This week's materials have put me out of my comfort zone somewhat . I always love utilizing technology, but the
The material that discussed Audacity and Soundation was extremely interesting to me. My husband (also a K-12 music teacher) and I play around with GarageBand enough to know how to isolate musical parts to make practice CD's for our students. However, we are by every meaning of the word novices in understanding the capabilities of that software. In our undergraduate careers, we were only required to complete two GarageBand assignments for class piano. This was to be done in the lab with only a single page of instructions. No one Soundation and Audacity to begin to get a better grasp on what the capabilities are. I also think that my experience that I have gained post-undergrad will help me to work through issues as well (i.e. no procrastinating😅) .
I envision so many classroom applications for GarageBand and/or Soundation at my workplace . Currently, there are no offerings of composition utilizing those tools. Like the lecture and book pointed out, there are many musical learning opportunities to be had for the traditional and nontraditional music student. We do have a computer lab. So, I would like to create a composition class for students who do not wish to be in band or choir. In K-8 is required to be in a music class of some sort. At small, rural schools like mine, this becomes difficult because our teaching load and master course schedules make it difficult to incorporate those classes. Currently, my 7th and 8th graders can only choose between band and choir. I'm sure you all can imagine the discipline problems, animosity, and lost recruitment I have in my 7-12 choir because of that. Therefore , I will propose this solution to my administrators: combine 1st & 2nd, 3rd & 4th, and 5th & 6th general music classes. This should make enough room in my schedule to work a nontraditional composition class into my load. This is definitely not ideal, but I must work with what I have as no assistant music teacher position will be created . In fact, I lost my full-time music aid this year, but that's a story for another time.
My current idea for my Capstone Project is to create a compositional curriculum that any educator can take and tweak to fit their unique situation. I see this technology as a great tool to include for those who have the technology available to them. I also see it as a great way to support the reasoning behind why this technology should be offered in all schools. I am excited to see what the rest of this week holds , and I'm sure you all are as well! Have a great week everyone!
I had not thought about applying this composition aspect to my Capstone Project in this way! Thank you for the inspiration! I am quite jealous that you have a built in collaboration with your husband also being a music educator. I, too, have used GarageBand in order to make practice CDs, but I also feel quite like a novice. This week's lecture and the textbook helped me to better understand some mistakes I had been making in the past as I worked with different Digital Audio Software and Digital Audio Hardware. With this week's assignment, I had several different roadblocks that I had to constantly regroup and work around. It was humbling and frustrating. The solutions were pretty simple and eventually easy to get to, so overall, it wasn't a bad situation that I struggled some. I just fear that my students would reach a roadblock and not be able to motivate themselves through it. I see this happen often in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteYour ideas about implementing this technology and passing it onto your students is commendable! Thank you for sharing your great ideas!
I wouldn't be too jealous about my husband and I both being music educators. It is amazing and terrible at the same time. We have times of great collaboration, and we have times of very heated arguments too. We also probably talk about work more than we should. Sometimes we forget that we are more than just music educators. We will be married for two years in June. So, we are still working out how to collaborate without becoming consumed and/or angry.
DeleteI'm slowly working through this week's assignments. So, I am sure I will be coming across some roadblocks as well. I appreciate how you acknowledge that the roadblocks we face will help us to move our students pass them faster! What a great reminder when we get frustrated with technology.
Michaela-
ReplyDeleteI am so glad I clicked on your post! I totally agree that the first section of reading material I read three, four, and maybe five times to get a grasp on what it was talking about. Because I do not utilize MIDI materials and audio feedback, it was hard for me to visualize what the reading was specifically talking about! I am glad I was not the only one who had to go back and reprocess what I read several times!
I have similar goals for you for my students education and offerings. I currently only teach general music so my students do not have course choices, but for the use of technology in the classroom, I want to give my students more options in their learning outlets. I wish the funding was there to make these dreams reality!
Lastly, what a cool idea for your capstone! Your idea has really changed my outlook on what the capstone could be! I thought it would be some research or dissertation on a subject, but the idea of creating something that can be utilized by many colleagues near and far would be a pretty useful project! I love it!
Have a awesome week!,
Rebecca
Michaela,
ReplyDeleteI love your Capstone Project Idea! I think that is fantastic! I like that you have a well thought out plan for implementation.
I also found myself re-reading parts of our assigned pages this week. Although I know how to use most of the technology described, I never understood how it worked before. Most of my technology needs are used in providing practice materials for my chorus students. I would love to be able to take technology and implement it into the composition activities that are already a part of my district's curriculum.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Sarah