This week's reading in chapter two helped me to freshen up my knowledge of MIDIs. I remember using them in college for theory and orchestration assignments. We had keyboards connected to to Mac computers and we used Sibelius. Usually I found it easier just to manually write in the note I wanted, so I did not use the MIDI that much. From this week's reading, I learned that a MIDI controller isn't necessarily a keyboard; there are guitar controllers, and drum controllers, among many others. I also learned that there is technology available to allow an acoustic sound to be converted to MIDI.
If the resources and space were available, I think a simple MIDI set up could help my students with compositions. As Dr. Bazan, pointed out in this weeks lecture, it can be time consuming for students to write their compositions on manuscript paper using pen and pencil, and they can't immediately hear what they have written. I remember struggling to figure out how to work the MIDI with Sibelius, so in order for me to integrate this kind of technology, it would need to be a program that I could figure out how to work on my own, that is easy to navigate, and one that was not too difficult for my students to use.
I love that in our chapter three reading, Bauer talks about "the other 80%" (pp. 46). These are the students who are not involved in formal music instruction like band or orchestra, and yet "have strong musical interests and untapped creative potential. Most of my teaching day is spend with this "other 80%". In my school, the program is divided into band and general music; students who do not elect to take band, take general music, which is what I teach. Bauer describes a students named Katie who has had no formal training, but who can play a few chords on a guitar and figure out how to play songs. She took a music technology course and became very enthusiastic and involved with the technology she learned in this class, like GarageBand. Since this is my demographic, I think it is especially important for me to explore ways to engage my students with technology for composition and creativity. I think it will help students who do perhaps do not think of themselves as musical to tap into their musical creativity.
Hi, Maria! As you probably know, I teach general music at an elementary school that houses grades PreK through fifth grade. Like you, I have "the other 80%" at my school. These students are so talented and love music, but they do not participate in chorus. Sometimes they don't participate in chorus because of transportation or schedule issues, or sometimes they are afraid to participate for different reasons. However, I do also teach general music classes where I see all of my students-elementary general music is a requirement for my school district. So, since I do have an opportunity to teach this "other 80%," I plan on exploring software and other technological tools that will be fairly easy to use but will engage them so that they can discover their talent and/or see how important their talent is.
ReplyDeleteI am uncomfortable with technology as well. However, on our companion website, digitalmusicking.com, there are two sources that "stuck out" to me and that I think will benefit my instruction and my students. After you go to the website, you click on "chapter" and then click on "chapter 1." Under "resources" there are two links towards the bottom that will probably help us. They are "TI:ME Technology in Music Education" and "Tpack.org." TI:ME helps teachers apply technology to improve teaching and learning, and Tpack.org addresses all parts of the TPACK teaching model. It is free to register for Tpack, but I am not quite sure about TI:ME. Either way, I plan on using these sites to improve my technological knowledge. Maybe these sites will help you?
Maria,
ReplyDeleteI found it fairly simple to use my computer keyboard for these activities and chose not to use the midi keyboard. The only issue I had was that the programs had no idea which octave I wanted particular notes to be at, so I had to do more work that if I used my midi keyboard. I will have to make sure I try it out in future projects.
In regards to technology, are your students provided personal devices? Do they have smart devices they can use? Much like you, I am trying to think of cost effective ways to use the devices that the students own, or are provided, in order to engage more students! Best of luck with the ideas you come up with, and please share!
The other 80% is so important and many of these students participate in music somewhere - just not at school. They may sing and/or play at their place of worship or in a cultural group. Most likely, they sing with their friends to the music in their playlists. Creating a place for them to explore their music at school is critical.
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