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.

Tool #11 Digital Citizenship

I think the three aspects of digital citizenship that stood out to me the most were:

Internet Safety - passwords and private information
Copyright Laws
Digital Etiquette/CyberBullying

All three of these concepts are important for children to understand as they navigate the web and technology.

I think that I would use the videos and activities from BrainPop to introduce each concept. There are also extra activities that can be printed out for follow-up on each subject. Students could use think-pair-share groups to discuss each topic and then share with the class any questions or comments they had on what they saw.

For music purposes, I would stress the importance of making sure they had permission to use music or music videos before they used them for a project.

Tool # 10

Today I looked at a couple of free apps called iTalk Recorder, ArtLite, and USA Factbook. iTalk Recorder allows you to record your voice and sync it with a computer. I could use it as an assessment tool, by having students type their name into the program and then record them singing. When listening to the singing later, I could write down their grades.

ArtLite has full color pictures of famous artwork from many different time periods and styles. I often discuss time periods in history when talking about music composers. Students could use the iPod Touches to look up artwork from the time when Beethoven was alive. Then we could discuss Classical style vs. Romantic style.

USA Factbook has a feature called USA music map which could combine Social Studies with music. I did not get to actually play with this one on the Ipod Touch but I am thinking that students could look up each state song and listen to it.

I was able to use the iPod Touches during a district training earlier this summer (see post called iPod Touch Training). It was a very fun training and I could definitely see how the iPod Touches could make students more excited about learning.

In the music classroom I could see iPod Touches being used mostly for recording purposes and playing music. Students could always use them to look up supplemental information about songs, composers, and places of origin for songs and instruments. I think that they will probably have to be used as a station in a center until I am able to have a full class set.

Tool #9

Students could use Jing to take a picture of something they are working on and share it with other students or their teacher. Teachers could use Jing to create a training video for students, showing them how to access their san folder or how to notate a song in music software. I have a project with kindergarten and 3rd grade where I record the students singing a simple song and then I save it to their personal folder on the network. I usually use class time to show them how to access it and listen to it, but I could make a training video that they could view during their computer or library time.

Skype could be used to share performances with other schools. While I always believe that performing for a live audience is the best option, Skype would offer opportunities for teachers to perform for one another and their classes. If the schedule or budget does not permit students to have live performances then teachers could set up a performance and broadcast it to another school in the district.

I have been using Skype for personal calls for about a year now. I am able to talk with friends in other states and see my nieces and nephews who live in Michigan. I really enjoy using Skype because it seems like the other person is in the room with you.

Tool # 8

I found my first video on YouTube. It is a performance of the song "Defying Gravity" from the Musical Wicked. I would use this video in the classroom to introduce a unit on Musical Theater. Aside from taking the students to see a Musical, the next best thing would be to show them a video of what it is like and then have the students perform a few excerpts from a Musical. The second video that is posted here is "The Dance of the Reed Flutes" from The Nutcracker ballet. This video clip could help to explain ballet to students who have never seen or experienced ballet for themselves. Both of these videos meet the music TEKS that address how music relates to other subjects and other art forms.

Tool # 8 Defying Gravity Tony Awards

Tool # 7

I am very familiar with iMovie for Mac because I already use this program to edit classroom videos. I have an Opera Video project and a Music Video project that I do with my 4th and 5th graders. Students must act out an opera using a classroom video camera. Then I edit the clips down to make a video that I show on the morning announcements. I made this video using PhotoStory 3 for Windows. I was not familiar with this program. It was fairly simple to upload the pictures and add text. I wanted to add a voice-over, but I do not have a microphone for my laptop. So I added some music that I found on one of the suggested websites. All in all it was a pretty easy process.



Like many others, I struggled to upload the video.