Technology Integration Plan

Starting my Technology Integration project, I took my past integration plan into action and worked through this lesson in hopes to include technology in a way that is transformative. In order to align the lesson with each step of learning (i.e. Access, Analysis, Evaluate, Communicate, and Produce) the lesson itself had to be reworked for proper integration of technologies. Organizing the information through the use of a matrix, the process of integration was done systematically. Overall, the lesson was generally enhanced by the addition of technologies and I would prefer to use this lesson than my previous one.

The lesson was expanded by added more assignments for creativity and reflection. The students would listen to a piece of music and create stories based on what they think the story of the music is. After each group presented their stories the video that accompanies the music would be watched. As a class we would discuss the similarities and differences in stories. At home, the students would write in their blogs (the students would have an account on Blogger/Blogspot) a reflection of how the lesson went. They would explain their project and justify their decisions in the story-making process. Then, the students would be required to comment on at least 2 other students’ posts. When the students come into the next class they will record themselves performing their story and embedding the video on each of their posts.

The whole process starts with the simple technology of using an Mp3 player but continues on to some higher level computer processing – writing a blog post, uploading a video, and embedding it to the post. The overall instructional goals are to help students think analytically about the subjective nature of sound and help them create meaning, through listening to music. The technological goals listed are to help students work collaboratively and communicatively using technology, among other standards.

Each step of the lesson was processed using each step of the learning process. Access to the material is provided by the Mp3 player and the internet. The students then analyze the piece of music with their own thoughts on what they piece sounds like. As a class, we evaluate what everyone did and debate how the story and music do or do not elicit the proper emotions. The students produce their answers, justify them in a blog post, and create a video to embody the whole lesson. The students finally communicate to other students in order to peer review, using their blogs.

The concept driving this lesson is that each step can include a technology in a meaningful way, if there is a desire to. Instead of writing a paper, the students write using a technology they might be familiar with already. Having the students perform their work is great, but recording it and embedding it into their post makes their process much more tangible and meaningful. By doing this project I have not just added technologies in, but integrated them so that the lesson has taken a completely different shape. The way this lesson is designed, it allows students to do all the great things that the lesson itself had, only now it includes technologies that would never have been used before. Now, the lesson is beginning to prepare students for the technological age they live in. It is vital to teach these technologies and since a computer class is the only way students are going to acquire this education, teaching a lesson for the sake of your content area is not good enough anymore. This lesson has not only become more comprehensive, but it is now completely better off. It offers the more time for reflection, more opportunities to create meaning with the subject material, and even creates a community within the classroom. Just by the integration of technology, lessons can become cutting edge and meaningful to students and teachers.

Technology Integration Matrix

Lesson Used

Class Blogging

Being a person who has a reflection journal and a blog, I find comfort in having a space where I can write my ideas down and post things that I find funny, interesting, or insightful. Though my own blog  is certainly not a professional blog, I think that there is a lot of merit in having one. The concept of blogging is gaining in popularity and put in an academic situation, there could be a lot of gains. Just as I am writing posts for a class, students could post their work online for the teacher and fellow students to look at and reflect. In the music classroom, there could be reflections on pieces of music for the students to write about. There would have to be guidelines as to what a good blog and blog-post constitutes as, but that work would go in to any assessments given to students. The pros of using this format for assessment is that it gets students more accustomed to what the world expects a younger generation to do (type, write well, research on the internet, etc.), it is congruent to what students themselves might be interested in, and it gives students the chance to explore writing in a way that might not be perceived as academic. If you think there might be a problem implementing this, please let me know!

Importance of Recording

As a performer, it is vital that you not only play the part, but also look the part. My colleague Kyle Cosman wrote in a blogpost about the importance of looking the part and I agree with him wholeheartedly. He argued that he saw this amazing marching band perform and was blown away by their sound. But, when he watched them, suddenly the sound was not as good. This is because the performers were stiff and didn’t look like the sound that they were creating. As soon as he closed his eyes the sound was back to being as beautiful as he remembered. This is remarkable because it supports the fact that humans process information in a variety of different ways in order to construct meaning. As vehicles of non-language meaning makers, musicians need to be acutely aware of how we present our meaning both in an auditory sense and a visual sense.

It is for that reason that it is vital for musicians to record themselves to hear what they sound like and see what they look like. If I have a habit of crunching my face up in a frown when I perform, the meaning of Happy Birthday is certainly going to be lost. This in the classroom would be a fantastic form of assessment. There could be mock video auditions where the students record themselves in hope that they will be accepted for some major ensemble. Not only are they getting the practice, the teacher is assessing performance skills (sound and sight), and the students are learning about the uses of modern technology.

Spotify Uses in the Classroom

Looking at a couple of different blogs, I have found a couple posts about Spotify and I feel as though I should weigh in on the conversation. Personally, I use Spotify all the time. They have a great selection of music and I make a lot of cool playlists through discovering new artists on it. In the classroom, it could be a lot of fun to have students add your profile on their account and share playlist they have made or show them interesting artists. This technology would not be used as a key technology of a unit plan but more as one that enhances the lessons. Since the format is easily accessible (free) and user friendly, I think it would be a great tool to use in the classroom.

A simple project could be constructed where students go on the application and find three new artists that they like. They could make a playlist using some of their favorite songs with the new artists and share that with fellow students; sharing playlists on the site is simple using your own profile. A reflection paper could then be written on the whole experience. Was it fun, educational, boring?

Of course, the main problem might be how easily accessible inappropriate material will be. But, I like to think that children are capable of making the right decisions when presented the opportunity. So, I never want to inhibit a child from that chance. Though there is a lot of adult material on Spotify, there is even more on the internet.

Guitar Tech - Worthwhile?

Guitars have a wide array of different technologies associated with them, i.e. tuners, capos, humidifiers, etc. But, one thing that is usually overlooked is the instrument itself. In the age of technology, it was a matter of time before the instruments themselves made the leap. There are a wide array of different styles of guitars ranging from non-technological (acoustic guitars) to completely technology based (electric guitars). But, is it worth talking about in a classroom where we are just learning how to play the instrument?

I tend to think so. I believe that some music teachers believe that to prove that a proper music education has occurred, they have to play well. This is a misguided approach to education that relies on the assumption that to be musically literate means that you play well. This false assumption does not align itself with the values of a proper education because it does not encompass what music education is. Sure we want our students to play at a high level (who doesn't), but there are far more concepts to education than performance. Looking at the standards, I think that message is clear.

In my class, the different styles of guitar would be gone over and the variety of different technologies to make it up. Different pickups, strings, wood, hollow-body/semi-hollow/solid and tuning heads. Doing this lends itself to a more comprehensive study of the guitar and helps students focus on more than their playing for an education.

Remix Reflection

I decided to remix the "Storytelling Through Photography" canvas. When I looked through the post I thought to myself that music in films is a trade that is seldom looked into. I thought of all the melodies and songs that almost as popular as the film itself. The first couple that came to mind were Jaws, Psycho, Harry Potter, and King Kong. Teaching music through the lens of photography, storyboards, and film was a novel idea to me. The actual unit would include lessons on listening, how music evokes emotions, performance techniques, theory lessons, and compositional techniques.

The songs that are included in the movie Toy Story work symbiotically between music, lyrics, and video. They all evoke the message that is trying to be conveyed beautifully as is the case in the video provided from Toy Story 2. The video in the original canvas I kept because it would be used as a connection between physical art and the aural art. Creating music is much like the storyboards presented, there are a lot of ideas that circle around the same idea. The same way these storyboards tell a story, the music is equal in capturing the mood, much like the movie King Kong where the composer Max Steiner perfected the mimicking of music to what is visual.  Being a composer, arranging music to fit a mood, and listening to music critically are some of the actual skills that the music practitioner uses actively.This unit would help transfer what they are learning to the real world as well.

Unit Plan Canvas

I had a fun time making this canvas using PLAY!. Through expanding the ideas of the lesson plan used in previous posts, I created a unit plan that furthers students understanding of music and emotion. The ultimate goal of the unit is for students to compose thoughtful pieces that display some sort of emotion. Thoughtful in the sense that whatever the students create will have to be supported by their ideas. I wanted to create opportunities for students to think critically about music and how it makes them feel, de-stigmatize the somewhat stately persona composing has, and for students to use instruments in a non-typical way (e.g. not in a band/orchestra setting).
I started the canvas with only a vague idea of how the site worked and what I wanted to do. As I worked through each element of the canvas (picture gallery, videos, external sources, etc.) the whole unit became a clear picture in my mind. I wanted this assignment to be as if I was really doing this unit so I looked hard for accurate videos and images that captured what I might try to teach. Each step was taken carefully, like a little side-project within the master plan. At the end, everything came together with each section supporting each other. No section stands alone but together they are a successful foundation for the unit.

Take a look at my canvas here!