Google Docs

Google Docs seem to have a lot of features- only a few of which I have begun to use so far. I created and sent out another form for my ethnomusicology research project on community bands and the results were not as usable as I had hoped. I will  have to learn how to tweak things to get the responses I need! For instance, I need to figure out how to allow the participants to rank items in order of importance as the method I used of asking 7 different questions didn't work so well. : (
   I will definitely need to do more experimenting before sending out another form, and have learned that I need to send to myself first to make sure things appear the way I need them to.
   I'm also dealing with the issue of a couple of people not being able to access my poll in the email, but one was able to access by clicking the online link. Still waiting to hear back from the other individual to see if she even tried the link!
    Long and short of it is that these are going to be great tools for me to use once I get more practice with them and understand them better.

This is just a picture of how my brain sometimes works!

Inquiry based Activities

Last week we worked on creating an inquiry based activity on our wiki page that we have been learning with. This was an overwhelming assignment when I first started it, but as I got into it I found that I was really enjoying what I was doing and wanted to do a little more. I actually plan to go back to that page and add a few more listening links. Our music education back row had a great time finding humorous pictures relating to our composers and sharing them with one another!  I can see how these kinds of activities could be a great way to reinforce lessons taught  in a more traditional way and would also be a way to differentiate instruction for those who learn in other ways.
     I also learned how to create a Google form  to use with my community band and put it into use last week to collect data on future dates for concert and member availability. I have decided that technology can actually offer some wonderful tools to ease our workload and simplify some of the things we already do. I plan on using a questionnaire for my Messiah chorus and orchestra as I schedule the rehearsals around instrumental availability! I'm also working on a research project for my ethno-musicology course and will use this as part of the interview process.
  I'm getting excited to learn more ways to use technology in the classroom and in all spheres of life to help make the things I already do easier on an organizational level.

    

WebQuest Annotation(s)

I started out on WebQuest Garden in class, but found so many broken links that I thought I would look farther afield.
I did a google search for  music webquests and found one that looked very promising:
http://www.bestteacherusa.net/MusicWebquest/MusicWebquest.htm

 As I started to research this site a bit, it looked like it would be full of  wonderful resources. Sadly, as I began to click away on some of the links to renaissance music and baroque many of the links were dead. However, the ones that were working had a mixture of really great resources and sites that were full of advertisements. This site was created by two music teachers, Jean Napier and Elizabeth Mulkey  for a 6th through 8th grade music technology class.
Each group of students was to combine elements of music and history and create a sample cd for "aliens" and a powerpoint as described in the activity. There were clear instructions for individual and group activities and a logical sequence to accomplish their goals. 
The site has great graphics, has a page that shows what educational standards for Kansas are met, pages for students and teachers, and provides opportunities for students to study many of the major eras of music history through composers, their works, and instruments of each era.
Because it was created in 2001 and last updated in 2004, only parts of the activity can be accomplished through the links listed. I would imagine that if one wanted to re-create something like this it wouldn't be too hard to find alternate links to substitute. The links that are working contain correct information. I think this is a great activity to engage and enrich students' learning and would be well worth updating or making anew.

Because this site was not usable as is, I decided I wanted to find one that is.
http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/ferdons/502/webquest/start.html
This site is designed for 4th through 6th graders to learn about different instruments in the orchestra. It is well designed, with good graphics and I only found one page that didn't work in the links.
The pages it links to for resources include the San Fransisco Symphony, BBC Symphony, PBS kids and a few other respected and authoritative sites. The webquest was created in 2009 and revised in 2010. It has the required pages for students and for teachers, including the state and national standards that this inquiry based activity will fulfill when completed.
The groups of students are each given a $30,000 grant and are to research the different families and instruments within the families to decide which instruments (and how many of each) should be purchased for their orchestra while staying within their budget. This would be an excellent collaborative and academic activity for this age group and would be a good use of time in and out of the classroom as students will work individually and collaboratively to complete their project and present it in powerpoint form to the class.

Because there aren't a lot of upper music resources readily available  in the webquest area, I think there is plenty of room for those with a technological background and creative mind to add to the existing lessons and offer more opportunities for collaborative music study.

 

Wikis

    First off, may I say that I love the word "wiki." It just has a nice feel to it as it rolls off your tongue! (Seriously, it is a fun word to say! Just try it for yourself!)
The fact that it is Hawaiian for quick is great because I love being able to do things quicker or being able to find a great shortcut. I have enjoyed working with wikis so far and would like to learn more about how to use them in other situations. For example, I direct a community band and when we want to know everyone's availability, it would be great to be able to know how to create a wiki or some other kind of tool that all members could type their availability into and have it compiled. Currently, our secretary has to send out the email to all members, each member replies (some in their own good time) and then she (or I as director) has to compile all the various replies and come up with a list of good dates for us to schedule concerts without too many missing! I know there is probably some great technology tool that will do this, so I am looking forward to finding and using that.
    As a future teacher, I think it would be great to be able to use wikis in the classroom and outside the classroom as well. It might be a way to communicate with parents other than just by email, and would be a great benefit when planning something special, like a Mexican fiesta, or something on that order where students and parents would be bringing or doing things to help make the event a success.
   I can see this as a great way for students to collaborate in the classroom as they work on projects together and really help teach one another. I think this concept really fits in with Vygotsky's "zone of proximal development" theory and the collaborative learning models that help students learn and grow in cooperation rather than competition. Because they are quick, wikis can be made and modified within a few class periods and can cover a lot of ground in a different way than just reading or lectures. I see it as adding some serious spice to the classroom in a way that gets the students involved in their own education. Great idea!

Learning to evaluate Websites

     Website Evaluation:
   This was an interesting assignment. I have never thought about how much there is to evaluate within a website, and the one I evaluated didn't have everything that was on the checklist.
      I learned a lot about what kinds of things one needs to think about when evaluating a website for classroom use, such as the author's credentials and the motive for the website. I know there are a lot of great websites out there and many more are set up all the time. Just by sheer limitations on time available, we will never get to see every wonderful website that would be great for teaching, so a creator really had to do things to make his or her website stand out if they want to have people use it. It needs to be accurate in its information, easy to navigate, and pleasing to the eye. Having some kind of interactive games, or exercises or tools also will help it appeal to younger students, especially if it uses color or gives positive feedback.
       I do want to use more technology in teaching, because I think it can help lighten a teacher's load while speeding the learning process for those who are truly interested in learning. A great tutorial website can also be a wonderful tool for helping those who are struggling without them feeling afraid to ask in front of a classroom full of peers. If every student had access to websites that supported the teaching with podcasts and tutorials and extra exercises, the learning across the whole classroom would be accelerated. I am excited to learn more about how to use these tools and how to organize them so they can be found again when you want them.
   I know I am really going to learn a great deal about technology and am learning a bit more every day.

About me...
I am NOT one of the younger generation who has grown up with computers. In fact, in my first college experience at BYU I actually flunked a computer programming class because I couldn't figure out how to write an "if/then" loop in Fortran. For most people reading this blog, the above probably sounds like Greek (or whatever language you are unfamiliar with) as it did, and still does to me!

I really hope to become more comfortable with technology during this class, as it is one of my areas of fearfulness and trepidation. When I am confronted with instructions for creating things on the computer, my brain just seems to freeze up! I know this doesn't help, but as I see those around me clicking away on their mouse and keyboard and things magically seem to appear in order I become frustrated as I fear falling behind and never catching up.