New Tech Standards and Requirements

Teachers are now required by law to implement technology to familiarize students to our ever changing society. At first, I thought this would be a struggle- then I realized that as a musician, I use technology all the time. 

            The first technology standard that stood out to me was number 1) Creativity and Innovation. In this standard, students use technology while applying existing knowledge to generate new ideas, processes, and possibilities, create original works to express themselves or a group, and develop models/simulations to explore issues, trends, and systems. The first thing that popped into my mind when I read the description were the programs "Finale" and "Sibelius". These are MIDI programs where students can enter in notes and values for instruments to create a piece of music. Once information has been entered, you can play it back to hear how it sounds. The programs already have sounds for all woodwind, string, brass, percussion, and vocal sounds and attributes. It will even transpose for you so you can write everything in concert key- which simplifies the process tremendously. I have used "Sibelius" and "Finale" for music theory homework, original compositions, arrangements, writing warm-ups, and preserving parts that no longer exist in my library. Students use their knowledge of music theory and instrument color, tone quality, and sound to create their own piece of music. 

       The Second standard that stood out to me was number 2) Communication and Collaboration. Students are required to share ideas/wprk and collaborate as a group. The program "Sibelius" mentioned above has an affiliated website similar to google docs where students can post their work, get feedback from others, and (if you have the permission and password) work on other people's compositions. This is a great way to get input from a wide audience and receive constructive criticism from other composers/arrangers who have the program. 

      The third standard I liked was number 6) Technology Operations and Concepts. This standard says students must use technological concepts and tools to learn. To satisfy this standard, students simply need to use a digital tuner and metronome. Another great online resource is jazzpracticeloops.com. This ties in with number one since you need to have prior knowledge of musical scales to perform and improv solo. Being a solo jazz performer, I need to practice my improvisation- the musician is given chord or figured bass symbols and improvises their own rhythms and notes (within the chords) to make a solo. jazzpracticeloops.com has hundreds of sound samples the musician can play along with. They used a program like "Sibelius" or "Finale" to make a digital rhythm section (drum set, bass, and piano) that plays any key signature, tempo, style, or length you could imagine. If I knew I had an improv solo for a song in say, A major, 12 bar blues, I could go to the website, search the criteria, and practice my solo with the digital rhythm section for as long as I wanted. That way, during the performance, I am familiar with the chord changes and can focus more on expression than notes- which will be far more interesting. Another great online tool is imslp which is an online database of sheet music. When preparing for my senior capstone, I composed an original work based on German composers of the romantic era. For my piece to sound like music of the time period, I needed to study the scores of composers I wanted to emulate- Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, etc. To avoid buying scores to their symphonies, I studied them on imslp. This also ties in with number one because I had to have prior knowledge of Romantic History, composers, instrumentation, and the ability to read/write music. 

       The biggest problem with using technology in a  music class is that it is often expensive. A program like "Finale" costs around $150-$200, and a good tuner/metronome is anywhere between $15-$100. Many students cannot afford to buy proper equipment, and many music programs can't afford it either. Since most musicians have added expenses like strings, sticks, reeds, valve/slide oil and have difficulty saving up for these technologies. Many students will never get to use them unless the school provides it. Funding for public school music programs has been cut significantly in the past few years, and many programs have been cut all together. Many music instructors are more focused on buying new sheet music, stands, microphones, percussion, or spending on repairs than asking administrators for new equipment - assuming there is at least one computer in the music room (if there even is a consistent music room). Also, so many music directors are being pressured to focus on marching band or pep band and to do well at festivals and competitions that they don't have time to teach basic music theory and history- much less an entirely new thing like technology programs. Something like a tuner/metronome or jazzpracticeloops could and should be used every day (given the funding), but instructors are reluctant to ask for cash for new programs that do not directly benefit the school. 

Analyzing Student data in a Spreadsheet

At first, this task was a little daunting since I don't get along with technology or math, but I did the assignment with the tutorial, so I think I got the hang of it. I think the most important piece of this data is the "student growth". If your students are not improving academically, then something is wrong. This could be that you are not teaching them effectively, they are not understanding content, or they are simply failing to meet requirements. Only one student (Joel) has a negative growth rate- which is concerning since he is a senior. This could be due to a number of things- he might be preoccupied and therefore not applying himself, he could be stressed, struggling, etc. As his teacher, I would look back over his body of work as a student and see if this is at all typical, perhaps talk with his other teachers and see how he is doing in their classes, and see if something can be worked out to get him caught up.
I have shared a link to the data- included with the spreadsheet are graphs comparing the data.

data sheet

screener- tinyurl

here's the tinyurl from the tutorial if anyone is interested in the resources: http://tinyurl.com/7cfgnmd

Personal Productivity Tools

Tinyurl: makes annoying, incredibly long url's into short ones. You go to the website, copy a long url into the white bar, then it makes a short one that you can paste into an email or document. I've shared a tiny url that leads to a video/article about music education and the national funding crisis: http://tinyurl.com/78vm4u6

Dropbox: you have to download this one, but it prevents you from carrying a flashdrive or emailing documents to yourself to access from different computers. Once downloaded, login with your email, save documents in your dropbox folder and access it on getdropbox.com from any computer.

Teamviewer: this is another one you have to download, but is free. If two or more people are logged in to teamviewer, you can share a document that you can all work on at the same time as if you were right next to each other. So, if you are working on a group presentation and can't meet up, you can all log in to teamviewer and do it wherever you'd like.

Each of these could greatly enhance teaching and learning methods. Tinyurl makes sharing websites that much easier. It saves time and space when copying and pasting, and there is less likely of a chance that something will be left out of the long url when sharing website information. Dropbox makes it easy for teachers and students to work on homework, lesson plans, presentations etc. from anywhere without wondering where your flash drive is or worrying about emailing yourself. But, I think teamviewer increases productivity the most. This way, you can assign group presentations or activities without having to worry about how students will meet up to work on it. It also allows you (the teacher) to help them when you are not able to physically be with them. With each of these programs, we are not only teaching students to utilize technology in a positive way, but we are encouraging the sharing of knowledge.

week 3- technology class

As a continuation of my (hopeful) expansion of technology knowledge, I have to attempt to explain Cloud computing and Web 2.0.
Cloud computing simply seems to be shared computer resources over the internet. They are apps and programs that you can access without downloading and installing on your computer. You have access to programs like google docs, adobe connect, teamviewer.com, yodio, and the list continues to expand. Most of the services are free and you can access them from any computer with internet.

I am currently participating in a group project about Google Bookmarks.
The point of the presentation is to educate others on the simplicity and efficiency of such a program.
I think this is a great tool for teachers to have. We've all had that weird moment in class when the teacher wants to show us a video, article, song or whatever else to supplement our learning but couldn't find it. With bookmarks, you can save the page/website/document and access it from any computer with internet, click on the page, and BOOM! you're there. No awkward "give me a second to find the video", just a a few clicks and you're ready to continue teaching. This efficiency allows us to use more technology in the classroom, waste less time, and we can share anything with our students. If we find a website that would be a wonderful resource for our students to have, we can share it with them through google bookmarks. It only took me a short while to organize my bookmarks into folders for homework, jobs, sheet music, places I want to go, recipes I want to try, and others. I've only shared one page so far, but it was pretty self explanitory- the program guided me through everything.
For the presentation, I added the slide on how it will improve productivity, contributed to the refelctions page, and altered some of the key features. Here is a link to the presentation: Google Bookmarks Presentation

Yodio post for EDUC 549- Reading

yodio reading reflection- EDUC 549

Technology in Education Reflection

If Facebook were a country, it would have the third highest population between India and the United States.

People search Facebook more often than google. 

There has been more video uploaded on Youtube in the past 2 months then there has been on cbs, nbc, and abc since 1948- if they had been broadcasting continuously. 

Ashton Kutcher and Britney Spears have more followers than Isreal, Panama, Ireland, and other countries. 

Privacy has gone out the window since"what happens in Vegas stays on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube."

Social media has taken over. People no longer seek out supported, factual news, but rely on what they read on facebook and twitter, and see on you tube. As teachers, we need to educate ourselves and our setudents on ways to seek out factual information. And we need to teach them to research both sides of an argument before making a decision. 

While there is sometimes a negative spin on online media, technology has been incredibly beneficial. For example, email has changed the way we communicate all together. I can have a full conversation with someone via email whom I have never met and have never spoken to. And now that email is on our phones, we can check email anytime, anywhere with professors, bosses, co-workers, fellow students, family, friends, doctors, and others. Because of busy schedules, it is difficult to find time to call someone or get together. But email makes it convenient for all. Sharing information has never been easier, but it is because of this that we should be more skeptical and do more research to form an educated opinion. Just because someone blogged or posted a comment on facebook that gay marriage is wrong doesn't mean it is. We need to teach students to think for them selves, and not to let social media do their thinking for them. 

Technology has also brought us closer to world politics and events. I can read about what is happening in Kenya, Isreal, Germany, Australia and see how it effects the world, me, and the people I know. We can read about how wildlife is being preserved and things we can do to help. The video "Vision 2011" says that several years ago, if wanted to know about Syria, we had to look it up in an encyclopedia. And that information was all historical. Now, we can type "Syria" into the search engine and get all sorts of information. 

Technology definitely has positive and negative effects. It is how we choose to use technology that makes it positive or negative. As teachers, we can educate ourselves and our students on the latest technological advances and learn to use it in a responsible, productive way. For more, listen to my yodio reflection 

Blogging in Education

Many people say that we are in the "information age" and things like facebook, twitter, wikipedia, and blogging are all helping to spread information. Whether some of the "facts" are true are not are up for debate, but there seems to be a constant flow of information finding it's way onto the web. The internet has become a huge resource for both students and teachers.We use it to create lesson plans, and they use it to complete assignments. But what happens to that paper once it has been graded? It's given back to the student, tossed in a back pack, folder, or locker to be found crumpled when preparing for the next semester. The student- and the teacher- forget about the assignment that is no longer relevant. But with a blog, an assignment can be posted, where peers and teachers alike can comment on it, draw from the information, improve writing skills, use it as an example, and so much more.

My main focus is music, and a blog is a wonderful tool to have. If I were to create a blog or facebook page for my ensemble, I can post recordings of concerts, give public mention to soloists and section leaders, advertise upcoming concerts and events, recruit, fund-raise, and the students can read performance feedback from the community. An ensemble blog would be reinforcement for what I am doing in the classroom. If I tell the ensemble they had a great concert, they may just think I'm saying it because I'm their teacher. But if peers, parents, and community members post on the blog about the performance, the success becomes more real.

Wonderful music tools could also be made handy- a link to IMSLP where you can download and print public domain music for free. Or a chart of the circle of fifths, instrument fingering charts, transposition charts, etc. Students could even post some of their own compositions using a "yodio" account, or post the score using "Sibelius". They could post music history reports, reviews of music they've heard or want to play. But most importantly, this information is available to the public and school board. Music is fading fast from our public schools, and as soon as people see how much kids need and love their music classes, the farther we are from losing the program completely.

My Bio

Hello all,

My name is Kalyn and I am pursuing my Master of Arts in Education. My current goal is to become a high school music teacher, preferably band and orchestra but many teachers in small schools often end up teaching choir as well. I grew up in Dayton, Oregon where I started playing trombone in the fifth grade because I KNEW I could play better then my big brother, who also played trombone. He ended up dropping out of band his Junior year and I continued on to get my bachelors degree in music education. I guess I won that battle. Another reality is that as a music is a dying field, so I may have to teach junior high as well. My band director did band and choir for junior high and high school and I would like to be prepared for that situation. I would love to teach in a school with an orchestra and jazz band as well as concert band. I had never been in an orchestra before college and instantly fell in love. The style of playing is so different. Almost everything is a solo or soli and the music requires you to know about the time period to perform well. Also, we get to perform rock orchestra versions of great songs. Last year we did Eric Clapton's "Layla" with brass solos. This April, we will be playing with the band "Kansas" at the Roseland in Portland. These are things that get young people and aspiring musicians excited about playing, and in a dying field, it is the perfect way to keep it alive. 

Directing an orchestra is also a wonderful way to teach music history to students without making them feel like they are being lectured. Each piece of music and composer has a story that is relevant to the way the music needs to be played. Often times, if a musician understands why the music was written, they will feel more connected to it and be more likely to perform it the way the original composer would have wanted, but put their own personality- and personality of the conductor- into the music. I am a total nerd for music history. I have a Beethoven bobble-head on my dashboard, 2 Brahms paintings, one of which has a "greatful dead" spin on it with Brahms wearing a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses, a Beethoven action figure, and all sorts of other dorky things that my husband is embarrassed to have around the house. 

In addition to my music, I am also interested in horsemanship. I have been riding horses most of my life and am constantly trying to improve my skills. I've raced barrels, helped with colt starting, and am currently studying equine massage at a horse rescue facility where I also volunteer. I currently do not own any of my own, but have access to the rescue horses and am leasing a horse and take lessons with him. Raised in the country, I also participated in FFA in junior high and high school. I raised and sold pigs and earned my State Degree- the highest degree you can get without being an officer. For that, I had to learn how to judge soil irrigation, know the history of agriculture in my state, the history of the FFA, at least two different types of weld, put a certain amount of money and hours into my FFA project- which was pigs- and I had to show and judge animals outside of my project. FFA, I have noticed, is also fading out. In Lane county this past summer, there was no FFA at all, and 4-H students had to show at the Benton County fair because Lane would not allow them. Hopefully, wherever I end up teaching, I can help the agricultural programs flourish. I would not have the work ethic I have without those programs. 

My time is spent between my husband, my family, my education and music, horses, and work. I took a night time position working a remodel at a Eugene Target so my work schedule would not conflict with student teaching. It's pretty challenging as far as sleep goes, but the work is good. It keeps me active and I'm quickly being recongnized for my efforts and have already trained several people. My other job is as a homeschool music teacher. I have two students whom I teach for an hour and a half each week. We have studied music in the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical eras, and have studied Beethoven as a transitional figure in to the Romantic era. My students are also learning piano and are learning an arrangement of Beethoven's 9th (Ode to Joy) which is a great way for them to learn left and right hand independence as well as introduce them to the C Major scale. My goal is to teach them the Brahms Lullaby by summer break when we finish the Romantic Era. It is important that they play pieces relevant to the time period we are studying so they can perform the music, rather than simply playing it. 

I am very excited to be in school again and am sure that learning new technologies will create more opportunities and outlets for me to expose my students to different types of music and ways to interpret it. 

Jazz Band Clinic