Daniel's Blog

Tool #11

2012-01-02T12:02:00.000-08:00

I finally made it!!!

My favorite tools included Stupeflix Studio and Skype in the Classroom. I could see myself using Stupeflix to create recruitment videos, concert videos, end of the year slideshows, etc. Students love to see themselves in these videos. I also am interested in using Skype to help communicate with other band directors and band programs around the country or the world.

After going through the 11 Tools, I realize that their is a lot I don't know about when it comes to incorporating technology into my classroom. I am still unsure how to best use some of these ideas with as large as a class I have (45 students), a demanding performance schedule, and limited devices. I hope to be able to work with other directors in the district to help come up with some ideas.

Going through the process was very time consuming. Many of the websites and tools require a lot of time to get familiar with. I found myself getting really interested in several of them, but was always limited on time. The time factor is one of the biggest constraints to using some of these tools, but I'm sure that gets easier with practice and time.

Tool # 10

2012-01-02T10:03:00.000-08:00

It is always important to review some ground rules for internet use and digital citizenship. For example, students need to understand that everything they read on the internet isn't true. It is important to check sources of information and to validate information by checking different websites. Also, the internet is a haven for inappropriate websites. Students need to understand that visiting these websites they are breaking district policy for appropriate internet use, and what the consequences will be inappropriate use. Finally, if students are posting to a blog, they need to understand how to do so respectfully.

The chart found on Ed Tech titled, Resources for 21st Century Classroom, had many helpful webpages. One I enjoyed was NetSmartz Teens. This website has many videos to show students about being good digital citizens, including cyber-bullying, internet safety, social networking, etc. There is also a link to Digital Citizenship, a webpage which includes a handbook of resources and a Student Pledge for Digital Citizenship.

The webpage mentioned above also includes a Parent Pledge for Digital Citizenship. This could be used to review parent responsibility for monitoring their child's use of technology at home.

Tool #9

2012-01-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

If you plan to use any type of activity with a lesson, it is important to recognize the value of that activity within the objective of the lesson. The same is true for the use of technology. Is the technology device or online activity really going to contribute to the student's comprehension of the objective? Otherwise, you could just be wasting valuable instructional time.

When using technology students need to know what to do with the technology. They should be given an assignment to prove that they have used the technology for it's intended purpose. Otherwise, students can get easily distracted and can begin finding other things to do with the technology.

After visiting Learning Games for Kids, I found the game "Musical Notes" that could be used to help students learn their note names. The games are scored which could be use to keep track of student progress. Another website that could be used is Thinkfinity. This website had lessons, activities, and worksheets that could be used in the classroom.

iMetronome, iTalk Recorder, and Peterson Tuner are all apps that will come in handy with band students. Students will use the iTalk to record playing test and save their performance for review and scoring. Students could use the tuner to discover their personal intonation tendencies. They will then have to perform their tuning note for a grade.

Tool #8

2011-12-11T12:50:00.000-08:00

As a band teacher, I received an iPod Touch last spring. I have learned to sync, download apps, and take pictures and video with the Touch. We use the devices to access apps that help us tune, practice to a metronome, perhaps most importantly to record performances. Students use the Touch to record individual performances for teacher review. Students are graded on these performances, and as the teacher I am able to adjust future instructional planning based on these performances.

Tool #7

2011-12-11T11:42:00.000-08:00

After visiting Skype In The Classroom and other sites on this tool, I see the potential to create a collaborative learning opportunity. I would like to find another band program that would allow us to share rehearsals, challenges with learning a piece of music, or maybe have a collaborative performance with another band program. I think this would be very interesting for students to be able to work with other students simultaneously on the same music.

In the spring semester I am considering performing a piece titled "Moscow 1941" by Brian Balmages. This piece of music was based on a Russian song and uses original material to tell the story of the Red Army successfully defending Moscow against the German invasion of WWII. I would like to find a classroom in Russia that could share with us some history of this battle. This would give my students some perspective or reality to connect to when performing this music.

Our objective could be: Students will perform "Moscow 1941" by Brian Balmages and will collaborate via Skype with students in Russia to learn about the historical facts surrounding the battle Russia faced defending Moscow from German invasion in 1941.

Tool #6

2011-12-10T11:15:00.000-08:00

Using these web tools could be very helpful to bringing technology into the classroom. I created a poll using Poll Everywhere. I see how this could be helpful for teachers, and a great way to get students motivated to participate using their phones, iTouch, etc. We could use this tool to get students to vote on band events or share thoughts on performances. I also looked into Skype. I would like to use this tool to communicate with other band programs across the nation of the world. Especially, with bands that may be performing the same pieces we are working on. I think it would be great for students to share with other students their struggles or successes with learning a piece of music. Finally, I think communicating with other students this way would help students realize that band is a much larger than just SBMS.

Tool #5

2011-12-09T21:32:00.000-08:00

I used Stupeflix Studio to create this recruitment video. It was really easy to use and I think the video looks great. Students could use this to create end of year videos using photos from all of the band events throughout the school year.

I also used Wordle to create a word cloud made up of all the students in symphonic band. The results look really neat and I think students would really enjoy using this web tool. Students could create a wordle of different terms they have learned in any given 9-week period.

Tool #4

2011-12-09T19:48:00.000-08:00

Created 2 Google documents to share with other band directors across the district. I even included some of the elementary music teachers that feed SBMS. The elementary music teachers will be able to access informational letters for future band students. Allowing colleagues to have access to important documents can really help get information out to students more easily. I also created a Form but I'm still trying to figure out how I could use this in my subject.

Tool #3 continued

2011-12-09T16:07:00.000-08:00

The Dropbox was painless, and I could see this coming in handy to be able to access files from anywhere and from any computer. I already loaded up several files. The copyright and fair use video was informational, but it seems to be mostly common sense stuff. On to the next tool!!!

Tool #3

2011-12-09T15:38:00.000-08:00

Here is a great example of how students can use technology to create a video that evaluates their knowledge of their instrument. Videos such as these could be created by 8th grade band students and shared with 6th grade band students to help them learn the basics of their instrument.

Tool #2 PLN

2011-12-09T09:47:00.000-08:00

After reading over several different blogs and posting to one, it is easy to see how sharing information and ideas with other educators can help you become a more effective teacher. There are so many great and creative educators that can help inspire others to improve their teaching.

Tool #1 Creating a Blog

2011-12-09T07:50:00.000-08:00

Okay, I've officially started my 11 tools!!! Done with creating my blog and avatar.