Another fantastic week of new information.
This week changed gears a little bit, focusing on assessments and ways in which to improve productivity in an administrative way.
In regards to assessments, maybe I was missing something but not much of the Module information provided had anything to do with the discussion of assessment. The text dealt with administrative topics mostly, and though the discussion post did get us all talking about how we assess, there was not much background information on it provided. Many of the key concepts in relation to assessment I luckily have been exposed to before, in my creativity class which discussed concepts like validity and reliability, and other classes covered formative and summative assessments. Validity is how well a test actually measures what is claims to measure, and reliability is the degree to which a test obtains consistant results. Formative assessment is a way of continually monitering student progress and providing ongoing feedback, while summative involves the final, or partial assimilation of knowledge obtained, generally via benchmarks. The idea of performance based assessment, or as the text described in an earlier chapter, project-based learning, seems to fit the music education field quite nicely.
Moving onto the administrative side of the learning from this week, I was very pleasantly surprised (again) with the amount of information I did not have, and how easy it was to get caught up to current practices. Thankfully many techniques are already in use, but both the text and supplemental material gave numerous suggestions on ways to improve my current strategies. For instance, I use Facebook, but had never thought about creating a closed group. Using a website with an imbedded calender to keep all student and parents regularly informed, and using Google in ways I did not know existed. Google forms for creating easy and quick assessments, presentations, newsletters, etc are just a few of the ways I did not know the full capabilities that Google could offer. The assignments that involved exploring these possibilities in addition to the calender have opened my eyes in many ways to possibilities I had never previously imagined would be so easy to implement. Marketing in these formats as well as with social media is something I have explored, but not to the depth presented in this Module.
I really enjoy how this class has opened my eyes to many things I had never known about before, and to new ideas of working with the tools I already had in more efficient and productive ways. It might take awhile to get all of this set-up , but I look forward to the challenge.
Now it is time to finish the last few assignments for this course, my WebQuest and E-Porfolio.
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Reflections on Module 6
This week, though interesting and exciting, has me slightly concerned. I (and the rest of my class) learned about WebQuests, a way of utilizing the internet to help facilitate learning of a topic through student led exploration of an open-ended question, thus prompting them to contemplate on a deeper level a the topic. As a results this leads them to a more thorough and well-rounded understanding in which the student(s) come up with an answer or a product that has no particular right answer or possibly not even defined beforehand. We are now tasked to come up with such an assignment via a website that we create largely from scratch.
Learning about the building of website on Lynda.com utilizing Google Sites seems fairly straightforward and not incredibly difficult, though it will take some time. Coming up with an appropriate topic is making my head spin though. So many of the references explored within this module indicate that one should start small, with something that could be completed in roughly a few short days. Most of the ideas that I am exploring seem that they would be much more intensive, and take a longer time to explore and discover. A topic I believe I have focused in on revolves around having students explore numerous ideas on how to produce a good clarinet sound, and what that should sound like, with them comparing their own sound to their new idea they wish to emulate to facilitate the direct future private lessons will take. This idea is not yet fully formed, and I hope I have not bitten off more than I can chew with this project.
This whole project leaves me feeling a little wary, and though I understand the projects specifications, I can only hope my final product gets close to reaching its full potential.
The text and other content from Module 6 explore topics including: Creative Commons, copyright, 21st century skills, project-based learning, backwards design, differentiated instruction, and constructivism. Copyright is a topic that I have not had much experience with, and the ideas of public domain and fair use have always exists as fuzzy concepts for me to wrap my head around. The resources presented in the module helped clear up much of this, and at the very least gives me a way to move forward. Creative Commons is something I knew nothing about at all, and I am amazed a the type of resource this can be for me in the future.
Backwards design is something I've latched onto since a previous class at UF focused on it in detail, and I think it is a wonderful strategy to employ on a regular basis. 21st Century Skills standards, in addition to technology standards, are something (due to not teaching in a public school environment fro a number of years) that I had no idea existed, and is yet another wonderful resource. I am skeptical of educational systems and standards placing TOO much emphasis on 21st century skills, resulting in lack of attention in other areas that would help maintain a high level of educational success in students, but that is a huge topic that is probably best left to its own blog. Constructivism is something that is growing on me as I get more experience with it, and to that end, the idea of project based learning, or essentially as I see it, learning by doing, should be a fundamental aspect of all education. Finally, I had never truly taken the time to think deeply about how using technology could enhance the educational process through differentiated instruction. Reaching all of our students using whatever means necessary should always be one of our goals, but once again I find myself being presented with such an obvious set of techniques/beliefs that I cannot understand where I missed picking them up in the past and feel like I have not been living up to my potential as an instructor and also feel like my students have been missing out. This is probably going overboard, but to a certain degree, I cannot help that this is how I feel.
A lot of eye-opening information this week, and I am just hoping that I can be equal to the task as this course starts to wrap up.
Learning about the building of website on Lynda.com utilizing Google Sites seems fairly straightforward and not incredibly difficult, though it will take some time. Coming up with an appropriate topic is making my head spin though. So many of the references explored within this module indicate that one should start small, with something that could be completed in roughly a few short days. Most of the ideas that I am exploring seem that they would be much more intensive, and take a longer time to explore and discover. A topic I believe I have focused in on revolves around having students explore numerous ideas on how to produce a good clarinet sound, and what that should sound like, with them comparing their own sound to their new idea they wish to emulate to facilitate the direct future private lessons will take. This idea is not yet fully formed, and I hope I have not bitten off more than I can chew with this project.
This whole project leaves me feeling a little wary, and though I understand the projects specifications, I can only hope my final product gets close to reaching its full potential.
The text and other content from Module 6 explore topics including: Creative Commons, copyright, 21st century skills, project-based learning, backwards design, differentiated instruction, and constructivism. Copyright is a topic that I have not had much experience with, and the ideas of public domain and fair use have always exists as fuzzy concepts for me to wrap my head around. The resources presented in the module helped clear up much of this, and at the very least gives me a way to move forward. Creative Commons is something I knew nothing about at all, and I am amazed a the type of resource this can be for me in the future.
Backwards design is something I've latched onto since a previous class at UF focused on it in detail, and I think it is a wonderful strategy to employ on a regular basis. 21st Century Skills standards, in addition to technology standards, are something (due to not teaching in a public school environment fro a number of years) that I had no idea existed, and is yet another wonderful resource. I am skeptical of educational systems and standards placing TOO much emphasis on 21st century skills, resulting in lack of attention in other areas that would help maintain a high level of educational success in students, but that is a huge topic that is probably best left to its own blog. Constructivism is something that is growing on me as I get more experience with it, and to that end, the idea of project based learning, or essentially as I see it, learning by doing, should be a fundamental aspect of all education. Finally, I had never truly taken the time to think deeply about how using technology could enhance the educational process through differentiated instruction. Reaching all of our students using whatever means necessary should always be one of our goals, but once again I find myself being presented with such an obvious set of techniques/beliefs that I cannot understand where I missed picking them up in the past and feel like I have not been living up to my potential as an instructor and also feel like my students have been missing out. This is probably going overboard, but to a certain degree, I cannot help that this is how I feel.
A lot of eye-opening information this week, and I am just hoping that I can be equal to the task as this course starts to wrap up.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Reflection on Module 5
This week we as a class learned how to evaluate instructional software, as described by the text and then through an assignment. The biggest issue I had with this project was in sifting through the countless resources that were provided to choose just one. I was having so much fun exploring different programs and applications that I almost did not have time to narrow it down enough to explore one thoroughly enough for this assignment, but I believe it turned out well. Though through the exploration of all these countless programs I learned about so many more resources that I had no idea even existed. Being able to analyze these into the categories the book describes, tutorial, practice, creativity, games, and the various software types has greatly enhanced how I view music software (Bauer, 2014).
Something completely new to me this week was the social bookmarking aspect. The value that this will have for my life, not just my music performance/education profession, is profound. I was still just bookmarking sites with my browser, always unhappy I could not find it on other computers and devices in addition to becoming very cluttered despite every effort to get organized. Now I have this tool that not only can I set tags to quickly let me navigate to certain sites, but I can highlight information, set sticky notes to remind me about things I thought about the last time I was at the site, and share this information with others in addition to having others be able to share with me. I love this!
I had the opportunity to review other people's Audacity remixes, which was a joy! So many great ideas and talented people exist within this class, and I love learning from them. I was slightly surprised there were so many people that discusses having troubles and frustrations with the program, for I found it to be very simple and intuitive. Even those individuals had neat remixes, but it was nice to finally feel confident where others were struggling. I was not trying to take pleasure in their struggles, but it was a nice change from previous weeks.
Finally, we discussed the issue of responding to music as presented in Chapter 5 of Bauer's book. Through both the reading and discussions this week, many avenues of responding to music were discussed such as listening and videos and discussion, but it was the approach of certain individuals that stood out to me. I have never spent too much time focusing on this aspect of music education, for it seems so ingrained into what learning about music is to me, that I never explored it as much as I should have to find different avenues to present it to students. The ideas of visual listening maps is so simple, yet I have only done it through verbal discussion, which I completely realize was not as effectual. Many ideas expressed this week helped to remind me of ideas and strategies that I may have forgotten, or not utilized to their fullest extent recently.
This was another wonderful week. I love this class, and hope it continues through the finals weeks. Being more than halfway done already, I am already feeling a pain of regret that this learning experience will end, but I am being given countless new and useful strategies that will help me in the future.
Bauer, W. (2014). Music Learning Today: Digital Pedagogy for Creating, Performing, and Responding to Music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Something completely new to me this week was the social bookmarking aspect. The value that this will have for my life, not just my music performance/education profession, is profound. I was still just bookmarking sites with my browser, always unhappy I could not find it on other computers and devices in addition to becoming very cluttered despite every effort to get organized. Now I have this tool that not only can I set tags to quickly let me navigate to certain sites, but I can highlight information, set sticky notes to remind me about things I thought about the last time I was at the site, and share this information with others in addition to having others be able to share with me. I love this!
I had the opportunity to review other people's Audacity remixes, which was a joy! So many great ideas and talented people exist within this class, and I love learning from them. I was slightly surprised there were so many people that discusses having troubles and frustrations with the program, for I found it to be very simple and intuitive. Even those individuals had neat remixes, but it was nice to finally feel confident where others were struggling. I was not trying to take pleasure in their struggles, but it was a nice change from previous weeks.
Finally, we discussed the issue of responding to music as presented in Chapter 5 of Bauer's book. Through both the reading and discussions this week, many avenues of responding to music were discussed such as listening and videos and discussion, but it was the approach of certain individuals that stood out to me. I have never spent too much time focusing on this aspect of music education, for it seems so ingrained into what learning about music is to me, that I never explored it as much as I should have to find different avenues to present it to students. The ideas of visual listening maps is so simple, yet I have only done it through verbal discussion, which I completely realize was not as effectual. Many ideas expressed this week helped to remind me of ideas and strategies that I may have forgotten, or not utilized to their fullest extent recently.
This was another wonderful week. I love this class, and hope it continues through the finals weeks. Being more than halfway done already, I am already feeling a pain of regret that this learning experience will end, but I am being given countless new and useful strategies that will help me in the future.
Bauer, W. (2014). Music Learning Today: Digital Pedagogy for Creating, Performing, and Responding to Music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Reflection on Module 4
Though the previous weeks in this class have been eye opening and interesting, there can be no doubting that from my previous posts, this week has served to be probably the most useful and most enjoyable at the same time.
The text focused on ways to promote technology in helping student performance. The interesting thing that was pointed out was that this could be through helping them attain skill and knowledge. Though as a performer and educator I cannot deny that I am well aware of how background knowledge and time spent away from the actual skill of practicing can undoubtedly help performance, I have never looked at it as a performance task in itself. I found that to be a unique outlook on the methodology to improve and enhance performance. From videos and listening of great performers, it does enhance performance, I just never looked at it from that direction before. Other points that caught my interest were things like interactive white boards (which I have never had the privilege to use), using online tuners and metronomes as opposed to physical ones, and SmartMusic. I had no idea how far SmartMusic had come in the past 5-10 years with the ability to not only intelligently accompany a student, but provide exercises, feedback, and tracking for parents and teachers. I am very jealous of anyone who has this now, and I hope to see how I can incorporate this into my own private clarinet instruction. The discussion this week revolved around this premise, and it seems many are either in my corner where we did not realize all the things we were already doing because it was just natural, yet at the same surprised at how much we could yet do, or segment of the class who appear to already have all of this down and are implementing it regularly to the ability they are able. My hat goes off to all of them.
I also spent more time watching and learning from Lynda.com videos, to the point I felt I have been immersed into a full blown sound course. I might not be able to run sound support for my unit yet, but all the knowledge is their now to get started and learn with some hands on application! So much information regarding both the setting up of a sound system and gets mics set-up, to the integral stages of making a recording sound professional in the editing stages with software. Evening knowing about the different categories of DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) was new to me and will be very useful in how I proceed in establishing my personal/professional setup. Furthermore, though I have used Audacity in the past, I can be honest when I state I did not really know what I was doing, and the course on Audacity was fascinating! I had no idea how much versatility and power the program had, and I cannot wait to dive headlong into the program for my work and instructional purposes. The remix assignment that we had to accomplish was just a blast, and I could easily see myself getting lost in the workings of Audacity just about as much as I already know I can get lost into my newfound PLN (Personal Learning Network).
Finally, we all reviewed each others assignments from last week, compositions constructed on Soundation. I was amazed at the level certain students were able to bring their compositions to, and it made me feel a combination of letdown of my own abilities and encouraged by the knowledge that the program has more to offer than I originally gave it credit for. Still not sold on using it over GarageBand or other applications, but it is worth another try seeing the pieces some of my classmates came up with.
This was a positively fun week of learning and exploring music technology!
The text focused on ways to promote technology in helping student performance. The interesting thing that was pointed out was that this could be through helping them attain skill and knowledge. Though as a performer and educator I cannot deny that I am well aware of how background knowledge and time spent away from the actual skill of practicing can undoubtedly help performance, I have never looked at it as a performance task in itself. I found that to be a unique outlook on the methodology to improve and enhance performance. From videos and listening of great performers, it does enhance performance, I just never looked at it from that direction before. Other points that caught my interest were things like interactive white boards (which I have never had the privilege to use), using online tuners and metronomes as opposed to physical ones, and SmartMusic. I had no idea how far SmartMusic had come in the past 5-10 years with the ability to not only intelligently accompany a student, but provide exercises, feedback, and tracking for parents and teachers. I am very jealous of anyone who has this now, and I hope to see how I can incorporate this into my own private clarinet instruction. The discussion this week revolved around this premise, and it seems many are either in my corner where we did not realize all the things we were already doing because it was just natural, yet at the same surprised at how much we could yet do, or segment of the class who appear to already have all of this down and are implementing it regularly to the ability they are able. My hat goes off to all of them.
I also spent more time watching and learning from Lynda.com videos, to the point I felt I have been immersed into a full blown sound course. I might not be able to run sound support for my unit yet, but all the knowledge is their now to get started and learn with some hands on application! So much information regarding both the setting up of a sound system and gets mics set-up, to the integral stages of making a recording sound professional in the editing stages with software. Evening knowing about the different categories of DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) was new to me and will be very useful in how I proceed in establishing my personal/professional setup. Furthermore, though I have used Audacity in the past, I can be honest when I state I did not really know what I was doing, and the course on Audacity was fascinating! I had no idea how much versatility and power the program had, and I cannot wait to dive headlong into the program for my work and instructional purposes. The remix assignment that we had to accomplish was just a blast, and I could easily see myself getting lost in the workings of Audacity just about as much as I already know I can get lost into my newfound PLN (Personal Learning Network).
Finally, we all reviewed each others assignments from last week, compositions constructed on Soundation. I was amazed at the level certain students were able to bring their compositions to, and it made me feel a combination of letdown of my own abilities and encouraged by the knowledge that the program has more to offer than I originally gave it credit for. Still not sold on using it over GarageBand or other applications, but it is worth another try seeing the pieces some of my classmates came up with.
This was a positively fun week of learning and exploring music technology!
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Reflections on Module 3
Once again, very interesting information being presented in this Module, though I found myself at one point very frustrated. I shall start with that aspect in this reflection, and finish on a "good note."
As a class we were introduced to Soundation, a free to use could-based internet Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). The reading from the text and the lynda.com videos that were watched helped put into perspective what a DAW is (most of which I already knew, at least with a novice's experience). Bauer (2014) offers a nice succinct definition that DAWs "are capable of handling MIDI, digital audio, and loops, allowing the user to record audio, sequence MIDI, edit, mix, add effects, and master" a music production. With such a loft amount of capabilities, I would expect even a free version to be able to accomplish most of those tasks with relative ease. After having used GarageBand, and Apple program, I found Soundation lacking. Similarly to last weeks experience with notation software, but to a greater degree due in large part to the greater complexity of what these programs are meant to offer, I felt disappointed in the program we were meant to learn and use this week. I will once again concede that in part it may be my unfamiliarity to Soundation that makes me feel this way, but especially being able to compare in to another program that I feel I am only beginning to understand (GarageBand) I find it limiting and difficult to use. One exception to this view is its cloud-based sharing functionality. That I find very useful, but in comparison to many benefits that GarageBand has instead with relation to: loops to choose from, ease of manipulating the sounds produced, ease of MIDI controller input, and others, I think I would choose GarageBand over Soundation except in scenarios in which budget prevented the use of GarageBand. Even comparing Soundation to the program that was used to demonstrate DAW capabilities in the lynda.com video (I think it was Logic but I could be wrong) it seemed to lack the power of other programs. When thinking educationally about the affordances and constraints of such programs, I would also vote for ease of use if at all possible. If anything, seeing how much easier GarageBand appears to be (in my opinion) makes me want to explore it further. I say all this mostly because each time I come up with a "problem" or just something I would like to try, it is much quicker to accomplish it with GarageBand due to its ease to be able to figure it out on your own with minimal exploration of the program, or more websites devoted to the program allowing for more chances to find the answer when doing an internet search.
The text and videos also gave explanation as to how sound works in relation to MIDI, digital audio, audio file types and compression. Some particulars I already knew, including terms like frequency (pitch- high or low) and amplitude (loudness) with lynda.com going into more depth about wave forms. Digital recording terminology like sample rate (how many times a sound is sampled per second also measured in frequency) and bit depth (essentially referring to what degree of dynamic range can be measured) were very new to me, and the videos helped explain these in very visually easy to understand methods. I particularly liked the explanation on how wave forms can accentuate or cancel each other out, which is something I have always known, but never mentally translated into audio recording and mixing. Seeing different cables (balanced and unbalanced cables was a completely foreign concept to me) and seeing diagrams of signal flow seemed simplistic but that is exactly what I needed at the stage of prior experience I have with setting up a sound system (which is not much).
The text also delved into composition and how to incorporate technology in an educational setting. Both the use of notation software and DAWs can aid this process, but the text makes very clear that a careful examination of the affordances and constraints must occur, for though technology can help reach students like the "other 80%" (part of our discussion this week on reaching music students who are non-traditional in that they do not take part in a performing ensemble, therefore needing to learn about music in another medium), technology can also sometimes replace necessary skills and knowledge making it almost too easy to create music instead of learning foundational music skills like theory, form, and performance techniques, in particular taking over the requirement for audiation skills. Taking careful stock of the TPACK (discussed in Module 1) to ensure the technology does not become the focal point is key.
So, in summary, this week was partially frustrating, but for the most part it was very functional and sequential information that was presented to me this week, helping to build my foundation and hopefully comfort in all of this in the future.
Bauer, W. (2014). Music Learning Today: Digital Pedagogy for Creating, Performing, and Responding to Music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
As a class we were introduced to Soundation, a free to use could-based internet Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). The reading from the text and the lynda.com videos that were watched helped put into perspective what a DAW is (most of which I already knew, at least with a novice's experience). Bauer (2014) offers a nice succinct definition that DAWs "are capable of handling MIDI, digital audio, and loops, allowing the user to record audio, sequence MIDI, edit, mix, add effects, and master" a music production. With such a loft amount of capabilities, I would expect even a free version to be able to accomplish most of those tasks with relative ease. After having used GarageBand, and Apple program, I found Soundation lacking. Similarly to last weeks experience with notation software, but to a greater degree due in large part to the greater complexity of what these programs are meant to offer, I felt disappointed in the program we were meant to learn and use this week. I will once again concede that in part it may be my unfamiliarity to Soundation that makes me feel this way, but especially being able to compare in to another program that I feel I am only beginning to understand (GarageBand) I find it limiting and difficult to use. One exception to this view is its cloud-based sharing functionality. That I find very useful, but in comparison to many benefits that GarageBand has instead with relation to: loops to choose from, ease of manipulating the sounds produced, ease of MIDI controller input, and others, I think I would choose GarageBand over Soundation except in scenarios in which budget prevented the use of GarageBand. Even comparing Soundation to the program that was used to demonstrate DAW capabilities in the lynda.com video (I think it was Logic but I could be wrong) it seemed to lack the power of other programs. When thinking educationally about the affordances and constraints of such programs, I would also vote for ease of use if at all possible. If anything, seeing how much easier GarageBand appears to be (in my opinion) makes me want to explore it further. I say all this mostly because each time I come up with a "problem" or just something I would like to try, it is much quicker to accomplish it with GarageBand due to its ease to be able to figure it out on your own with minimal exploration of the program, or more websites devoted to the program allowing for more chances to find the answer when doing an internet search.
The text and videos also gave explanation as to how sound works in relation to MIDI, digital audio, audio file types and compression. Some particulars I already knew, including terms like frequency (pitch- high or low) and amplitude (loudness) with lynda.com going into more depth about wave forms. Digital recording terminology like sample rate (how many times a sound is sampled per second also measured in frequency) and bit depth (essentially referring to what degree of dynamic range can be measured) were very new to me, and the videos helped explain these in very visually easy to understand methods. I particularly liked the explanation on how wave forms can accentuate or cancel each other out, which is something I have always known, but never mentally translated into audio recording and mixing. Seeing different cables (balanced and unbalanced cables was a completely foreign concept to me) and seeing diagrams of signal flow seemed simplistic but that is exactly what I needed at the stage of prior experience I have with setting up a sound system (which is not much).
The text also delved into composition and how to incorporate technology in an educational setting. Both the use of notation software and DAWs can aid this process, but the text makes very clear that a careful examination of the affordances and constraints must occur, for though technology can help reach students like the "other 80%" (part of our discussion this week on reaching music students who are non-traditional in that they do not take part in a performing ensemble, therefore needing to learn about music in another medium), technology can also sometimes replace necessary skills and knowledge making it almost too easy to create music instead of learning foundational music skills like theory, form, and performance techniques, in particular taking over the requirement for audiation skills. Taking careful stock of the TPACK (discussed in Module 1) to ensure the technology does not become the focal point is key.
So, in summary, this week was partially frustrating, but for the most part it was very functional and sequential information that was presented to me this week, helping to build my foundation and hopefully comfort in all of this in the future.
Bauer, W. (2014). Music Learning Today: Digital Pedagogy for Creating, Performing, and Responding to Music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Reflections on Module 2
As I started into this week I was not sure exactly what to expect, for though I had been excited about last week's learning, I was honestly feeling a bit overwhelmed about the PLN (personal learning network) still. That feeling may not have changed by this point, but I am finding a new way to manage it, at least within my mind. The fact that there will be more information than I know what to do with, process, and have time to sift through is not likely to change, and I needed to just accept that fact. After doing so, it was easy to move on and whenever an opportunity would arise for me to peruse my PLN, I knew it would always have very interesting information to provide to me. There seemed to be a focus on practicing this week. Through Feedly and the Digital Musicking group there appeared to be a constantly influx of new articles and "research" on structure to practicing from the physical methods to mental conceptualizations and whether certain long held beliefs actually work. Fascinating information, though I cannot say I found anything that held definitive proof to sway me into believe certain methods are more effective than others.
Onto the actual course content for the week, much of the reading was centered around the creative aspect of music, which was reminiscent of the Music Creativity class that I took with University of Florida only roughly one semester ago. What was different about this approach was that the text outlined and narrowed down not only the poignant areas to focus on in terms of curricular activities and outcomes (Bauer, 2014, p.47) but also offered possible technology integration solutions through Chapter 3. Bringing up both composition and improvisation (improvisation being the focus of reading for this Module) examples of activities to facilitate learning (often with technology) of musical creativity was a nice overview of techniques that I have thought about before but not necessarily in the context of using technologies affordances. An interesting point was made regarding that these activities help promote audiation, being able to hear sound in one's mind without the reality being played.
A large portion of the class this week in discussion covered our value interpretation of the Kratus "seven-level sequential model for the development of improvisational abilities" (Bauer, 2014, pp. 52-3). I feel that it was a worthwhile discussion, if only to help us focus in on the model. I cannot imagine anyone not finding value in these levels, as they seem very educationally sound in terms of proper scaffolding of learning, just giving specific examples of how to proceed in terms of improvisation. Having these specific were helpful to many in the class, myself included, due to other side of the discussion question from this week that revolved around why more teachers do not include improvisation within their classes, and the resounding answer from most that it is because of lack of skill on the part of the teacher with improvisation, and lack of training on how to teach it. This model provides a nice framework to overcome both obstacles.
This week I learned a little more detail about MIDI, giving me more background knowledge that may come in useful later in the course.
Finally, I spent time learning about free notation programs. Free! I honestly did not know such a thing existed. I have used Finale mostly in the past, but in both my prior teaching experience and a an Army musician, I can wholeheartedly relate to not always having a budget that will facilitate the purchase of Finale or its counterpart Sibelius. Of the two that were explored (MuseScore and Noteflight) I much preferred MuseScore (as a free downloadable program), for it had the most similarities to Finale in my opinion. I realize I might be expressing some biased here however. Though not quite as intuitive as Finale (some functions require more in-depth processes than Finale) MuseScore is something I can see myself utilizing in the future. As for Noteflight, I might enjoy it more if a upgraded and could use the MIDI capabilities, but otherwise it does not seem like it is a complex enough program to arrange or compose with ease. Perhaps this might come with more familiarization and experimentation, but I personally doubt it. I found myself getting frustrated with the program often and not being able to easily find solutions for the issues I was having while attempting to learn to navigate the program, in direct contrast to MuseScore. One element I do recognize as unique is its web-based delivery that does make it appealing for score sharing purposes.
Once again, an interesting week in the class, and I look forward to the next!
Bauer, W. (2014). Music Learning Today: Digital Pedagogy for Creating, Performing, and Responding to Music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Onto the actual course content for the week, much of the reading was centered around the creative aspect of music, which was reminiscent of the Music Creativity class that I took with University of Florida only roughly one semester ago. What was different about this approach was that the text outlined and narrowed down not only the poignant areas to focus on in terms of curricular activities and outcomes (Bauer, 2014, p.47) but also offered possible technology integration solutions through Chapter 3. Bringing up both composition and improvisation (improvisation being the focus of reading for this Module) examples of activities to facilitate learning (often with technology) of musical creativity was a nice overview of techniques that I have thought about before but not necessarily in the context of using technologies affordances. An interesting point was made regarding that these activities help promote audiation, being able to hear sound in one's mind without the reality being played.
A large portion of the class this week in discussion covered our value interpretation of the Kratus "seven-level sequential model for the development of improvisational abilities" (Bauer, 2014, pp. 52-3). I feel that it was a worthwhile discussion, if only to help us focus in on the model. I cannot imagine anyone not finding value in these levels, as they seem very educationally sound in terms of proper scaffolding of learning, just giving specific examples of how to proceed in terms of improvisation. Having these specific were helpful to many in the class, myself included, due to other side of the discussion question from this week that revolved around why more teachers do not include improvisation within their classes, and the resounding answer from most that it is because of lack of skill on the part of the teacher with improvisation, and lack of training on how to teach it. This model provides a nice framework to overcome both obstacles.
This week I learned a little more detail about MIDI, giving me more background knowledge that may come in useful later in the course.
Finally, I spent time learning about free notation programs. Free! I honestly did not know such a thing existed. I have used Finale mostly in the past, but in both my prior teaching experience and a an Army musician, I can wholeheartedly relate to not always having a budget that will facilitate the purchase of Finale or its counterpart Sibelius. Of the two that were explored (MuseScore and Noteflight) I much preferred MuseScore (as a free downloadable program), for it had the most similarities to Finale in my opinion. I realize I might be expressing some biased here however. Though not quite as intuitive as Finale (some functions require more in-depth processes than Finale) MuseScore is something I can see myself utilizing in the future. As for Noteflight, I might enjoy it more if a upgraded and could use the MIDI capabilities, but otherwise it does not seem like it is a complex enough program to arrange or compose with ease. Perhaps this might come with more familiarization and experimentation, but I personally doubt it. I found myself getting frustrated with the program often and not being able to easily find solutions for the issues I was having while attempting to learn to navigate the program, in direct contrast to MuseScore. One element I do recognize as unique is its web-based delivery that does make it appealing for score sharing purposes.
Once again, an interesting week in the class, and I look forward to the next!
Bauer, W. (2014). Music Learning Today: Digital Pedagogy for Creating, Performing, and Responding to Music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
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