What a crazy month!  Two classes plus more work hours since some coworkers are gone plus MOVING.  It's definitely been hectic.  I think the biggest thing I'm worried about is the Tech Unit in the e-portfolio.  Since I'm not in the education department, lesson plans are DEFINITELY not my forte.  I'm worried that either I'm over thinking things or not putting enough into them.  They seem to take me twice as long as I think they should.  I suppose the final projects are daunting as well but they're something I think I'm more familiar with.  At least at this point.  Ask me again this time next week what I think and I may tell a different story.  I know it will get done and I will do well but right now I'm doing what I do best: STRESSING!

5 technological elements and how they could be used in the music classroom

            Blogs/Pod Casts

                In my eyes, blogging and pod casts are very similar.  The only real difference is the way in which it is received.  A blog is seen through text and pod casts are listened to.  They both can be used to give a lecture to an online student.  One of the advantages of a pod cast over a blog is the ability to convey tone.  On second thought, this could be either an advantage or a disadvantage.  Another advantage is the ability to instantaneously add an audio clip for the student.  If you were using a blog, you would have to find a way to include it in a link.  The link is not guaranteed to be workable forever whereas an audio clip included directly in the pod cast would last much longer.  An advantage of a blog would be the opportunity for a student to go back in the lecture and re-read what they didn’t necessarily understand.  I believe that a blog or a pod cast could be used in many different ways.  It can be used by the teacher to deliver a lecture/give information to students; it could be a blog written/recorded by anyone else and contain information that the student and teacher could benefit from; it could be written/recorded by the student and used as a self evaluation or learning tool.

 Prezi

                Prezi is a tool that I am relatively unfamiliar with.  I understand what it does but have not had the opportunity to work with it directly.  I have done some research on it though and plan on practicing with it soon.  One of the advantages of Prezi is its cloud based storage or the ability to store your presentations online and have them accessible anywhere rather than saving them on your computer.  It provides a different approach to the standard slide show presentation and offers a different way to get the information to your students.  It could be used in a lecture or at a performance as a visual aid.  You could also use it in your classroom by having the students create their own presentations either solo or as a group project on any given topic.  

Youtube

                Youtube can be a very helpful tool in the music classroom.  Youtube has billions of videos available to watch that are both user created and company created.  It receives more than 4 billion views per day.  A teacher could use youtube within lessons in a number of ways.  The students could be given an assignment that involves finding videos or incorporating videos into an assignment or a presentation. (On prezi perhaps?)  It could also be used in the classroom to give musical examples to the students.  During a music history discussion a teacher would have hundreds if not thousands of videos available to use as examples within seconds.  The thing to be wary of on youtube is that not all the videos are 100% reliable.  If you’re using the videos as a music example for a piece a student is playing, you may want to specify a certain artist.  Since a lot of the videos on youtube are user submitted, some might be of amateurs that don’t have the sound ideal that you are hoping your student will hear.  But for the most part, youtube is an invaluable FREE service that can assist you in many ways.

Online applications/resources/websites

                Resources for your classroom can be attained much faster and easier than they could in the days before the internet.  Using trusted music education websites, you can download or even just print articles, lesson plans, tips and tricks, and other valuable resources.   It can also provide you with invaluable insight into different ways of reaching students, different methods to try, or different materials to use.  It can give you a glimpse of other music classrooms without having to leave your desk.  You can keep up on the latest technologies offered and the latest methods out there.  

Skype

                Skype is a tool that I think is more suited for the general education classroom than the music classroom.  That being said, I still there are a number of ways that it can be used in the music classroom that would prove beneficial to the students.  While I believe that face to face lessons and classes are the way to go, if necessary a Skype lesson could be arranged.  A lot of schools participate in distance learning at the high school level when there are many smaller schools in a relatively small area.  I would almost go so far as to say I wouldn’t accept a job where distance learning was being considered for the music program.  Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.  Skype can be used in other ways as well.  It could be used to call in an “expert” and expose students to another person’s views or lesson ideas.

Bloom’s Taxonomy 

vs. 

The Nine National Standards for Music Education

Bloom’s Taxonomy, to me, seems like a much more generalized system of classification.  It applies not only to children but to anyone in any learning experience or opportunity.  The standards for music education are much more specific.  They’re split up into age and grades.  Each age range is then broken up into the nine standards. 

At the same time, Bloom’s Taxonomy does go more into depth in terms of the steps and methods that a learner goes through. .  It supports the fact that there are different types of learning.  In the taxonomy, it lists three different domains of educational activities: Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor.  All three of these learning types are important and can be found within the music classroom.  It seems that Bloom’s Taxonomy is like the building blocks for the nine standards.  Each standard can be learned and differentiated learning can be achieved by using Bloom’s Taxonomy.