Monday, March 15, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
BP8_201032_Comment on Collettes Blog
http://colishizaki.blogspot.com/2010/03/bp42010037discoveringweb20tools.html?showComment=1268609456788_AIe9_BFZLTY0zwNAPGLpacaE1XxH0C-NlB_IeqU7WHso6eeKei8WZVV4XO3N7XZTCJZeOpmFU2HqxdcJFMFPI73rfybZlDl3MUfO7MbThYEOM86cojNF6Q0IG3CsIN07LdX99ZHwDK9bTsjp-ukFtD8hjYoEcp4W98ZuKHGvamQWfoKUiqZgQhDihYOYFOA6XmVDSvWYV9xyShSMrKYWUx7rt-2F0rWycdKxU2Twt1uUpgy7gWF8leQ#c7856358064088174213
BP7_201032_Web2.0Tools2_(box.net)
This week I choose to learn about box.net. This program has some of the same features that Google docs has but also allows you to upload and organized audio and video files. One of my main goals while looking at new web 2.0 tools this week was to find something that would allow me to create files of listening exercises for my AP music theory students. Part of their class and test is being able to listen to a musical example and then write out the sheet music for it. This is very difficult at best and requires lots of practice. The advantages of box.net is that it allows me to put up groups of musical files they can practice with, but also the a recording sheet that lists only the first note for them to use when writing out the music, and it allows me to post the solution music so they can go back and check themselves. I can put as many files as I would like and choose which students have access to which and also see which have accepted my invitation to the site and which have not.
Two minor drawbacks that I have found is that students cannot simply play the mp3 files I have created off the website, they need to download them first (this can also be a plus because they can then load them onto an mp3 player or burn a cd if they wish). The other slight drawback if the because it is a file sharing program it is blocked by our school. Since this is a resource I am planning on having students use this primarily from home this does not make as big of difference as if I were planning on using this in class.
Monday, March 8, 2010
BP5_20102_Discovering Web 2.0 Tools
www.fillanypdf.com is a tool that allows you to take any pdf document and convert it to an interactive form that can also be electronically signed. When trying it out I took my health form that I have band students who will be traveling use, converted it from a word document to a pdf then uploaded it. Then I did a trial run of just doing a one-time fill out, and also having the option to invite others to use it (I invited myself so that I could test it out). This should help to greatly cut down the number of extra forms that I have to print out and give to students because they have lost theirs. However it does to a certain extent take away from students learning to be responsible for themselves. If I can just email this form to a parent or guardian and bypass the students then they have taken no responsibility for themselves and making sure all the necessary paperwork that allows them to travel with us is turned in. On the plus side I could spend considerably less time in class saying “Suzy do you have your forms, Jonny do you have your forms, Betty do you have your forms…”. While there are no direct academic gains that will be created by using this form it has the potential to give me 3-4 minutes of extra time not spent collecting and asking for forms. When spread over the first three weeks of school this has the potential to save 15-20 minuets per week and 45-60 total. What teacher would not love to gain 60 extra minutes of instructional time!
In addition to my form that I have created this could be used for all types of homework assignments where you hope to be able to read you students answers to specific questions. You could use this site for many different applications with in a classroom or school setting and since it is free that makes it even better.
Below is a screen shot of the form I created and what it looks like after entering information into several fields.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
BP3_201031_Google Reader Choices
Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0
This feed provides backgrounds and links on new web 2.0 tools that could be useful in the classroom or to teachers. For example today it sent me information on a online contract/handbook site that allows parents and students to view, sign, and save a class contract or school handbook. As a teacher who uses handbook contracts and instrument rental contracts this is a great site that would cut down on the piles of paper I keep track of. And for parents and students who prefer to do things online it will make their lives easier as well.
Banddirectors.com
This feed posts all new additions to the site. I will show me when top vendors are offering sales on instruments or supplies, when new live concerts are posted or interviews with conducts become available, and when new resources are added (for example a site of site of free mp3 files that can be used in your classroom).
British Journal of Music Education and its U.S. counterpart the Journal of Music Research
These feeds will send me all the articles in the next edition, which allows me to try and stay as up to date as possible music research.
MENC
MENC is the premier organization for music teachers of any discipline to stay abreast of current information, advocacy issues, grant availability, and basically anything happening in our profession.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
BP2_3March2010_Research Educational Blogs
When you enter educational and blog as search terms in any type of engine you get millions of results. One article that was very interested to me was written by Alison Sawmiller who is at the time of publication was a junior high and high school science teacher in Convoy Ohio. There are many different areas covered in the article but the section that most interested me was motivation. When students are allowed to use technology they would normally use everyday as a part of their classroom experience they were much more motivated to not only complete writing assignments but also to complete them at a much higher level. Sawmiller found that when the audience changed from just the teacher and the student was only completing the assignment for a grade, to the entire world being able to see their work all of a sudden students writing in the science classroom became a much more positive experience. I do not have many writing assignment in the music classes I teach but agree that larger and more authentic you make the audience for an assignment the more likely you are to have students meet or exceed your expectations.
Sawmiller, A. (2010). Classroom Blogging: What is the Role in Science Learning?. Clearing House, 83(2), 44-48. Retrieved from Academic Search Primer March 3, 2010.
The second article I choose to really dig into was much more lighthearted. “Internationalizing Technology Teaching with Blogs and Bananas” was a project that teamed up two Australian elementary students, two college students from the US who were studying elementary education, and one current teacher or professor. The project was to come up with a moon vehicle that was entirely edible (don’t want to leave anything behind on your first trip). Elementary and college students each had a blog that they used to exchange photos and information throughout the entire project. Not only did students in both places get a wonderful way to exchange information but also had the chance to learn about international difference such as a cookie in the US is a biscuit in Australia. This turned out to be a fabulous project in many different ways and took the idea of a pen pal and mentor program to a whole new level. The exciting thing to me was that there was so much learned beyond just some college students giving the occasional advice to some far off elementary students.
Davey, S., Smith, W., & Merrill, C. (2009). Internationalizing Technology Teaching with Blogs and Bananas. Technology Teacher, 69(2), 22-26. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database March 3, 2010)
