11 tools Reflection

My favorite tools were the iPod Touch and Digital Storytelling. I will probably use the iPod Touch in my classroom as a center. Since they are first and foremost mp3 players I will probably have students listen to music on them. However, my favorite application for the iPod Touch was the iTalk Recorder. So I will use that tool to have students record themselves singing one of our curriculum songs. That way I can evaluate and assess their singing. Also, the students can hear themselves sing.

I believe that music itself is interactive and experiential. Music must be experienced and shared by people in community. Music builds community. In some ways I think that technology strips away the feeling of community and the experience of music as a group. When you are interacting with a computer or iPod screen you are not interacting with another person and sharing music with them. When you are playing "pretend" guitar on a app or video game you are not really learning to play an instrument. However, technology greatly enhances our ability to share music with others who are not in the same room with us. It bridges the distance between states and countries, and in that way we can share our culture and ourselves with each other.

I was surprised at how many programs and apps are out there that I had never heard of before. Not that I am up on all the newest technology, because I am not. Still, I was surprised at how huge the internet has grown and continues to grow. The possibilities are endless.