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.
Awesome post, Katie!
ReplyDeleteNow, think of these tools as a way not only to engage the learner, but as a way for the learner to express themselves through various means of technology....if you are private vocal teacher, you could expose your students to various performances, asking them to compare/contrast, evaluate, etc., thus encouraging them to do the same to their own performances. If you were to find a colleague who would give a "Skype exchange" (something I am going to try this upcoming semester during studio) so that you could have a mini-clinic from a distance. Your students could use prezi to display their performances throughout the year (you can also upload video to this program) as their end of year reflection--what happens so often in our mind's-eye is a stark contrast to what happens in the actual studio. Your students could create an interactive recital for friends and family---the list goes on! I think you have chosen some excellent pieces of technology to explore further throughout this term.
Way to go!
Something that we can’t forget is how technology is really helping the teacher have so many alternatives or options especially for those with learning disabilities. As a Music Therapist I certainly use my piano and guitar a lot, but technology has allowed me to expand my ability to communicate with ipad music games, with ipod songs, and with youtube videos on my laptop, etc. Additionally my ability to communicate with the parents has certainly improved as a result of just email. And, I can now record an intervention through video or digital audio and the parents can easily enjoy the success of their child.
ReplyDeleteThe annoying part of blogging is this: Trying to read those d$&n security words! It is not all perfect!
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of students recording themselves (in a podcast or otherwise)! I bought one of those Zoom H4 recorders (a handheld device for recording that uses an SD card that will transfer to your computer lickety split!). I'm looking at ways to create a group file where students can record themselves on a given assignment (i.e. sing your part from mm. 20-40). They could then upload that to a group file (some of our reg. classroom teachers are already all over this and use it to their advantage) that only I can access. But the really great thing I would like to do is keep a running log of each student singing from grade 5 all the way up so they can hear their own vocal odyssey through the years. It might help my basement crawlers to hear how they sounded before "the change" and maybe they could relocate that voice!
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion (at least at our school), many of our reg classroom teachers really have a one-up on us musicians with regard to using tech in the classroom. Our middle school band director is very into tech, but she's our youngest in the music faculty and has been exposed to more than us fuddy-duddys have. I really appreciate you younger ones giving us ideas and the encouragement to try them!