Thing 23

Wow! I feel as if I have covered years worth of material at hyperspeed! The real issue is the fact that many of these applications have been available to me and my students for years and I did not even know it! I have felt for well over a decade that the traditional classroom and role of a teacher was in need of a major transformation. I could see that the world was quick to change but education was managing to stay dormant. Ten years ago when I suggested that grading should be done by computer and that parents should have access, people in my District looked at me like I had two heads! Today we are actually using it! When I suggested that students are engaged when on the computer and it is a great way to learn (if we can figure out how to teach) teachers thought I was trying to cause trouble. Computers are for spreadsheets and wordprocessing and that is all we are responsible for teaching - actually the computer teacher is the only one responsible... When I suggested to the University Department head that a series of Music and Technology in the classroom courses needed to be developed they gave me a puzzled look. Three years later I received a brochure in the mail with exactly what I had imagined! If we look at what the internet is doing you see creativity all over the place! It is the creative mind on steroids! The Arts as we know it has changed and has become arguably the most important element on the internet!

I have always had the vision of changing the way I deliver curriculum content and have also known that I was just not versed in the things that could help me do it. Through this course it has brought me back to the realization of breaking open the things that I knew I did not know. Nothing BUT 23 things (probably more like 10,023 Things) could be taught to teachers for PD sessions. I plan on fueling the blog that I have already been maintaining with more for my students. Now that I know a better way to organize it all I just pray that the computer be able to keep up with me! Nothing is worse than sitting in front of a computer that does not move... Hey, maybe we can creat 1 minute to-do-lists for those moments. I actually started the practice during this very course!

Unless electricity or another yet to be invented way of powering up our resources is completely cut off (I shudder to think) the internet as our primary means of communication and learning is not going away. The question becomes how to keep up with the changes. We need a pilot school, we need a pilot school district! The role of the educator will be turned into an online lesson planner and moderator, much like the creators of 23Things! School buildings will become obsolete and all of the money saved from that could go into creating smaller teacher pods. Teachers would go to work to create their online classes and have "office" hours online and onsite for students who needed it. There would still be some activities like Band, Orchestra, Choir Rehearsals, Sporting events and practices that one can get the full experience only by participating in them, but even that can change! Imagine being able to practice with your bandmates, each from the comfort of your their home! I am getting ahead of myself again. It probably already exists. But if it doesn't...this time it is in print with a date and time stamp! The door has been opened to me and I will keep on walking. It will start with my blog and explode from there.

I can see a great demand in the field of baby-sitters and memberships to Computer Access "schools"... They might be called "Creative Arts" Institutions.

Thing 22

I started on the Wiki page and realized tht it seems a bit more like working with the coding on MySpace than it does working with blogs. Blogging has much of the work already down and is simply a matter of learning a few simply steps that you can keep using over and over with ease. Much of the formatting is already done for you. The Wiki on the other hand takes more practice, time and knowledge. I tried to add and delete some things on the Wiki but it did not turn out the way I wanted so I deleted the things that did not work for me. It is something that I will need to go back to and spend more time learning.

I beleive there is a simple answer to the question of using one over the other. It depends on whether you want complete control (blog) or you want shared control (Wiki).

http://themusicteacher.wikispaces.com/

Thing 21

The idea of sharing input online with colleagues to create documents and such makes perfect sense. I did not need to be convinced of that. The question that I posed to myself was "how might I use this with my students?".

I really enjoyed exploring the Arbor Heights Wiki. It has so much information about the happenings in the school all located on one site. So many times we send home information solely on a piece of paper or even worse, by telling the students and hoping that they will relay the important information home. This makes things clear and concise for students, parents and school staff. I was wondering how it might be used by a group of people then I thought...it has to be. The P.T.S.A. would be using it to promote their events, Arts, P.E., Classroom Teachers and Coaches etc. would need to use it to promote happenings. By having only one person in charge of an informational site can mean that info never gets put up when they have a busy schedule or forget something. It might be important that the overall feel of the WIKI be agreed to and that trustworthy people are trained and have a common understanding of its purpose. This is where the overseer must come into play. It will take a minute to get use to giving group input but it will be worth the effort! When the info is there the community frustration of "not knowing" gets reduced.

I also really liked the idea of Wikihow. I can see myself starting a "How to" manual for my Instrument classes. How to put a reed on a clarinet, How to form the correct embouchure for the flute...the students would be responsible for creating it using information that they already know or just learned. Even the smallest bit of info could make a world of difference for many students!

Thing 20

This is yet another useful tool to know about and use! In the past I was simiply trying to figure all of this out on my own...eventually I just stopped trying due to lack of time and direction. Thanks yet again for 23 Things!

The podcasts that i subscribed to are:
Classics for Kids
Music History Podcast

I was really pleased to learn that there is so much available through NPR and that it is free! One more reason to support WDET! I was looking for classical music podcasts that did not take long to complete as it is important to keep the children's attention. Classics for Kids looked like a good place to start. The Music History Podcast included more than just information about Western composers, it also had the history of the violin. I thought that was an interesting angle as instrument histories is not usually what one studies in depth in higher education Music History courses.

Education Podcast Network seemed to be a good option for locating appropriate podcasts. The one that I did not like very much was Podcast Alley as the pages were just filled with all kinds of Music and Artist pictures that I would never be interested in. Unless I have a podcast already in mind I simply do not have the time to try and sift through a website which contains a vast amount of content which is inappropriate. To me it was like trying to read the Metro Times with all of those bands... Too much chaos for this old teacher! I appreciate those sites that do much of that work for us. One still must be cautious however as age appropriate content can still be an issue, even on educational sites. It just means that there is less malcontent to encounter which is time saved. I do like I tunes as it cross-references other podcasts (like Amazon.com does with books) to further reduce search time. And, as mentioned above I like NPR programming!

Thing 19

I have been wondering about podcast for quite some time now...I finally have my answer! I had also been thinking about students using and making audio books. After seeing and listening to some I have determined that many will need to be enhanced with pictures. But not all... If something is skillfully written (i.e. Harry Potter) one can fill in the blanks with your own imagination. If you are talking about specific events and people it is helpful to have pictures.

There were several on the list that did not work for me:
Jamestown Elementary
Radio WillowWeb
Long Elementary
Think Like a Leader (I really wanted to know how a teacher taught visually
impaired students to create their own videos!)

Two podcasts that I really enjoyed were:
Storynory http://storynory.com/
G.W.Carver. http://salem.k12.va.us/gwc/podcasts/carvercast.htm

Storynory obviously for the fact afore mentioned that it rpvides story audiobooks for children. I would like to see the same stories told with different voices and even accents. As a Music Teacher I realize that people are attracted to and soothed by different voice types. There is also a difference in how we respond to a male or female voice. It would be nice to have options. There could even be an unexplored emotional element involved. Let's say, Dad is on a trip out of the country (military or otherwise) and he decides to create bedtime story podcasts for his young children. Hmmm...

I really enjoyed the way that Carver Cast was set up. Walk through the toy section of your local department store and just observe what the toys for Fisher price look like. The Carver Cast site reminds me of the same! There is a definite appeal to the set up of the site and the work done by the students is terrific! The children used humor to help capture the attention of the learners. What child doesn't like humor!

I can see vodcast episodes of the Character Education videos that my Performing Arts class wrote and acted out. Wouldn't it be fun to have it first played without the visual aid, give a writing prompt and then watch it with the video feed? So many possibilities!

I do enjoy having some of our Professional Development online as well.

Thing 18

While I explored Google Docs I was wondering how I could post PowerPoint presentations to my blog and Voila! Here it is! PP is another tool that I use not only to teach the students but I also encourage them to create their own. Using that creativity engages them more in their work. They are usually amazed at what they can actually do! I have even had them create and run interactive PP presentations to go along with plays that we have performed.

I really appreciate the fact that I can find presentations already made. The task then becomes trying to find one that is perfect for what you are trying to teach. I find myself using a few from other resources but mostly I make my own.

Music Symbols

View more presentations from elizkeren.

Thing 17

I chose the aplication KNOWTES which is a flashcard site. I found it to be fairly easy to figure out although I could see how I might have set up the program a little bit differently. I could not figure out how to load pictures from the internet, musical symbols in my case, so I chose to create another deck of cards that used text only. My deck is Music Vocabulary: Dynamics. If students are to use the application correctly you will need to take a session to walk them through how to find your group subscription and how to play the game. That is the part that I did not find to be arranged like I might do it in my own classroom. I would have liked to see more options for font as well. Centering the text is also something that i will need to go back and work on. It did not work like my word processor. I also tried to embed it from the site but it gave me an error message even after logging out "Your HTML cannot be accepted: Tag is not closed:

If I were using this in my personal life I might use it for Bible study. It would also be a great way for parents to help their children do their homework or study for tests. In my classroom I may not need this site as I have a Promethean Board with some very similar tools. Even scratch off cards which the students really enjoy. The positive is that it may be used by students for home study.

Thing 16

I was not able to find the document that was set up for us so I skipped ahead and just uploaded one of my own. This application would have been a dream if I had been able to use it when I wrote my Thesis! The constant sending back and forth to my advisor for reading and comments would have been much cleaner. I also love the fact that my documents can be accessed from anywhere without having to email them. I LOVE this application! It could make much of the time spent in staff meetings and PD a thing of the past. What would take 60 minutes could now take 15 and be done at our own pace. Now we just need to make sure that the computers will work as fast as our minds. Sharing will also give us the opportunity to get to know each other and our ideas - something that simply sitting quietly in a large group does not. Our greatest resource is each other and this gives us a better way to tap into that. I can see it helping to make all of us better teachers.

With so much attached to the computer and technology (and in essence a seat) we are going to have to create daily exercises to get our bodies and eyes away from the computers. Is someone working on this?

I can see how powerful this particular application will be for the students as it will give them the feel that they are in a chat room, which is very apealing to them but there will be parameters set. They will be responsible for self-monitoring their work. One of the teachers pointed out that she enjoyed the fact that she could see who is doing the lion share of the work. Very true! I have had many instances in which students emailed me (or tried to) their essays. Many did not make it through the District filter which put us way behind. Students presentations that I needed pulled up could not be located, or I had to scroll though the oodles of District emails just to locate the student's work. Too much lag time! I am so glad to be intruoduced to this application! I can't say it enough!

Thing 15

I must admit that I have not been checking my Bloglines feeds as I did not subscribe to any that I am yet interested in. When I do finally find something worthy I will certainly become more interested in doing so. For me this is one area where less is more. I had a bit of difficulty trying to navigate around and subscribe to a tagged feed for two reasons. The first is that the video pages and the actual Delicious page (as of today) did not match. I tried logging out and going back in without logging in but that did not help either. I finally just copied and pasted. The second reason it took so long was that it took some time before I found a site that actually had a tag feed. All in all I was able to figure it out. I can't wait for more to provide access to feeds!

Thing 14 ibookmarkit

Social bookmarking is not only a wonderful way for Teachers to share with each other and enhance productivity but can be extremely helpful for students as well. Many times students find wonderfully useful sites that they bring to me and this could be an integrated classroom lesson and ongoing assignment. The task of the teacher then becomes moderation of the sites presented while the sites can actually provide much of the instruction! So, how to assess? hmmm...

Thing 13

I am glad to see that there is another way to bookmark. I was always hesitant to bookmark too much as scrolling down to try and find a bookmarked site could take forever! Also, a disadvantage to the "old" way is that if your Promoetheum board is on and students are in front of you, they are scrolling over all of your bookmarks as well! Delicious will provide a tabbed filing system for me and looks to be a wonderful way to share with colleagues. Each of us seem to find different sites on our own time and this is a wonderful way to pool our resources and manpower which is vital now with the vastness of technology. Over the past few years I have tried to get my colleagues to send me their favorite educational sites so I could compile a list for our Department. Websites trickled in one by one over a long and interrupted period of time. This will make it so much easier! I will just send them an instructions sheet for Delicious! Thank you for including this in 23 things!

I can see how planning your tags names carefully will save much time in the future as re-tagging your resources will be time consuming. It would also be wise to try and use the same tagging themes when bookmarking for Departments. A little planning will save a lot of time. So, a District Department Delicious bookmark site is what I have been wanting to create without knowing it! Voila!

Thing 12

I am pretty comfortable with the embedding codes. A few summers past I discovered MySpace and played with it to the point that I became interested in writing my own codes! Then the school year started... I think that I got ahead of myself as I answered your prompt for Thing 12 in Thing 11! What I can tell you is that students (and adults)are eager to express themselves. They want people to know something about them. They are sometimes bold, many times innapropriate but almost always creative! You can learn plenty about people by visiting their MySpace and Facebook pages. Maybe too much. I fear that people feel too safe.

Thing 11

I do not particularly like leaving comments as I prefer to speak with people face to face. There is nothing private about commenting. I can see that receiving comments can be a self-esteem booster. Our youth want to feel noticed and when someone has expressed an interest in them by visiting their online page, well... It allows people a way to secretly "check out" others. Unfortunately it eliminates the face-to-face interaction. What is easy to type is not as easy to say person. I prefer the old fashioned human element. But, I suppose this is a new "form" of communication and human interaction. We are getting to know our own humanness in a totally different light. The internet can give students a safe place to check out the work of other students and can level the playing field with regards to expressing their own curiosity.

There is definitely an unwritten understanding of what should be expressed in comments, blogs or emails. When one misuses the common practice it almost screams out at you! Face-to-face conversations can many times be left up to interpretation and timing but written word is mostly very clear. One must use caution not to type too quickly! We are documenting our thoughts.

Thing 10

Here is a quick video showing one way to oil your trumpet.



Try it at home! This is an example of some of the online learning that I would like students to do at home which is why I chose this particular video. With these types of videos students can learn in "chunks" and can watch the videos over and over while practicing the techniques involved. In this case it was simply oiling your trumpet valves. Something so simple that is taught online can save so much time in the physical classrooom! Then my job becomes finding the right videos for the online course and concentrating on higher level skill building when they are in front of me. Brilliant!

I was able the embed the video but when I tried to download another one (using the URL)through PWNYouTube it did not work. I am trying ZAMZAR but, according to the video I won't be able to tell you for another 45-60 minutes if it worked or not.

Thing 9

YouTube! One of the most useful teaching tools available today! I have been quite frustrated not to be able to use it at school as it is blocked. There have been so many instances in which I wanted access to support videos. If we could get access to any one site it would be YouTube. As a Music Teacher having the examples at my fingertips without having to try and find (and purchase) just the right videos from a catalog is immeasurable! It does not take long to find a preview appropriate videos - that is wonderful. I want access to it for my teaching! Pretty please! My students would LOVE the Honda Choir! Imagine how fun THAT choral Music lesson would be!

I enjoyed the videos that you chose for preview.

Thing 8

BigHugeLabs: Do fun stuff with your photos

Posted using ShareThis

Oh my goodness! This part was so very rewarding! There are so many possibilities for creativity at our fingertips. What was limited in the past can now be done ourselves - and the sky is the limit. Imagine students creating their own trading cards and the learning games to be used in the classroom. No more pouring through catalogs looking for resources or "just the right message" for your walls...simply make it! These sites (especially Big Huge Lab) add a whole new element to the world of creativity and possibility and can be done on an individual, at your own pace basis. The students could actually create meaningful classroom resource sets for the teachers!

I used the Jigsaw puzzles but can see great potential in the memory and sudoku picture games. I was not happy with the montager as it would take quite a bit of time to go through each picture to make sure that they were appropriate. Most of the pictures photos of people, some I would never have included. I would need to explore it more to see about making a montage of computer generated, colorful artwork based on the image that I have in mind. On some of the sites I felt as if I was going around in circles. I lost interest very quickly with those sites that cost money to email my creation. There seem to be plenty of other options. Lots of time must be put in up front to really explore the sites but it is definitely worth it. Let's make sure that we have access to these sites at school so they can be explored and utilized in our classrooms!

BigHugeLabs: Do fun stuff with your photos

BigHugeLabs: Do fun stuff with your photos

Posted using ShareThis

Thing 7

Flickr can easily be used as a classroom or school photo album. Taking pictures to celebrate and document school events will really interest the students. Tagging them can also be a great way of "getting to know" the names of other students and their accomplishments if it is done properly. The issues attached to this would be making sure to have each and every student somehow represented while taking into consideration the concerns of the school District and the Parents as far as posting pictures without the permission of each individual. Very clear guidelines must be set and followed that are understood by all parties involved.

On the flip side I can see the tagging search option becoming an enormous privacy issue. An example would be a student taking a picture (secretly) of someone, doctoring it up and then posting it on Flickr for all to see. The tag search would make it easy for our students to participate in Cyber bullying and slander. We must be clear with them (and anyone who is posting within the school community) what the limits and consequences are.

Copyright and All Rights Reserved are not something that I believe students and many adults take very seriously. These are the kinds of things that we must be teaching as a part of our curriculum and everyday classroom activities. Posters with internet guidelines will become just as important as the ABC's... Training for the entire school community is needed. Assuming that all understand would be a mistake.

For me this particular image captures the spirit and beauty of the Native American Powwow. The vibrant colors and angles make one feel the animation and movement. I recently had a student who was a Native Dancer and had won competitions in his age group. He graced us with two Native American Dances in full costume at one of our Instrumental Music Concert and this picture remided me of that very special experience. It also brought about my own Cherokee heritage. I can see this as an incredibly useful tool in the classroom if we are able to access the site.

2005 Powwow

2005 Powwow
Originally uploaded by Smithsonian Institution

Thing 5

This particular element of the training was a little more involved than I thought it might be. It seems that there are some other things that one must understand about the inner working of the computer than simply clicking on buttons. When I followed the step-by-step instructional videos I found that the result was not akin to the expected outcome. For weblog-ed.com I did not see any of the buttons described so therefore ended up having to copy and paste the url link. Also, to set up the feeds button for bloglines (23 things) I followed the instructions more than once and never ended up with the desired result. There was not a folder for "Links" and when I tried to create a new folder it would not let me change the name from "New Folder". Again I ended up simply copying and pasting. Not knowing what to do to fix the problem can be frustrating. Following a "help link" that leads you to more pages of instructions can also be frustrating as time constraints produce a need for immediate solutions. For the non-technically minded teacher this is a big wake-up call.

The next question will be how to sift through the mounds of information that your blog feeds will provided and how time management will come into play. While teachers are in transition to a new way of teaching in the classroom our leaders will need to be cognizant of our needs which include the nuasances of the teachers changing role. A planned process for the transistion is key to teacher success. This shift requires much planning, time allotted and attention to bring everyone to a level of adequate understanding in which to operate.

One other problem worth noting was an overlay of words which appeared and covered one of the news feeds. Most of the words in the list were "site map 1", "Site map 2", etc. I am not sure where that came from or how to fix it.

Thing 4

Boy, awareness is key! I have used blogs but not to the extent that I read everyone or am interested in reading each post. I generally just scan my wall quickly...I did not know about the RSS although now I can see that our District website coordinator has taken care of this for us through our individual teacher accounts. Not only did I not know what RSS was, but I did not know that there was a need for it! This tool will be appreciated when incorpoating online teaching in my class and I am sure that you are using it as we speak! It really feels great to start learning in this area. Thank you so much for creating this course - and doing it online in a self-paced way!