A Diva Gets Organized

                This week we’ve been discussing a program that I think is the most interesting one we’ve learned about so far: OneNote from Microsoft. OneNote is free and has specific versions for students, teachers, and administrators; it can also be downloaded and synced on multiple devices. You could start say, grading your student’s tests on your computer, and finish it at home on your smart phone.

             Although this is not directly a music program, it is one that can be utitlized by teachers of any grade or subject (that’s one reason that it’s my favorite program thus far). OneNote is, basically, an organizational tool; it’s a program that can store lesson plans, worksheets, email addresses, and your grade book. You can also create interactive assignments; students can “write” notes on slides or worksheets, or even record themselves.

            Music teachers can certainly find great use out of this program, both in and out of the classroom. The organization aspect of OneNote is in itself a huge benefit. All of your grades and assignments are located in one place that can be accessed no matter where you are. Students could record themselves practicing or performing assignments such as scales, solfege, intervals, etc. The possibilites are truly endless; there is probably more to the program that I haven’t even discovered yet! If you are a teacher of any type, take the time to look into this program.

A Diva Completes the Technology Course

   Throughout this course, I have been amazed over and over again at the sheer amount of music technology programs that not only exist, but that can be accessed for free and on a large number of devices. For our final week's lecture, Dr. Bazan discussed how technology can assist students and teachers. As much as we complain about technology, and how it overruns our lives, there are many programs that are actually designed to make our teaching lives easier.

          Programs such as the Microsoft suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.) can help with reports and projects. Email and social networks make it easier and faster to communicate with students and other teachers. There is a multitude of schedule and calendar software, some of which you can use to sync with your family or even your co-workers. There are video conferencing programs (Skype, FaceTime), and programs that teachers can use to have students submit homework and projects. All of these programs don't even being to touch on the multitude of subject-specific programs, such as the music programs we've learned about in this class that we can incorporate into our own classes.

          Dr. Bazan states in the lecture that there is little doubt that technology and schools will forever be intertwined. It's important to teachers to use that connection, and the technology available to us, to enhance our lessons and classes. Althought it may take time initially to get some programs set up for use in your classroom, the time that these programs can save you in the future is incalculable.

          It's hard to believe that this course is already coming to an end; it has certainly been a very fast 7 weeks! I have enjoyed learning more about the digital world of music, and all that is available to me. I am currently applying to several schools for next school year and hopefully, come September, I will have a classroom to call my own and I can begin to incorporate some of what I have learned throughout this course.

A Diva Embraces Technology

           In this week’s lecture, Dr. Bazan states that the encyclopedia is no longer where children go to get theirs answers; instead, they go to the internet. It is considered easier by many people, not just the younger generation, to just get on a smart phone or laptop and Google the answer to whatever it is you’re looking for. All of the information is out there, at our fingertips, all of the time.   

            I currently am working at a veterinarian’s office as a receptionist and we do not have access to the internet in our office. The vet that owns the practice is very wary of the internet and its uses (and for the most part, I don’t blame him). However, what he doesn’t realize is that most people jump online to find the nearest vet office; they no longer go to the phone book.

            This is the dichotomy of the world we currently live in. The “older” generations try to hold on to dictionaries, books, and chalk boards, while the students want teachers to be “cool” and use things that they are interested in, like YouTube videos, Smart boards, and the latest apps. I believe teachers by a crucial role in linking the old with the new. By incorporating some of today’s newest technologies with the older tried-and-true methods, I believe we can get more and most students excited and involved in their own learning. Using technologies that students have an interest can help the students feel that teachers understand them. Rather than trying to fight the influx of technology in the schools, teachers should embrace it and allow it to enhance their teaching, rather than detract from it.

            If there is one thing I’m learning in this course, it’s the magnitude of how many music technology programs exist. It is my goal, once I’m back to teaching, to begin incorporating some of these programs into my teaching. When I was teaching a few years ago, I was always concerned about using technology in my classes, mostly because I didn’t know enough about the programs to effectively teach them. Now, however, I can say I am gaining confidence in some of these programs and it excites me to get back in the music classroom and use them to enhance what I’m teaching. 

A Diva Thinks Out of the Box

            It’s hard to believe we are already in week 5 of this music technology course! This week we are discussing and learning about aspects of lesson planning that can actually be applied to any courses we are teaching. This week’s Power Point discussed a lot about planning that really hit home to me. I am comfortable with the familiar, with routine; thinking out of the box and doing things differently are not my forte. I had never really thought of this as NOT planning, but rather, having a familiar plan.

            However, our lesson this week brought up several good points: 1) Teachers assume that textbooks, teacher manuals, and choral selections are all of the materials we need, and 2) Most teachers have taught the same way with the same lessons for years. To get more to the point: we get comfortable. And when we get comfortable, we get complacent. We think that what we are doing is working, when in fact it’s only working for us, not the students.

            Teachers need to get back to basics and lesson plans are a great way to do that. By creating a lesson beforehand, it allows us to think through the teaching and learning processes. It also gives us the time to think of creative ways to present the lesson, rather than trying to teach something ad lib. There are multiple benefits to having lesson plans established: they ensure that what the students are learning matters, they allow the teacher to connect lessons together, they ensure that assessments and objectives are being met, and they can address deficiencies in the teaching and curriculum.

            Another point that was addressed in the lesson this week was creative lesson planning. This brings me back to a point I made at the beginning of this post – I am not good with thinking out of the box. That being said, I realize that it’s necessary in order to be an effective teacher, and it’s something I consistently strive to be better at. One reason I am enjoying this course so much is learning about the different technology programs that exist, and that I will be able to incorporate into future lessons. Music technology is not something that has been a major part of my teaching in the past, but with every new program we learn about, I think of an awesome project or lesson that I think would be enjoyable for my students.

            I encourage every teacher to take the time to learn about what’s out there that can enhance the lessons that you already teach. We never know what might get through to our students.

A Diva Reviews Some Music Websites

Chromatik

            Chromatik is a free website that provides access to a large catalog of free sheet music. However, this website goes beyond just providing sheet music. This website also allows you to track your progress as you learn specific songs, record your own video or audio sessions, notate the sheet music with your own specifics (if using on an iPad), and provides added benefits such as a metronome. Another awesome benefit of this website is that the sheet music is for a number of different instruments, not just voice and keyboard. Sometimes it can be difficult finding sheet music for popular music for different instruments.

            Although I do not have personal experience with this website, I could see how it would be a beneficial tool to have available in the music classroom. For classes such as guitar, voice class, and keyboard, it would be neat to use this website as part of a project for the students (I’m thinking high school age), where they could find a song they like on the website, learn it and record it, then play that recording for the class.

            I’m also finding this website personally helpful right now; I am singing in my sister-in-law’s wedding in August and was having a hard time finding “Bless the Broken Road” for flute accompaniment. However, I was able to find a decent one on Chromatik!

https://www.chromatik.com/

Smart Music

             Smart Music is a music database that encompasses a multitude of different aspects, from recording to notating to repertoire. Unlike Chromatik, there are packages that have to be purchased before using this site. However, the fees are not outlandish, and there are different options for students and educators. I spent the majority of my time looking at what was available for students, as this is what interested me most. Students can buy a package for home ($40 per year) or a teacher can buy a practice room package ($44 per year) that students can use at the school.

            One of the aspects of Smart Music that I think would be the most helpful for both students and teachers is the assessment tool. Smart Music gives immediate feedback to the student, and can also grade performance assessments. Students can also create a portfolio of their work that can be reviewed by the teacher at any time to assess their progress. Rubric can be created and implemented into the Smart Music programs, as well as state standards.

            The other aspect of Smart Music that I was particularly interested in was the practice tools and exercises. There are exercises for all different purposes: major and minor scales, rhythm, intervals, even jazz and blues rhythms and “licks.” Practice tools include a built-in tuner, digital recorder, metronome and on-screen keyboard. Students could use these tools to practice for performance tests, private lessons, and as prep for harder music.

            I really think this site has a lot to offer both students and teachers. If you are able to either afford it yourself, or get this program included in your budget, it is certainly a good bang for your buck. 

http://www.smartmusic.com/

A Diva Records Everything

          This week’s lecture was about the use of technology in assisting music practice and performance. As both student and teacher, I have found technology to be amazingly helpful in several situations. As a high school student, our teacher would record each voice part for the pieces we were learning at the time on to a program on the computers in the practice rooms. During lunch or study halls, we could practice with the recordings to practice and solidify our own voice part. This allowed for our time in voice lessons to be spent on actually learning vocal techniques, rather than just trying to learn the music.

            Another technology I’ve found useful as a high school student, a college student, and as a teacher is that of being able to record. As a high school student, our teacher would have someone (usually another teacher) videotape our concerts. The following week, we would watch the recording and critique our performance. This was especially helpful leading up to NYSSMA competitions, as we could pinpoint what was working and what wasn’t, and fine-tune it for the competition performance. As a college student, I was required to record all of my voice lessons (I used a little handheld voice recorder) for the same reasons.

            A couple of years ago, I had a long-term substitute teaching position for grades 5-12. This included several general music classes and two choirs, middle school choir and high school choir. It was in a tiny school district in upstate New York and it was a K-12 school. There was no money in the budget for an accompanist (just like in many school districts around here), so it was up to me to provide accompaniment and direct the choirs simultaneously. However, technology came to my rescue: I was able to find accompaniment tracks that went along with the pieces we were learning. When we were first learning a song, I would be at the piano, playing parts. But when we got past that and the parts were more secure, I could put on the accompaniment track. This was extremely helpful because it allowed me to concentrate only on what the choir was doing, not on what I was playing. It’s easier to focus on four voice parts when you’re not trying to figure out what the next chord is!

            Today, I’m sure technology is much more advanced, and there are probably apps and programs that can do whatever you want them to do. But the simpler technology of a decade ago was extremely helpful and beneficial to my music classrooms, both as a student and as a teacher.

            

A Diva Gets Scared

               Reading about the technical aspects and terms of multimedia this week was surprising for me. I was amazed at how many of the terms I had heard before and actually knew something about! For example, I’ve worked with mp3’s to make my own mixes to listen to in the car and I knew about bit sound file sizes. This was encouraging to me as we enter Week 3 of this technology course.

                A few months ago, my husband and I took a weekend trip to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. One of my favorite sections of the museum was the area about the development of the modern recording studio. The lecture this week briefly touched on that, mentioning that artists used to only have one chance at recording their song the way they wanted it to sound. With the invention of tapes, and now computer technology, artists can record and re-record as many times as they want to get it just right. Also, the soundboard enables the artist to adjust aspects of the song manually even after the recording is finished (for example, Auto Tune). This allows for greater efficiency in the recording studio (even though it can sometimes result in a “less true” sound – I’m looking at you, Kanye West).

                The video on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus was inspiring – the song that group of kids came up with after only 6 hours (not to mention including a music video) was surprisingly very good! I think that in a time when music classes are being cut due to budget concerns, that projects and programs like this are vital to sustaining a music culture in our schools. I also think it’s important for inner city students, who have even less resources, can get this glimpse into the music production system, from the music to editing to collaborating with others. As the student in the video said, it is oftentimes that music is the only thing that keeps some of these kids in school. That same student also stated that the lessons they learn in music can be applied to every other subject in school, and also in areas of their lives; they learn qualities like determination, motivation, creativity, and problem solving.

                This video was also encouraging to me as I look ahead at the projects for this course. The thought of having to write my own song, including lyrics and instrumentation, is truly terrifying to me. I have never thought of myself as a creative person, so to have this project looming before me is enough to induce panic attacks! However, I like to think that if these students can do it in 6 hours, then perhaps I can come up with something in 3-4 weeks. Stay tuned to see if I keep all of my hair by the time this project is due!