In Conclusion

I particularly enjoyed this project. I really like to blog, but I have never used it as a learning tool between peers. I thought that this was a really valuable way for us to learn about blogging, experiment with it's uses, communicate and collaborate, and also learn about other multimedia that is out there. Overall, I found this to be a great multi-purpose activity that I was really engaged in. I have been inspired to branch out and attempt to start blogging with my students rather than just using this as a tool for parent/teacher communication.
I enjoyed learning about things such as wall wisher, flickr, adaptive technology, video and podcast sites, and additional resources. Most of all, many of these I have heard of or used before, but I found it to be so interesting to see how other teachers use them in their room. This proved to be a great way to start new ideas, brainstorm, and "beg, borrow, and steal" as all teachers do. This blogging activity gave us each insight into one another's classrooms to see just how many uses these resources have.

Shutterfly Challenge

http://www.shutterfly.com/classroom-connectionschallenge/?cid=SHARE3SMDAP

This is something that I wanted to share on my blog because I am going to participate in this challenge at my school. This looks like such a great way to share photos and information on a secure site for parents and the community. Shutterfly is very similar to Flickr and it has proven to be a great tool for sharing and updating photos. I not only use this for photos of my students but also personal photos as well.

In this challenge, teachers are asked to create a Shutterfly site, which is a classroom share site where you can share ideas, calendars, schedules, photos, and also comments. This is a great way to get parents and teachers involved in a common project in your school that will promote technology integration, inform parents, share with the community, and also prove to be a great staff collaboration piece, AND you can earn money for your school. I thought that this would be a great resource to share because the share sites look very fun, interesting, and easy to put together. This is another way of making a great student, parent, teacher connection in your room. ENJOY!

Assistive Technology and PD

One thing that occurred to me this week, was how little I have been taught about assistive technologies, and how much I actually should know, considering the nature of my job. All special needs students come to music class, many with assistive technology, and many who need additional manipulatives or additions to their instruments that allow them to have better fine motor skills. As I thought about this, never have I been trained to use any of these things. I remember my first day of teaching a class that had 7 or 8 students with FM radios and cochlear implants, and interpreters, and I was going to teach them music? It seemed crazy to me. Never was I taught to use the FM radio, which they're not that difficult, but it does take some getting used to. Also, never have I received any professional development regarding how I can best assist these students with their needs.

As an educator, we want to feel successful, much less competent with the materials that we are using to teach our students. As I thought about our assistive technology topic for the week, I realized how little I actually knew about assistive technology, and that everything I know now, I learned in a trial by fire situation. I can't help but think, wouldn't these students be more successful, if their teachers felt successful teaching them? I suppose I feel the same way that some teachers who may have less experience feel about technology integration. It takes a while to realize that you just have to jump in and try, and be okay with failing in front of your students. It's funny how some students have a perception that their teachers are perfect.

I can't help but think that some professional development would be time well spent on this topic, especially since I do teach all of the students in my school with special needs. Certainly, I would feel more comfortable with these students with some kind of training in this area. It is a shame that we don't take time to learn and master things before we implement or before we are expected to use things successfully under pressure.

Video: The possibilities and the frustrations

I rely heavily on recordings and authentic performances to teach my students many of the concepts and standards in elementary music class. Granted, not everything in a music class needs to be a classical snooze fest, for that matter, I prefer that students get a wide variety of experiences rather than just classical. I want students to understand all types of music, mainly understanding the fundamentals behind the music, so even if they hear something they don't particularly like, they can appreciate something about it and listen to it critically and form and educated opinion about music.


 That being said there is such value in students watching other performances, whether it is a professional recording, other students their own age, a local high school, or a famous singer. Unfortunately, youtube is blocked in our school system. While I understand the reasoning behind blocking youtube, it is a shame because there is a lot of great educational stuff there that would be beneficial for my students. Also, it is so easy to share videos that are on youtube so that students can comment, evaluate,and critique.

In an effort to find something else that could possibly be a good replacement for youtube, I have been looking at teachertube. Teachertube, although it has been around for a while, I haven't looked into it much. After looking up some topics on teachertube, I have to say I was unimpressed with what it had to offer. Not only did I not find it user friendly, there were commercials on every video. I researched some videos for music and was disappointed at what I found. There was little relevancy for music education with what I found. I found plenty of videos for multiplication rap and parodies on studying or the presidents, but not authentic music that will teach students actual musical concepts. I never felt like my searches got me where I wanted to go, and unfortunately found the website to be disappointing. Although youtube is filled with plenty of ridiculousness, it also has some authority and some relevancy as well, as long and you know what to look for. So, personally, I will need to visit some other avenues and will need to rely on CD's, podcasts, and videos that are accessible for now. More on this topic later.