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.