Week 7 Reflection

            I already engage in many of the technologies that Bauer references as ones that increase teacher's productivity. Like most teachers, I use email (although sometimes I think this wastes as much time as it saves considering how many irrelevant emails I receive), texting, and Dropbox. I have a website where I communicate important dates and I enter my grades on the computer. I use Microsoft word to make a variety of teaching materials and to communicate with parents. I prefer to use pen and paper for to-do lists and for my calendar as I tend to get tired of staring at computer screens rather quickly.  I use technology to register my students for festivals and when making traveling plans. Facebook even sometimes serves as an aid in my teaching since I can reach out quickly to many other music teacher contacts with a question or an idea. Thanks to this class, I even have an RSS, which will allow me to stay more up-to-date with educational trends.
           
            Bauer also makes some suggestions that I think could be helpful to me. Creating a database for my music library and for keeping track of musical instruments would be very helpful. Perhaps I could even have some responsible students serve as choral "managers" who could help me with the initial data entry, since it would be fairly time consuming. I also liked the idea of communities of practice. There is only one other music teacher at my school and we have different specialties. Interacting regularly with others and sharing ideas could help me to keep my teaching fresh. Unfortunately I am not aware of any specific examples. (Perhaps our blogs and PLNs are two examples.)

           Technology has obviously given me aid with regard to my personal professional development; I am completing my MME completely online. It was interesting to learn of the superiority of blended learning experiences over face-to-face or online only learning, but it wasn't surprising. A disadvantage is that I would really like to work on my conducting and this really does not allow for that. One aspect that I really like the discussion boards. It's easier to articulate myself in writing rather than orally, and I like that I can learn at my own pace.