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Music Tech Blog Post Week 4

This week's materials seemed to have a vast amount of information compared to previous weeks. Perhaps, it seems more to me because of the knowledge we are continuing to build upon, or maybe, I am just a little overwhelmed this week between work, school, and home. Maybe, it is both of those reasons. Although whatever the reason, this week is full of many things to discuss, and it has been difficult for me to narrow down my topics.

I appreciated that Bauer (2014) discussed the importance of reviewing the credibility of the technology that educators have or are looking to integrate into their classrooms (pp. 38-39). I remembered most of the points from my undergraduate education technology course. However, it serves as a great reminder. I think it is easy as an educator to forget about those points, and (as it was mentioned in Week 1) to simply employ the technology just to use it to attempt to meet criteria placed on us by administrators.

Personally, this point is extremely important to remember. As we have gone through some of these technologies, I immediately think "That is awesome! I want it!" However, I must restrain myself because of those very reasons listed. Yes. The technologies that we have covered and will cover are amazing, but not all technologies are one size fits all. My goal will be to pick one or two from this course to integrate into my pedagogy/ curriculum before diving headfirst and potentially drowning in a swirl of technology that I am not ready to integrate.

One piece of technology that I think would be easy to integrate are audio recordings. This would be an easy tool to improve my rehearsals . The questions that I will have to answer are: what will I use to record? How often will I record? How will I have my students use the recordings?

I could easily use my phone or iPad. However, it would not be the best quality. I think perhaps investing in my own recording device would be the best way to go for long-term integration. That way when I leave my current position I can take it with me and continue utilizing it in the same manner. With my ensembles being 7-12 and meeting every other day, I probably will not record every rehearsal. Perhaps, I will make a recording once a week. I could have students write a small reflection, goal, and how to achieve that goal as an "Exit Ticket." When we listen to the next recording, I could have students answer if their goals were accomplished and make a new goal to work towards.


Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating,                       
            performing, and  responding to music. New York City: Oxford University
            Press.

Comments

  1. Rebecca TannahillNovember 15, 2017 at 6:17 PM

    Michaela-
    I agree 100% with you about integration of the technology from this course! I feel empowered and excited to try these new-found technologies in my classroom, but I too have to practice restraint and analyze "how would this technology benefit my program".
    I teach general music and definitely want to use more recording software for grading purposes. I have access to Ipads and would love to have students record themselves practicing recorders or taking a test on their recorder. You would be surprised at the quality of an Ipad if it is close enough to the students. I think it would be cool to include students in the assessment by listening to the recordings! That is a great idea! I have my students assess each other constantly as it helps build their skills as musicians.

    Have a great week!,
    Rebecca

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