I created a movie about my scuba diving trip to the Bahamas with my dad in 2002. The process was extremely frustrating at first (I was going to make a movie about my Spain trip but I couldn't find all the pictures I needed in time). My transitions kept getting deleted and I couldn't make the titles work how I wanted to. Today, the second time around, was much better. I quickly made my pictures the correct dpi, imported them into iMovie, and added all the titles, transitions, and music that I wanted to. I was a little worried going in because I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to finish on time, but as I progressed, I relaxed because I finally started understanding the program.
This exercise showed me how useful iMovie will be in the classroom. I can use this as an alternative form of assessment that students will really enjoy. Projects that might not be as engaging, such as learning about different composers and their works, can be turned into something much more fun and enjoyable by making it a video project. I look forward to integrating this into my classroom!
When our class started learning about google docs I wasn't sure how useful it would be. Although I liked them more then the Wiki, I wasn't really convinced I would use them. Well I was wrong, and it only took a couple of days to learn that. My group in another class I'm taking this summer has to give a group powerpoint presentation. Rather than finding time to meet outside of class, we created a google doc instead. Once we've all put our information in, we'll only have to meet to discuss the details of how the information will be presented. I'm excited to say that google docs is turning out to be a nice addition to my technology knowledge!
Technological progress is something that I have trouble with. I recently got a Time Capsule mainly to use as a wireless router, but it happens to back up my computer as well. I was able to get it working in a few hours, but I can't figure out how to connect my printer to make it wireless. I hope to find time in July to fix this problem; until then, I will be printing at school for 2 cents a page. The Time Capsule brought up other dilemmas I have. For instance, I still have VHS tapes at home and a VCR to play them with. Blue Ray is coming out strong, but in order to play them, you must have a new player. It seems like as soon as I update my technology at home, another new device comes out, better and brighter than the one I just purchased. I can't keep up! Fortunately, most technological devices can be updated to support the new software that's out there. I guess I'll be buying a new Blue Ray compatible player in the near future, but at least my computer will be somewhat useful for the next couple of years.
Well our Wiki is up and running (http://www.music486sum09.pbworks.com) and it was not as hard as I had anticipated. Everything is straight forward. So far I have put up two websites so I have three more to go. The woes I speak of in the title are directed toward finding the websites. I already knew of one so the first one was not a problem. The second was not hard to find and assess because I am a violinist so I was able to check the quality of information myself. My goal is to find the rest of the websites by the end of next week!
I looked through some of the "Top Education Blogs" through Blackboard and really enjoyed Bridging Differences posted by Diane Ravitch and Deborah Meier. All of their posts are current and the responses to the posts provide different perspectives. I rely heavily on my own interpretations of the political aspects of education so it's nice to see other opinions that I can contemplate. It's easy to find the most recent articles on education whether it is about NCLB or Research. I also enjoyed LearningReimagined: A New School of Thought. Its goal is to create a new way of teaching that is better for students and teachers. Blogs discuss recent newspaper articles, podcasts, etc. and point out how the public education system is outdated and what should be done to make it current. This topic is of particular interest to me because this is a concern in the music classroom; How do music ensemble directors keep their class fun without jeopardizing its great history? Many teachers shy away from contemporary music. Why? It could be because their own teachers did the same. It could be because they think the music has no content. I do not want to be one of those teachers. There are great contemporary pieces out there to be played, but the teacher must be willing to find them. I want to gain more tools to find innovative ways of teaching and this class has already done that.
(Don't have wiki page up yet . . . hopefully tomorrow!)
Born and raised in Knoxville, TN. Currently at The University of Tennessee working on my master's in music with emphasis in education. Will graduate Spring 2010!
