in a composer, genre, or song, and it creates playlists for you based on the style of what you typed. Its a music teachers dream! I got Gregorian chant in 5 seconds flat - no fumbling with CDs and trying to find the one tape with that one sample on it...What a fantastic way to show my students what different types of music soundlike in little bits that they can understand! I can't wait to use this in my class tomorrow!
Thing 18
Well - I'm still trying to get everthing organized with OpenOffice - I think the fact that I've got VISTA is messing everything up. Go figure. I've opened some stuff - it looks basic but good. But I've read other people's comments on the website and it seems really effective - just what I'm looking for - particularly the PowerPoint aspect of it. I've used opensource stuff before - I taught a class in Audacity - its fantastic. I hope that this one turns out to be as good! I'm looking forward to playing with it.
Thing 17
Wiki Sandbox - what a great idea! I can see using it with parents to do stuff like - plan the valentine's party - sign up to chaperone a field trip, and sign up to bring stuff that's needed in the classroom. I can also see it as a great way for kids to do a book response - set up a sandbox for the class to share their thoughts in. Youd have to create rules, etc. and establish norms, but I think it would be worth it!
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