What I've Come Up WIth So Far...

So, I have been searching the web and thinking about what I can really do to change the way I help my students practice at home.  I am just going to list them here as a way to keep the information organized in one place and for others to share their opinions...

These are in no particular order:

• Have students post what they have practiced and for how long on a digital wall (using wallwisher.)  A new wall for each week or month depending on the popularity.  This makes the sharing of practice times more fun and interactive.  Since all posts will be viewable by others, it also enables a bit of competition (and that always seems to push some students.)
  
  
• First few weeks of school, pull more advanced 5th grade students to record tutorial videos:
  *how to put together their instruments
  *how to make a good sound (embouchure)
  *how to play basic notes
  *practice tips
  
  Videos would be saved and searchable on the site as a reference guide (a bit of the Flipped classroom idea.)
  
• Create some screencast tutorials on how to figure out note names and how to read rhythms.
  
  
• Have practice challenges.
  * Have students see how long they can hold a note without changing the sound (using an embedded timer) and then post scores on wallwisher or another type of site (embedded in the practice site)
  
  *Have a composition challenge and have students record/upload into a soundcloud account and post
  
  *Have a challenge song that students can record/upload into a soundcloud account and post
  
  *Have students create a challenge and post it (ie.. can you play 16 notes in one breath?)
  
  
• Have a practice timer embedded into the site so that students can set 10-30 minutes to practice and have the timer make sure it happens.
  
  
• Embed accompaniment tracks for examples in the book

This is what I have come up with so far.... just a bunch of ideas.  I seem to be sticking with the web 2.0 method.  I am not sold on the posting website, but wallwisher seems to be the easiest and most secure to use.  Any other ideas?  Please share!  

I am also thinking of creating better first week resources so we don't jump to the book right away.  I don't exactly like how Standard of Excellence starts with whole notes.  So I might create some of my own resources/song sheets/workbook pages as a start.... Finale, here I come!

Time for a Change

I am enrolled in an instructional technology for educators masters program and in one of my summer classes I have been exposed to some new ideas that have really got me thinking.

One of the concepts we studied was the idea of the Flipped Classroom. The basic idea of that is that instead of assigning repetitive problems (math for instance) for homework, instead the students view teacher created tutorials on how to do a new concept. The next day in class, the students work through problems together. This allows for more student-teacher interaction time and support.

In our readings there was a great quote:

"You can't practice understanding ... practice does not create proficiency."

That started me thinking about the way I teach my lessons and how I expect beginning 4th grade instrumentalists to go home and practice. What does practicing do for them? The struggling students practice, but they do not get better. Why? The reason is that they don’t understand what they are practicing; they do not know that they are playing an example wrong, and then they do not know how to fix it. How can I the teacher solve this problem and help my students become better musicians. How can telling a student to play an example 5 times at home, ensure that they are learning? Maybe I should be telling my students to explore at home and go over the new concepts and skills?

How can we use new ideologies of education and technology to solve this problem?

Here are some ideas that I have been jotting down (mainly as I am involved in this one course) and my goal is to put together a more comprehensive program by the end of the summer to implement.

Feel free to comment, critique, offer suggestions, wants to collaborate, etc!

*Have advanced students create short tutorial videos about how to put together instruments, correct embouchure, how to play notes, read rhythms, etc. Then there would be a tutorial library of basic questions that students might have at home, being taught by their peers (in a language/terms kids would understand.)

*Create screencasts to aid in note reading and basic practicing skills.

*Scrap the lesson book for practice in the beginning. Create an online practice website (free) with accompaniments that review note reading, rhythm reading/playing. Encourage rote playing as well as note reading, tonguing, and correct note duration. The lesson book should only be used in class.

*Home practice should be fun and focused on skill building, not just playing random method book songs.

*Encourage composition and free play as part of the practice routine. Each practice assignment should contain a composition element based on the new skill (ie. write a 16 beat song that contains B, A, and G.) Allow students the ability to record their songs (provide resources) and post on a website for others to see.

*Get rid of practice charts. Instead use a web 2.0 tool for students to record their practicing. By making it interactive and fun, that could cause students to want to practice more.

These are just some ideas that I have jotted down. Once again, I ask for your input. I am not sure where I am going with this yet, but I feel like it is a worthy project to look into. Feel free to leave a comment with your suggestions/criticisms/offers to collaborate, etc. You can also e-mail me at: allison.friedman@me.com

First Real Post of the Summer

So I've been off about a week not (well we had an hour of school last Friday) and so far all I have done is think about school.  I've cleaned out my school e-mail, deleting junk and saving important and/or relevant e-mails.  I have organized, alphabetized, and gone through my personal choral music collection as well as my random sheet music collection (let's just say I have been letting that go for over 3 years).  Just yesterday I made my 2010-2011 folder on my computer and started transferring files, etc.  My plan for the last few days off I have before camp begins is to go through my plans from this year and mark which worked and which did not so that I use that information when I go to update the plans at the end of the summer.

What is wrong with me?  I've been off a week and yet, I have not been off.  I guess a teacher never gets a vacation; always thinking about their students and how to improve their lessons to reach more. 

Oooh... my jwpepper.com order just came -- time to peruse some new chorus songs so that I can plan my concerts for next school year!

Happy planning and Happy Summer all!

It's Summer So Let's Collaborate! (Chorus Music)

The #musedchat Monday night chats have inspired me to start writing this blog again.  Well, I wasn't the best blogger, but maybe now I can start fresh.

My first act as a new and improved blogger is to ask all of you wonderful music teachers out there to collaborate.  Let us share our favorite choral pieces.  Post your favorite piece and make sure to give its name, composer/arranger, and voice type (2 Part, SAB, etc).  Please also give a review of why you and/or your students liked it or why it was so successful.  This could become a great resource!


 

So... Long Time No Post....

So it says my last post was 3 months ago.  I have been quite the bad blogger (and tweeter as well).  Things got busy and this blog forgotten about.  I have done some cool stuff that I definitely need to share.  Hopefully now that I have free time again I will get back into it...  we'll see... hopefully a real update coming within the next month.  Til then...

So its been a few weeks...

So, just realized, wow I haven't posted in a few weeks.  Must be for one of the following reasons:
1) too busy
2) too lazy
3) nothing interesting to report
4) some form of a combination of the above 3!

School has been going well.  November is a wacky month for us, we never have 1 full teaching week either due to holiday, professional development days, or parent/teacher conference days.  I am not sure what class is up to what due to the added confusion of assemblies and trips.  My lesson groups are further behind than in the past due to missing so many lessons.  I am pulling out my hair preparing for this second grade circus we are putting on (trying to teach 9 songs in 9 weeks is not fun) for the first time -- and it seems that I am the only one even doing anything for this show -- and it wasn't even my idea!

On a positive note, my choruses are going to be very ready for the concert.  I was concerned, we have never done a December concert before (always end of January) and I wasn't sure how to simplify my program.  My 4th graders could perform tomorrow -- so I am adding sign language in for a song so we have something to work on.  My 5th graders are not as ready yet -- but we are at the clean-up phase.  The piece I am doing with all the aux percussions is finally coming together and not giving me heart palpitations/nightmares.

My whole podcast initiative is going well too.  I haven't recorded much in the last 2 weeks, but what is there is being listened to a lot.  I have had a lot of positive parent feedback as well.  At our Halloween parade (big whole-school parent event) I was called a rock star in few people's houses, an awesome-cool teacher that their kids are so lucky to have, and some other nice things.  I think my principal is even realizing how popular I am  -- just the other day he told me that I need body guards to protect me from the swarms of kids that are always trying to invade my space (I'm a rock star, what can I say?!).

So yeah that's it pretty much.  Upcoming events that might end up in blog posts:  2nd grade circus (mid-December), my winter concert (1 day before the holiday break), my holiday sing along (the day before the holiday break), HOLIDAY BREAK, auditions for the middle school musical ("13"), our All County Festival, and our All District Festival.

Ok enough rambling for now... until next time

Technology -- What a Wonderful Thing!!!

Been yet another busy week at school.  The last few weeks we have really delved into the music curriculum.  The kinders and 1st graders have been working on loud/soft; the 2nd graders are really preparing for our inter-curricular circus performance; the 3rd graders have been rocking out with B and A on their recorders; 4th grade has been learning all about melodies and are now beginning to write their own melodies to a poem; and finally the 5th graders have been learning about working together, strengthening their rhythmic skills, and other important skills by playing in a drum circle.

So, yes, happy with how things are going so far.  However this week I made a decision!  I am going to use more technology in my classroom.  Well, I am already pretty super-techie in my music class.  I have a SMARTBoard that I use for practically every lesson.  I use iTunes and my iPod religiously.  I edit/chop up songs for any purpose necessarily.  I record my own choral accompaniments.  My class website is not the basic form one that many have and has tons of great information, etc.  You could just say that I am a computer/music-tech nerd!

Well, I wanted to even top that -- this year I am going to get into "podcasting!"  I already have been recording my students on video (class and performances) to use for reflection, assessment, and to just put up on my site.  However, I got two nifty new condenser mics and an M-Audio USB input (from the $$ from our school talent show) and I decided that I need to put them to good use.

My goal is to record at least 1 "podcast" a week.  I do think that the word "podcast" is nothing more than a fancy buzz word for mp3 that you can download off my website, but its a term that makes the kids excited (and even their parents!)

This past week I recorded 2/3 of my 5th grade classes performing their weekly drum circle piece.  I recorded a 3rd grade class playing my favorite recorder song "The BA Blues" (ok I wrote it, but still it rocks!)  I even recorded a 4th grade chorus rehearsal and my 5th grade chorus.

I even spent my whole Saturday off revamping my website with a link to my Podcast's page (which is actually a blog so students can post reflections!).  Don't worry, I didn't give up a social life to do it -- the husband is at work and I am home sick! (germs from the kiddies -- that's a post for another day!)

I think this is gonna be cool.  This is a great way to show off my students' work.  It's easy to do (not as complicated and/or time consuming as remembering to bring in my video camera from home, setting it, and then importing the video).  And, my students completely light up when I tell them they are going to be recorded!  It's like the highlight of their day!  Me on the other hand, I hate being recorded -- actually I used my Macbook Pro's speech feature to record intros to the recordings that I was unable to get a student to do it, instead of doing it myself (the "Alex" voice is kinda awesome)!  

Well enough rambling for one night... check out:  http://mrsfriedmanmusic.blogspot.com  and/or  www.mrsfriedmanmusic.com for a complete sense of music-geekiness!