Someone (I’m sorry I can’t remember who…maybe @mscofino??) tweeted about this video today and it was really awesome. Yet another way for us to show our non-adopters or our reticent adopters to WHY this tech stuff is important.
Author: Teach2Connect
six degrees of internet separation
This week’s PD session including 3 hours of “personal time” to look into online learning opportunities. As I tweeted, this was an ADD kid’s dream PD. I was able to multi-task link after link looking at all kinds of interesting things in the area of ed tech. Along the way, I found a fellow music ed blogger who just so happens to be a fellow Bearcat! Talk about the world being flat!
Here are some of the things I found that I’m excited about today:
http://urbanmusiceducation.org/
http://www.web2thatworks.com/index.php?title=Main_Page
http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/
Yes!
I’m having a YES moment. Not in a Joyce sense but definitely a YES moment as the long Tuesday ends. Several students have hummed their way down the hall to the new song they learned on recorder today. Proof positive that melodic memory is strong and CAN be taught. I will take this as a success for the day. YES!
wordle.
It’s words. It’s a puzzle. It’s a wordle. http://www.wordle.net Found this site through a dear friend from school, KM. Now trying to determine how to incorporate it into 6th grade’s arts and success curriculum. The ideas are flooding and I must put it through the test of appropriateness and enhancement. Ah, can’t I just jump right in?
empathy.
Today’s 5th grade character lesson was about empathy. The concept of feeling another person’s situation. We practiced the act of walking in another’s shoes by actually doing it. Just up and down the hall was enough to provoke such amazing comments as:
- the shoes I was in were too big. it made me feel like i didn’t want to be in a life that was that big.
- my shoes were too tight–it made me think that sometimes people keep things locked up inside.
- my shoes fit the same as my regular shoes-it reminded me that some people out there have the same problems or situations as I do.
What amazing and profound responses from young minds. Many of these children really took to the idea that we must see the other side and reach out first in compassion. It gives me great hope.
Every Good Boy Does Fine
Every child who has ever played recorder or had music in third grade or taken a piano lesson has uttered the phrase, “Every Good Boy Does Fine”. Each January, my third graders learn this phrase (with an added “on the line”) and FACE (face in the space). Then they write their own mnemonic devices to help them remember the names of treble clef notes. (Highlights from this year include: Emotional Girls Buy Donuts Fast and Elegant Grapes Break During Fights)
An element of fun was added this year by using our tech lab to play a variety of awesome online games for treble clef. My heartfelt thanks to the developers out there creating some really cool stuff to make third grade fun.
The links we used today were:
http://pedaplus.com/flash/treblebeg.html
http://pedaplus.com/flash/treble.html
http://www.purposegames.com/game/2594
http://courses.wcupa.edu/frichmon/usetech/musicalflashcards/tcnotes.html
http://www.classicsforkids.com/games/notename/notename.html
They started to become aware of their understanding and now we can build strategies for them to practice. When the recorders arrive in February, we should be set to go!
Finding Relevance-Honoring MLK-Persistence.
The kids asked today, “why is this inauguration so important?” They could certainly answer the question themselves but to them, children of 1997 and beyond, it seems silly. Why shouldn’t there be a black president? What’s the big deal? While it is amazing to see them grow in a world where judging one by skin color is asinine, it is still important for them to see the historical significance and relevance for today.
In grade four, we “always” perform a speech-instrumental piece at this time of year called “Martin Luther King” (Kriske/DeLelles) It is a great jumping point for connections. The piece is simple but the B section allows for discussions on justice, equal rights, liberty and freedom, “he had a dream that we shall overcome” (those being the lyrics). They all get “he had a dream” but “we shall overcome” is always new. This allowed for great use of technology. We listened to the MLK “We Shall Overcome” speech and several different versions of the spiritual including a video from 2008 of President Elect Obama singing after a speech at Ebeneezer Baptist Church. They also learned the significance of crossed hand holding as a symbol of unity.
The responses of the children were awesome. Particularly their understanding of the hand holding. They truly understood that persistence through a struggle takes unity. This was the point to “drive home”. Seeing the President Elect sing the time-tested spiritual allowed them a connection to today’s time and also a recognition that some things have changed.
inopportune reversion
Google Docs has been down every time I’ve tried to use it in the last two weeks including today as we begin a fresh year. Alas, the blessings of web 2.0 technology go bust when the servers in Mountain View, CA go down. So back to the flash drive I go.
On a different note, first grade made so many great connections today between rhythm and movement. They are really starting to see the difference between beat and rhythm. They can’t exactly always articulate it with the right vocabulary but they can explain how the beat stays steady (pulse) and the rhythm matches the movement or text. Yea!
Happy New Year to All.
concert time.
It is Christmas concert time here at St. John’s. Rehearsals are intense, kids are tired, and the teacher (me) is feeling a twinge of pressure. I am sure that music teachers everywhere go through this process. In order to remain at peace, I’m going to identify my goals–just to reiterate why we do these things.
Goal #1-The kids celebrate the mystery of Christmas in song and dance. (Hopefully, having fun…)
Goal #2-The kids will apply new learning to their performance such as a crossover pattern on the instruments, a new folk dance, or singing in a new language.
Goal #3-The kids have learned the character skills it takes to be a strong performer (courage, positive attitude, persistence, attentiveness, and organization). They are making a CONNECTION between contexts for the value of developing these skills.
Two more days to stay focused!
first timers joy.
I gave my very first workshop today on Multiple Intelligence Theory into Practice for my peers. It was a daunting and exciting challenge. I’m tremendously passionate about implementing MI theory into my teaching practice. I tried to draw a lot of good information and provide some new nuggets of information for my peers.
We had some really great discussions about the role that these intelligences play in our teaching. By identifying our own intelligence strengths we can learn how we play to our own strengths rather than that of our students. We also discussed the merits and detriments of inventorying our own students. I gained a lot of energy from listening to my peers and their positive attitude towards our discussion.
Now that I have given this workshop, it is clear that I can streamline some of the activities, strengthen others, and certainly request more time for a practical application of the strategies. I am still reeling with first timers joy and hope to do this again.
Teach2Connect 