Module 7: Musical Assessment and Professional Productivity

Module 7: Musical Assessment and Professional Productivity:



This week we did a lot of work with Google Drive.  While I have been using Google Drive for a couple of years now there were still some procedures that we used that I had not ever done before.  Using Google Forms to make a quiz was one of those task.  With the availability of technology now and every student having a school email at our middle school it will make it easy to send a quick quiz assessment to all of the students in the class.  We could also have a small lab station set up somewhere in the band room for individual students to go and take their quiz during class if they do not have internet service at home.  

Often times I use Google Slides to have a slide show of announcements going on the Smart Board while the students are walking into class.  I would like to start using more slide shows to help conduct lessons instead of just simply posting announcements on the board.  There are some subtle differences between Google Slides and Microsoft Power point, but I do like the fact that once you have a Google Slide started on your drive you can open it from any computer.  This really helps since there is a different computer in my office than in the band room attached to the Smart Board.  Another great advantage to using Google programs is how easy it has become to embed your work on any webpage for sharing.

 

There are so many resources on Google and the Internet to keep band directors organized.  I did not realize how much I actually used all of the materials on Google that were offered until I started completing the assignments for this class.  Convenience is the key when you are trying to find programs to help you be productive.  I know that I have mentioned this before, but having the ability to open up Google Drive from your Smart Phone and go into the instrument storage room to take inventory and it end up on your computer is amazingly convenient.  Another thing that we use a lot is our Student Band Account sheet for when students participate in fundraisers and other events.  They can use this money to purchase a reed, valve oil, sticks, or many other band related items.  We can easily pull up their account on our phone and deduct the money from the account when they need a reed during class.



All of these available programs on Google have helped my job as a band director to become much easier and more successful.  In the long run it is all about the students and these devices and programs help to give me more time to teach them.

Module 6: WebQuest, Google Sites, and Copyright

MODULE 6: WebQuest, Google Sites, and Copyright

At the beginning of the year I created my band a Google Sites page to try and keep as many parents and students informed of all of the upcoming events and happenings for the entire year. I was very glad to get the chance this week to work a little closer with Google Sites and learn how to navigate around a little better. Google Sites is a really great way to keep information available for any class or program. Since our school uses Chromebooks and all of the students have a school email address, my thinking was that it would be a little easier for students to be able to see this information than putting it on another website. I have attached a link to our schools site:

CMS Band

Another great resource that I enjoyed learning about this week was a WebQuest. I believe that this type of activity will come in handy especially at the beginning of the year with my sixth grade band students. This will give us an opportunity to guide them along the path of learning about all of the different instruments, as well as give them the opportunity to use the Internet to do research on their own time. I could see the students being much more invested in the opportunity to learn an instrument, and in the opportunity to help decide what instrument they would like to learn by having this available. So many students want the opportunity to use technology on a daily basis anyway, this will just encourage them to do something productive with that time.

Some other things that I really picked up from the readings, have really helped shape some of my ideas about the use of technology and other tactics in the music classroom.  Bauer stated, "Students in any music class or ensemble have varied backgrounds, learning needs, and interests" (2014. p. 159).  I have always known that this is true, but sometimes it helps to read it and really comprehend what is being said.  There are so many ways to teach one lesson, or get one point across in any classroom, especially in music.  I have to make sure that I am including as many different ways as possible to reach as many students as I can.  It was also very good to be able to polish up on some of the copyright laws as those effect us in some way each day.  I knew about International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) when I was in college and used it a couple of times.  After watching some of the videos on copyright I now see why that website is possible.  The Creative Commons website has been, and will be a huge help on my WebQuest and future endeavors at my school.   

Bauer, W.I. (2014). Music learning today; Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. New York: Oxford University Press.

Module 5- Spotify, Music Software, and Social Bookmarking

Spotify, Music Software, and Social Bookmarking

I have been a paid member of Spotify for a little over a year now and have really enjoyed all of the music that I have been able to hear and enjoy since I started using it.  It was interesting this week to be able to share a playlist from my Spotify that I have been expanding and building on for the past year with my classmates.  I would like to continue to build upon that playlist, and I am sure that it will change from year to year as I get the opportunity to experience new and different types of music.  I have also found that not only is Spotify a place where I can find almost any music that I would like to listen to, it is also a tool that I am able to use in the classroom.  Having my students listen to quality concert band literature, even as they are entering the room, is a great way to build their listening skills and help them understand what good balance and blend sound like.  Below is one of my favorite pieces from this playlist, as well as a great example of good ensemble sound. 

 

Something else that I had a lot of inexperience with was social bookmarking.  Until this course I had never heard of such a thing even occurring.  After going through the project and searching around the internet to share resources with other educators I have learned to really like this concept.  Bauer stated, “Social bookmarking not only helps users track, and later retrieve, online resources they discover, but it is also a way for people to work together to share and learn about valuable information, tools, and services on the Internet” (2014. p. 42).  The amount of wonderful resources that are available through the Internet that other educators have already found or created is astounding.  With social bookmarking it just makes it that much easier to share available ideas and like they say “not reinvent the wheel”.  Diigo was a wonderful source to learn about this week in relation to sharing wonderful websites and ideas with other music educators.

Diigo©

Another thing that was a big hitting point for me in this week’s module was the discussion about responding to music.  There were so many activities to get students really involved in listening to and responding to music that I had not tried in my class.  While I thought that I was doing a good job having my students respond to music, I was missing out on many of these great opportunities.  I would love to take the opportunity to use more of these ideas with my students.  

Module 4: Audacity, Technology in Music Performance

This week was the last week of school for my students.  I got the opportunity to introduce them to some of the technology programs that I have been introduced to so far in this course.  The next to the last day of school I introduced my students to Incredibox and they had a wonderful time using it and getting used to its capabilities.



One of the other programs that I got to use this week was Audacity.  I have used this program before but never really realized its full capabilities.  I have only used Audacity to record students performance test and never used it for creating an arrangement and using the effects that are available on the program.  After getting the opportunity to use this program this week I realized all of the effects that come along with Audacity.  

Audacity©

Module 3 (Soundtrap, MIDI, Loops, and More)

Module 3 (Soundtrap, MIDI, Loops, and More)

This week has been very busy in both my career as well as my graduate school course.  This week in my professional career I had my middle school’s Spring Concert where I and my co-worker had our sixth, seventh, and eighth graders all perform “Star Wars Opening Theme” together.  I had the opportunity to conduct the eighth grade concert band as well as the first Coffee Middle School Jazz Ensemble.  The very next morning we left for Panama City Beach on our spring trip to Dave and Busters, as well as a performance and fun at Shipwreck Island.

Shipwreck Island©

                    

Dave and Busters©

One of the assignments that we had for class this week was a Soundtrap project.  As I was working on that project I realized how user friendly the program was and easily available for students.  I would love to incorporate this type of project along with some Incredibox projects into my band classes.  Both of these websites are easy to use and great for creating music.  As I have mentioned before, today’s students expect instant gratification on many things.  By using either of these programs the students will be able to create music using loops and see that they really can create music.  After they are used to the loops, expand their composition range by the use of MIDI and other devices.         

Soundtrap©

Some of the things from the readings this week caught my attention.  One of the things was the use of digital audio workstation (DAW) which we got the experience of using this week with Soundtrap.  Bauer said “Of course, refined listening skills are essential when making musical decisions in audio production” (p. 32).  This is a very encouraging quote.  By students and teachers getting the opportunity to really use one of these programs, even the free online ones, they can refine their listening skills and build up their timing when cutting and splicing sections together.  

Another thing that I really enjoyed from the reading was the discussion about portable digital audio recorders.  When I was at my first job I ended up having to use a tape recorder to record my band when we were getting ready for our concerts, or if I did not want to take too much time from class to have them take their performance test.  This just happened to be the only kind of technology that was available at my school with no money to buy any other recording devices.  With the availability to use digital audio recorders it is much more convenient to record and listen back to full ensemble recordings as well as individual performances.  

Bauer, W.I. (2014). Music learning today; Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. New York: Oxford University Press.                                          

MUE 6696- Module 2 (MIDI, NoteFlight, MuseScore, Creativity and Improvisation)

This week I had the pleasure of working with different types of music notation software. As a music student during my undergraduate degree the only music writing software that I ever used was Finale. I was very excited to learn about different music writing capabilities that were available online and for free download. These programs will make it much more applicable for my students to be able to write music, and for us to not have to spend a fortune to make this available to them. The lessons that were available on the MuseScore website were very helpful in learning how to work the program and get started. I also did some searching on YouTube and found a series of videos available that really takes everything step-by-step in introducing all of the different functions of MuseScore.

Another music notation software that I got the opportunity to use this week was NoteFlight. I have used this website for small composition projects with my beginning band students before and do not find it as user friendly as MuseScore. While you can learn how to use NoteFlight and there are lessons available I did not find it as easy to learn as MuseScore. The good thing about NoteFlight is the fact that you do not have to download anything to a device to be able to use it. Since NoteFlight is one hundred percent online it is much easier to access at school, since it is hard to download programs to computers at the school.

The other thing that I took from this week’s discussions and readings was the idea of creativity and improvisation in music classrooms. Something that I had not ever thought about, that I learned from the readings, was the fact that just because a student is not in a music class does not mean that they do not want anything to do with music. Bauer (2014) said, “In other words, these are students who aren’t enrolled in school bands, orchestras, and choruses yet who have strong musical interests and untapped creative potential” (p. 46). There are so many students that have great musical talent and creativity that just do not have anything to do with the organized programs at the school but that might perform or sing at a church or other individual events.

Another huge consensus from the readings and discussions was the talk about teaching improvisation and composition. Bauer (2014) says, “Some teachers, however, have found these creativity standards challenging to implement since their personal background in improvisation or composition was not strong” (p. 46). This was a large talking point that I had not thought a lot about until now. While I try and come up with some creative discussions and composition assignments in my band classes I was definitely not big on that in school. There has been a lot that I have learned in the past couple of semesters in relation to creativity in class that I know will benefit my students greatly and I look forward to their progress as well as my own in that manner.

Bauer, W.I. (2014). Music learning today; Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. New York: Oxford University Press.

Wardrobe, K. (Producer). (2010, January 11). MuseScore in 10 easy steps: part 1 score setup.  Podcast retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEbs0cii4VY  

Bennett- Noteflight "Bicycle Built for Two"

I was introduced with NoteFlight last semester in my Creative Thinking in Music class. I also went to a seminar on NoteFlight at our Georgia Music Conference(GMEA) in Athens this past winter. I have used Noteflight briefly with my sixth grade students on some short composition projects and it has worked very well. I really like the fact that it is online and easily available to students with nothing to download required, this makes it very easy to assign work on. I was a little worried that our school internet would block the website to be able to use NoteFlight, but everything worked fine when I logged on. I would definitely like to become more familiar with this program to be able to use it more in my classroom.