Reflection

So this was better than I thought....which I figured it would be. I am glad we had this. It has certainly openned my eyes to all the resources that are available. My favorite by far was tool #7. I am going to use that for so many things now. I also really like the google docs. That will be a great tool to use for the department, faculty and for my kids.

Tool #11

LAST ONE!!!!!!

We, as teachers, teach much more than just our subject areas. We teach manners, responsibility, discipline, determination and self esteem. So this is no different than the concert etiquette I drill into their precious little heads everyday. I was in middle school when the internet became a household name. There certainly weren't as many websites, wikis, apps, blogs, etc... but I had to learn how to safely use the internet just as they do. We monitor as much as we can and give as much advice as we can but, much like life, we can't do it for them. They have to take what we teach and make their own decisions. I think if we model and show them how to be good stewards of the internet maybe something just might stick.

Tool #10

This one is easy. I have an iPhone so there are tons of apps that I use that I, of course, can download on to my student iTouches. There are 2 piano apps that are great. Mini Piano and FingerLite Piano. I have a metronome app and also one called Tap That. You tap the screen and it tells you what your tempo is. My guitar tuner comes in handy and then there is Shazam that can identify a song you hear. Pandora is a great online radio. I already plan on using the touches to download concert music and I think it will be a great tool in my IB Music class.

Tool #9

So I am not exaclty sure how I would use Jing other than the kids maybe sending sheet music to eachother or youtube clips of choirs to help with rehearsing. I have used Skype. It is a really neat tool. We have actually skyped from classroom to classroom but it would be great to do it from school to school. Perhaps with other choir classes for critique.

Tool #8 Continued

Tool #8

This is a great instructional video by composer Eric Whitacre. He speaks through his composition Lux Aurumque. The jnext one is the actual virtual choir of the Lux Aurumque piece that is videos of people from all over the world singing their voice part. The videos are put together in this video to create the next era in choral music.This will be great for my choir classes as well as my IB class.

Tool #7

This was actually so much fun. I am really glad I did this. I have had a student do it all this time so now I can.... Our trip to NYC..... Enjoy!!!

Tool #6

Much like google docs, I think wikis would be a great tool for the department as well as the students. This is a really good way for them to communicate when working on a group project or doing a classroom discussion. My students are quite familiar with wikis since wikipedia is the first site they go to when starting the research process. I think this will be a great tool when we begin the Middle Years Programme. Kids already know more about technology than we would like and are very good at communicating with each other outside of school (and sometimes inside...) but this would help them on a more professional level. They have to start somewhere.

Tool #5

It is always good to discover new resources and tools. This website that I found through Delicious will really come in handy. In my IB Music class I have to submit recordings of the kids performances. I have a CD recorder but I have not been able to convert the DVDs from choir concerts to CDs to turn in. This will help with that. It also can be used to convert audio files as well as videos so my students can use it in class. http://www.online-convert.com/. On the Diigo sight I joined the educational music group. There are great worksheets and computer games for the kids to play. http://groups.diigo.com/group/educational-music-websites.

Tool #4

Ok so now we are getting somewhere. I think this might really stick. I love google but had never looked at google docs or reader before. The google doc I created is the WAIS Arts Gazette. The Fine Arts department has been wanting to do a monthly newsletter for events, shows and community performances but we have never been able to get our act together (no pun intended). I think with this doc we can all contribute and the whole faculty can view it whenever they like. Now for reader I have selected http://www.theatreport.com/. This website has audition notices for theatres across the city. It is a good thing for the kids to get outside experience. I also posted http://www.houstonsymphony.org/ and http://www.bachsocietyhouston.org/ so kids can see what is going on around town.

Tool #2

So I realize I skipped this tool however.....I have actually done it but apparently nothing seems to be working for me including the 2 Voki's I have created. So here is take 2 of tool 2....
I think PLNs are a great way to get ideas, opinions, comments and to help others out. There are plenty to choose from. I have a facebook but have been very anti for a while now. I don't check it regularly and don't really know how to use it. But I am starting to see that it might actually make my school life a lot easier. I can monitor what the kids are saying after auditions or shows and see what is going on in their lives that they don't tell me but might be affecting their productivity.

Tool #3

So I figured I would wordle with words that make me happy. I know...I know... Type cast. I was browsing Flickr and found this photo which I think is so cool. It is from Colton's_photography by Colton Witt. Not the Colton we know from WAIS that just graduated. I do collages with my middle school where they can express their style of music. The Wordle would be great for my upper school classes. I'm sure they will be much more creative with it than I have been. :)

Getting Started

Take two......

My first go round didn't stick so I am starting over. Hopefully it will take now. The Avatar was neat. Not something I have ever done before. I think the kids would have a lot of fun creating something like that for themselves.

Found my first entry....

This was not as bad as I was expecting. Many of my fellow teachers said it took them up to 2 hours to complete. I guess I had already done half of it so creating the avatar didn't take as long as I was anticipating. I think the kids would have fun with something like that. I wonder if I could have a blog/journal for the music and theory they learn. Perhaps just a weekly entry. It certainly would get them writing (or typing) and would make the music more personal to them.