Musical Assessment and Professional Productivity with Technology

This week topics were about technology and how the teachers use technology administratively. Technology has helped many fields and teaching was no exception. It has helped teachers to be more productive in their classroom. With these organization tools, teachers have more time to focus on the students. The class this week looked at how to be a productive music teacher using theses tools.

When looking at how we are productive we must ask many questions about what we want to teach the students?  How can we keep good records and assessments on the students so they also get the most from administrative time? Can other teachers help with their method of using technology for administrative time? I think theses answers can be easily answered with this week's topic. There are many tools available to the teacher so that they can be more productive and organized.

A tool we worked with this week was Google Docs. This is a free service that is offered from Google and all you need to do is sign up for a new email. The user has many functions to choose from when using Google Docs. Making a newsletter was one of the tasks this week and it was easy to understand how to use the newsletter function. This also allows the user to share the document with other users. The users can make changes and the owner of the document can see who made the changes. This is a great function that can help the teacher provide accurate information in their newsletters.

Quizzes or questionnaires are easily made in Google Docs. This information allows the teacher to get an instant assessment once the quiz or questionnaire is finished. This also can be sent to parents to fill out vital information need for trips or other question the teacher might have. Google Slides allows the user to make a presentation that is saved on Google drive with all the other documents that can be made. You can easily embed YouTube videos or pictures on the information that needs be included in a presentation.

Google’s calendar also can be shared with others. This can be great for teachers who send out performance schedules. This can also allow parents and teacher to effectively communicate with each other. The teacher can also make changes that are updated instantly. Organization can make a student's life easier and can be easily accomplished with a little time. There are great tools out there for the teacher to use to accomplish being organized.

Technology can help the private teacher be more organized and help make their students better. This can happen when the teacher makes his or her own lesson sheet. This allows the students to remember what was coved in their lessons. Financial records let the teacher know when the students have paid for the lesson and also allows for excellent bookkeeping. PayPal is a financial tool that can automatically track when the students make a payment. This also allows the teacher to accept credit cards for a small fee.

Making a personal website is also great for the private teacher. There are many sites that allow the user to make the website for free and included a link to PayPal on their site. The teacher could include a calendar so that students and parents could view their lesson time. They could also change it if the teacher is free on a different day. Whatever the teaching situation technology has enhanced how teachers can assess the students. They can make rubrics and post them so that students know the expectations. With a world of technology, there are many, many options for administrative use and it starts with the teacher. This can use to help create a better environment for the learning.

Musical Assessment and Professional Productivity with Technology

This week topics were about technology and how the teachers use technology administratively. Technology has helped many fields and teaching was no exception. It has helped teachers to be more productive in their classroom. With these organization tools, teachers have more time to focus on the students. The class this week looked at how to be a productive music teacher using theses tools.

When looking at how we are productive we must ask many questions about what we want to teach the students?  How can we keep good records and assessments on the students so they also get the most from administrative time? Can other teachers help with their method of using technology for administrative time? I think theses answers can be easily answered with this week's topic. There are many tools available to the teacher so that they can be more productive and organized.

A tool we worked with this week was Google Docs. This is a free service that is offered from Google and all you need to do is sign up for a new email. The user has many functions to choose from when using Google Docs. Making a newsletter was one of the tasks this week and it was easy to understand how to use the newsletter function. This also allows the user to share the document with other users. The users can make changes and the owner of the document can see who made the changes. This is a great function that can help the teacher provide accurate information in their newsletters.

Quizzes or questionnaires are easily made in Google Docs. This information allows the teacher to get an instant assessment once the quiz or questionnaire is finished. This also can be sent to parents to fill out vital information need for trips or other question the teacher might have. Google Slides allows the user to make a presentation that is saved on Google drive with all the other documents that can be made. You can easily embed YouTube videos or pictures on the information that needs be included in a presentation.

Google’s calendar also can be shared with others. This can be great for teachers who send out performance schedules. This can also allow parents and teacher to effectively communicate with each other. The teacher can also make changes that are updated instantly. Organization can make a student's life easier and can be easily accomplished with a little time. There are great tools out there for the teacher to use to accomplish being organized.

Technology can help the private teacher be more organized and help make their students better. This can happen when the teacher makes his or her own lesson sheet. This allows the students to remember what was coved in their lessons. Financial records let the teacher know when the students have paid for the lesson and also allows for excellent bookkeeping. PayPal is a financial tool that can automatically track when the students make a payment. This also allows the teacher to accept credit cards for a small fee.

Making a personal website is also great for the private teacher. There are many sites that allow the user to make the website for free and included a link to PayPal on their site. The teacher could include a calendar so that students and parents could view their lesson time. They could also change it if the teacher is free on a different day. Whatever the teaching situation technology has enhanced how teachers can assess the students. They can make rubrics and post them so that students know the expectations. With a world of technology, there are many, many options for administrative use and it starts with the teacher. This can use to help create a better environment for the learning.

Instructional Design and Technology

This week the class covered many important topics that can relate music technology and music in the classroom. All the elements covered in the reading related to TPACK. The chapter started with how people learn, Driscoll (2002) describes learning as contextual, active, social, and reflective. Collectively these ideas are often referred to as constructivism. This helps the teacher to form questions about the students learning process. How does the lesson fit in with the goal? What activities keep students actively participating in music? How is the social structure of the class helpful to students focus? Are the goals for learning being met and does it reflect in their learning? These can all be aided with this week reading.

This week we also covered project-based learning, which is wonderful in a classroom setting. It also helps the students with the social skills as they learn that everyone has ideas to add to the group. This can help the students discover new ways to think about the world around them. This can be a wonderful tool to use in music as input from all the students can make them better musicians. Backwards design was also a topic in the chapter. This is a cornerstone of being a musician in my personal opinion. This not only applies to teaching which is a very important skill to have, but it also shows in every performance. If we take a look at backwards design from a preparing music view. It is very easy to see that it fits in with teaching also. The teacher has to start with the big idea or the pieces that would go on a concert. Then we can work backwards and ask many of the questions that need to be answered.

The teacher has to ask how do I get the students to the goal? That is the same as the musician asking how do I get ready for the concert? It can come from following three core steps. Step 1 the learning outcome or what is the student learning from my big idea and how do I get them to learn the task? Most of the major ideas will already be established by a National standard. Step 2 assessment, we have to assess the students to understand if step 1 is working. This allows the teacher to see if the  students are learning or understanding the major idea that needs to be taught. Step 3 planning learning details; the teacher must plan the tasks that will guide the student to the big idea.  All these steps are similar to any concert planning. You would know the concert date, know the audience, and prepare music that is appropriate to the setting. The small details are in also. It is important to remember that all of this is fluid and can change based on the situation or the student.

Logistical support is important to any part of teaching and having technological resources can add to your planning. If you lack logistical support it allows for the teacher to be creative in the process that they must use to get the same outcome. With the internet in most homes this allows the technology to go home with students, this can still be a hurdle with some student. Sharing the world of music can have its own hurdles before introducing it to the students. Copyright Laws can seem like a stopping point, but a little knowledge about their use can have a great advantage for the teacher. Fair use is an important to know for non-profit education institutions. This can allow the teacher to choose many different styles of music to introduce them to the student.

Public domain materials are available and free for the user. This is wonderful for schools that have underfunded music programs and it allows the teacher to be more resourceful. There are many website devoted to public domain music that can help the teacher achieve their goal and help their students. Teachers also have access to creative commons that provides free copyright licenses for use.  Technology in the classroom has helped the teacher reach the student in new ways, but it also can go much further than the classroom. Having a little time and ingenuity can make your students better musicians.