This is my last post in the 11 tools series! I hope my posts up until now have been helpful to read, and maybe even a bit enlightening : )
For this last post, I will answer the three questions presented by Karen.
1) After going through this wonderful journey, my favorite tools in my technology toolbox are the Google Apps, specifically the forms, Dropbox, and the collection of pages I have learned about to increase my students' exposure to digital resources. I'm really excited to try out the lesson I mentioned a few blog posts ago regarding the collaboration with the art teacher on the correlation between impressionist art and music. I'm also looking forward to expanding that project later to include the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern artistic and musical eras.
2) In terms of making changes to my classroom to incorporate 21st century technology, I'm looking forward to using my Summer break to create and incorporate more innovative ways to use the technology to teach musical concepts in a different and more meaningful way! I really want the students to take charge of their learning, with my guidance, and find their own path to musical understanding. My thinking has transformed in a way that I need to learn to relinquish control to the students. I shouldn't lecture so much, but rather let the students follow a path of discovery, which will not only help them enjoy the subject, but will also naturally increase the rigor and relevance of what they learn.
3) If there were any unexpected outcomes of this program, I would have to say that I have found that I maybe don't incorporate technology as much as I should. I am an incredibly tech savvy person, and love the technology, but still revert back to the old school method of teaching quite a bit. I don't have an ActivBoard, and have learned to work around that as I had one in my previous school district, but I just need to put more trust in my students to make great choices about their digital citizenship. I need to understand that if I set up an iPod touch or MacBook station, the students need to exercise and practice their digital citizenship. I guess it's a bit like letting go of the training wheels, so to speak. I know that I can do a lot to really make music meaningful for my students, and this program was enormously helpful in introducing me to some great resources to make that happen.
LOL! Yes, it is a bit like "letting go of the training wheels!" However, before we do, we need to make sure that we have given them some skills to safely navigate and exist in the digital world. As Sherwood makes plans for the upcoming school year, it will be worth your time to consider how the campus is addressing digital citizenship so that students are receiving clear and appropriate instruction!
ReplyDeleteGiven that you have a limited amount of time with students, you might consider how you could encourage student participation in the music world outside of class. Could you have a blog or network where students could enter "contests" using Google Forms for some of your content, such as rhythm, genre, "name that tune?" Just a thought.