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Module 7 Blog Reflection

I really enjoyed the materials of this week because they addressed many teacher duties that can be frustrating and time consuming. However, with the use of technology, many of these tasks can be efficiently done in an organized manner. I actually spent a great deal of time at work this week doing administrative tasks so the materials were extremely relevant. For example, I am in the process of collecting instruments back from students and recording their serial numbers and conditions. The use of Google sheets has been extremely helpful in this process. The assignment with Google forms made me think of different ways in which I would like use it in my classroom. It seems like a great, flexible tool to use for creating tests and quizzes. I especially thought about Google forms the other day when I was entering incoming student information (name, instrument, contact information) and was really struggling to read handwriting. I thought that if they had entered this information through Goo
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Module 6 Blog Reflection

I found many ideas in this week’s materials that are important to my thoughts on teaching. I was especially interested in the discussions on Driscoll’s framework and its descriptions on the different ways people learn. I also liked the ideas on how different technologies can enhance the contextual, social, active, and reflective  elements of learning.  With contextual and social learning, I think technology can play a significant role. I can see how instant access to recordings, videos, and playlists can be useful in showing students examples of music relevant to what they are learning. Students also can use technology to share their music with others. My teaching setting can be isolating for both my students and me. I travel to 5 schools each week, teaching about 30 students at each school. Because I am only in a school once a week, I really have to work to feel in touch with the rest of the school community. My 30 students at each school are the select few who play an instrument
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Module 5 Blog Reflection

This week’s focus was using technology to promote deeper musical understanding in listening to and responding to music. Listening to and responding to music is important to the overall music experience, and has benefits for performing and creating music. Technology allows my students to be able to efficiently access many listening samples at once. For instance, in my teaching setting, I might have students use resources such as Youtube and Spotify to listen to pieces that they are going to perform. The different recordings and videos that exist are good for showing students different interpretations. Students can then respond and discuss which interpretations they preferred and use these responses for their own playing.  One feature of Spotify that is especially helpful in listening to gain understanding of a piece is the suggestions of similar pieces and artists. I noticed this during the Spotify playlist project. This feature helps students listen to pieces and artists that are
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Module 4 Blog Reflection

I really appreciated the materials this week and found them extremely applicable to my teaching settings. I enjoyed the readings and discussions on using technology in a performance ensemble setting. While I would really like to have my students work with technology in creating music, my teaching position is very performance focused and has quite a few limitations on how I can use technology. I teach in five schools a week and see each group of students for 45 minutes. In some schools, I do not have a classroom. The only materials I can use are the ones that I carry with me. I really liked reading about all the ways that I can still use technology to benefit student learning, even with just a laptop or smartphone.  The idea that stood out to me the most in the readings was the use of accompaniment and the benefits that it has for student practice. This is something I would like to incorporate more with students in their lessons. I also think that with the use of programs such as G
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Module 3 Blog Reflection

This week was extremely thought provoking in considering ways to engage students musically outside a traditional performance ensemble setting. Music is a huge part of my students’ culture. While many of these students may not participate in school music programs, it does not mean that they are not participating musically. Many students participate in performing in their communities and listen to and share music with their friends and through the internet. Their lives are very musical outside of school programs and their minds have much potential for musical creativity.  This week’s materials presented several ideas on how to engage students in bringing their own musical lives into the classroom. Composing is one way that students can really express their musical ideas. However, traditional composing can be difficult because it requires fluency in reading and writing musical notation. Even using a notation software can be frustrating to someone who is not accustomed to accessing mu
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Module 2 Blog Reflection

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This week’s focus was on creative musical skills, especially improvisation and composition, and the ways technology can aid both the teacher and the student in those areas. Bauer (2014) offered many suggestions in how technology can help students work on the skills needed to be able to comfortably and fluently improvise. I thought it was interesting that many of the skills are musicianship skills that align with other curriculum goals, such as performing and understanding music theory. One point that I found important was how it is important for an improviser to have opportunities to perform with other musicians. Improvisation is very interactive and conversational, and improvisers need practice and experience in the interactions in order to develop the crucial skills. However, this can be difficult logistically, especially in a school setting. I really liked the alternative solutions in having softwares that help students get the interactive experience without having to deal with the
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Noteflight Project Reflection

Before taking this course, I primarily used Noteflight when I did not have access to Sibelius. The program was very useful for me for several educational purposes. After reviewing the shortcuts for Noteflight this week, I find that note and text entry is pretty efficient and I can see myself continuing to use this program for teaching purposes. Noteflight is a good tool for composing and arranging music for my students. It is also very helpful when I want to write out exercises and etudes that target specific skill and instruments. I have also used it to create accompaniment tracks for pieces so that I can conduct and circulate without being bound to a piano. However, I find that Noteflight’s playback timbres are less sophisticated compared to other notation softwares. Other softwares may be better suited to this last purpose. Other constraints I find with Noteflight are the limited features in the free version. The free version omits certain instruments, does not export part
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