Assessment and Productivity

Two major topics were the focus of learning this week. This post will focus on both generally as well as the application of technology.

Assessment


     Assessment is a key part of the instruction. We use it to discover what students know and are able to do. It is also important for informing instruction over time. Teacher's can use data from assessments to help students address areas of struggle. Formative assessment is particularly useful in this area as it is meant to provide timely feedback for use during the learning process.
 
    In the music classroom, we assess students' musical knowledge and performance. Knowledge can be assessed through written quizzes that can be administered via Google Forms or other electronic means. Kahoot is a social quiz site that makes quizzes more like a game. Students can use their devices to answer questions and receive immediate feedback. Blogs can also provide assessment opportunities of deeper understanding.

   Performances can be assessed with well written rubrics. Checklists and rating scales can also be effective. I have a number of performance rubrics that I keep as Word documents in OneDrive where they can be accessed anywhere. Video and audio recorded performances can be used to assess later. Using Coach's Eye, teachers can provide verbal and visual feedback of performances. This may be especially useful for marching band or specific visual aspects of performance (Bowing, posture, stick heights). Video and audio recordings can also provide students with a good opportunity for self-assessment.

Productivity
 
   A big part of teaching is organization. It is important to be able to keep track of materials, communicate with parents and students, and monitor progress on tasks. Excel spreadsheets can be used to keep track of instruments and music. I also use a word document that students sign when they use school owned instruments. Keeping these documents in electronic form allows for easy editing when buying new music or materials.

   Communicating with parents and students can be improved with technology. I keep an updated website with information and important documents that parents and students can access at any time.  Infinite Campus provides parents with instant access to in-progress grades. Teachers can use campus to create seating charts, print blank spreadsheets, and email parents. Twitter and other social media  can also be used for communication purposes. However, it is important to maintain a professional account for school purposes. Text messages can be sent to students with Remind. This seems particularly useful prior to performances and trips.



   Teaching always comes with a variety of tasks; actual instruction is only a part of what good teachers do. In order to monitor progress on important tasks, teachers can use a note taking service such as Evernote. Having a web or app based note taking service allows for viewing of to-do lists on a variety of devices. Dropbox, OneDrive, and GoogleDrive can remove the need for thumb drives and allow access to documents in the "cloud."

    Using a variety of technologies can really help improve productivity. Needing less time to do non-instructional activities can free up teachers to focus on improving instruction.
   

Instructional Design and a Grab Bag of Other Topics

Instructional design has been the main focus this week. There is exists a great deal of information and ideas concerning good lesson planning and curriculum development. Also, there are a number of applications of technology to aid in the development of lesson plans.

Technology can aid students in acquiring and use background knowledge that is crucial for building lasting understandings. Youtube can provide opportunities for students to see and hear authentic musical examples. Music theory software can help guide students in a development of important knowledge.

Backwards design is an important concepts when designing instruction. "Starting with the end in mind" helps with the development of quality student learning objectives, proper assessments, and quality activities. This discussion of backwards design reminds me of the "twin sins" of lesson design as explained by Wiggins and McTighe (2011). It's all too easy to be mired in developing "fun" activities or trying to meet all the standards. Instead, we should consider what we want students to know and be able to do. Developing instruction from that starting point is something I try to do often.

It's also important to include differentiation in instruction. Each student is unique, and trying to fit all students into one mode of learning only ensures that some will be left behind. Some differentiation is mandated (i.e. IEPs), but a great deal of good can be done by providing students multiple means of building understanding and providing evidence of their learning (assessments).

Webquests have a great deal of potential. Though the concept has been around since the 90's, Webquests can provide students with authentic opportunities to engage with rich media on the web. The main point of Webquests is to provide students with scaffolding. Students can use the web to compile information, sythesize that knowledge, and create new content.

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2011). Understanding by Design: Guide to Creating                              High-Quality Units. Heinle ELT.

Responding to Music

This week's activities were all about responding to music. Through the various assignments, I've found a number of ways I already use technology to aid in students' response to music, and found new ways for engagement.
            First, I use Youtube.com quite frequently to have students hear performances and respond to music. Just this week, I had my 5th grade orchestra students watch a Youtube.com performance and respond with a district wide performance rubric.

I also use a Zoom Q3 recorder to capture rehearsals and performances for student evaluation. Student response is certainly better when they can separate themselves from the performance via a recording. Video recordings may also provide students with an exemplary model for performance on their instrument that may not be available locally. I've found that students really struggle with developing characteristic tone on their instrument unless they are given a model for achievement striving.

        Second, I have found a number of useful technologies that can help my teaching into the future. Zaption is a video uploading service that includes the ability to edit by adding pictures and questions for student learning. For my teaching situation, it would be beneficial to stop video recordings so students can thoughtfully respond to musical performances or biographical videos. With Zaption, I was able to create a video that can help my students consider the important aspects of their arrangement of Hoe Down for the upcoming concert.

    I was also able to review yousician; an interesting resource for individualized learning on guitar. Though the price may be prohibitive, the student specific curriculum that has been developed might provide intrinsic motivation for lifelong learning. I don't feel it is useful as a full group app. However, Yousician can provide opportunities for skill building on guitar that may be difficult or impossible otherwise. There are elements of Yousician that lend themselves to teacher assessment and record keeping. Overall, I would consider using the basic levels of Yousician, but leave the paid version up to parents and students after the beginner course is completed.

Music Performance, Technology, and Audacity

    Music performance often takes the majority of my class time (certainly in ensemble-based classes). It would stand to reason that finding ways to incorporate technology in performance might be the best way to integrate technology for my situation. 

Of the many ways to do this, I found using video modeling and SmartMusic to be the most useful. 

           Providing exemplars for students to see on youtube or other video sources might help students develop their own ability to perform with "characteristic tone and posture. I truly want my students to know the end goal when we work on performance skills. Therefore, they need to hear professionals at the top of their game as a reference for future achievement striving. How will my bass players know what's possible on their instrument until they hear the full range of the instrument?

In addition, recordings can provide students the opportunity for responding to music. Hearing their own performances recorded on a device like the Zoom Q3 that we have in our district might help students better critically assess their own performance (Bauer, 2014, p. 87). Feedback and the ability to self-assess can be bolstered by these and other technologies. 

SmartMusic seems to be the most often mentioned piece of music software for education. Of course, this is not without reason. Use of SmartMusic can make practicing more fun and add important harmonic information that could improve students' development of tonality (Bauer, 2014, p.83). My district has used SmartMusic in the past and it did improve student engagement in practice and lessons. I think  features that can help teach improvisation and tuning may also be helpful (though we never used them). Hopefully, my district can revisit the incorporation of SmartMusic into our curriculum because the seems like the easiest way to swiftly integrate technology in a way that speak to content and pedagogy. 

I also crated a remix of Mah nah Mah nah with audacity. Here are my thoughts:

          

      I enjoyed making this project except for trying to remove jagged edges. It was difficult to make transitions seamless particularly when I used only audio clips that were provided. I decided to make an ABA piece that focused on one of the stranger “grunts” from the song. I used the swing beat primarily in the A section. The sample size shrunk in the B section as it built back to the recap. I would enjoy spending more time refining this project. However, that can become very time consuming as audio is difficult to make “perfect.”

With students, I have used this to make “mashups.” For example, I had my technology class compete to make the best mashup of “moon” songs (“Moon River”, “How High the Moon”, etc.) The best creation would be used in the marching band “pre-show.” This was a fairly successful project, but I’m not certain students would be motivated without the competitive aspect. I would consider having students manipulate audio tracks to “enhance” them or remove unwanted sounds in podcasts. Student’s could also use Audacity much like other DAW’s but it lacks the user-friendly features of regular DAWs. 

Technology and Composition

Composition in Music Education
      
       Composition has had an important role in music education since the inception of the 1994 music standards. Still, composition can be difficult to include in music instruction. I've found it difficult to include in more traditional programs (like my orchestras). Personally, I love to compose; I use notation software to write songs that meet pedagogical needs of my students. However, I'm not always confident how to start teaching composition to my students. I use a strong background in music theory to write music, and my students simply don't have that background yet.
 
    Some great points I am trying to consider are starting with small, highly structured projects, and start at a developmentally appropriate point (Bauer, 2014, p. 61). Perhaps having students write a short phrase using recently learned scales would be appropriate. Early experiences probably shouldn't include notation (especially for my 4th grade students who begin their learning mostly by rote). However, later compositional projects could help reinforce rhythm and notation skills.

   Much like improvisation, aural skills play an important role (Bauer, 2014, p. 61). Helping my students "think in sound" is vital so they can write what they hear rather than the other way around. To this end, I've been including more echo responses to help my students hear rhythm and pitch. The older students have done a good job hearing melodies in a single scale while the younger students need more constraints on note choices, but do a great job hearing rhythms.

The role of technology in music composition

              Technology can go a long way towards assisting with composition in the music classroom. Of course, notation software can be beneficial because it provides students with immediate, aural feedback. However, a symbol-to-sound rather that sound-to symbol approach may be prohibitive to the development of audiation (Bauer, 2014, p. 66).

          Non-traditional means of composition also have their benefits. Web based DAWs like Soundation and Soundtrap can be very effective in helping students compose. I like the inclusion of loops because they afford students the ability to manipulate musical ideas without requiring instrumental skills. Students still need to be able to "think in sound" and make creative decisions while using loops. I've also had students use GarageBand for the Ipad. The virtual instruments included have been fantastic in getting students to manipulate sound; they need to make musical decision in time, but don;t need instrumental skills. The Music Technology class I've taught in the past used GarageBand to great effect. Students made some very musical compositions and also learned a great deal about music theory (chord symbol and pop music based) in the process.
  

     As I continue to include technology in my composition curriculum, I'd like to combine less traditional resources with the instruments students are skilled in playing. Students might create some interesting loops in Soundtrap and then improvise with their violin (or other instrument) by recording with a microphone and audio interface.
    
Another great idea for music composition using Noteflight is on display in this club developed for the Minnetonka, MN schools in this video. The students in the video also reflect on the value of the composition they are doing.

Soundtrap Reflection

              Don't Stop the Groove

  When using Soundtrap, I was able to do a number of things that I heard musically. My composition process when working with a DAW is usually to develop or find (as in a loop) a groove that can be the basis of my composition. Most DAW created works, for me, have less harmonic interest and more rhythmic and layer related interest. Much like Incredibox, musical interest is created by the addition and subtraction of layers. The text (Bauer, 2014) notes the importance of revision as part of the compositional process. Though I didn’t have feedback from classmates or colleagues, I did let the project “incubate” for a while I contemplated edits and re-writes. For students, I would want to have their Soundtrap composition go through several layers of revision including teacher and peer feedback.

                Soundtrap was easy to use. It is similar to Soundation.com, but I found including external sound sources to be less daunting. I was able to use my computer speaker and an audio interface in my recording. I found the Presonus AudioBox 2 extremely easy to use as it required no drivers to download for use. I bought the box for just over $100 and you can find a kit that includes the interface, microphone, cable, and MIDI keyboard for $200 on Musician’s Friend deal of the day today (sorry for it being too late, but this deal usually returns). I didn’t quite know how to split tracks at first, but the tutorials are very informative and the controls are, mostly, intuitive. The Soundtrap people are also great as they are active on twitter and have a live questions box on the site when one of them is online.

                I think Soundtrap could be used to great effect for simple things like recording rehearsals or performances. It could also be a great way to get students to compose with loops. I could see myself creating backing tracks on Soundtrap and then having students record their improvisations and sending the finished product to me. The friendly interface and helpful customer service does set Soundtrap apart for me as a product I might use with students. The free 30 days pro trial is also nice as it includes a TON of great loops an features. 

SoundTrap

Improvisation, Creativity, and the role of Technology

This week I've been considering creativity in music with a specific focus on improvisation. I've also taken time to use two notation programs and weigh their benefits and drawbacks.

Improvisation, the 7-level model, and technology integration
    I've long been fond of improvisation; I tend to take free time to "noodle" on guitar, bass, and other instruments while also being familiar with more formal methods of improvisation. I also had an opportunity of the past few years to play saxophone in a soul band. I'm not a very good saxophonist, but my previous experience with improvisation came in handy and made the group even more enjoyable.

I enjoy the freedom of creating your own melodies in the moment. It can be an especially good way to develop "inner hearing" and is certainly worthwhile for students.
   However, I still struggle with including improvisation in my teaching. I think the biggest concern, and one voiced by colleagues this week, is the lack of time. My rehearsal time is precious so I have to be able to incorporate improvisation in a way that is natural and meets my curricular goals. The best ideas I've considered this week include:
  1. call and response
  2. improvising over an ostinato taken from a difficult rhythm in the literature
  3. improvising over scales used in the warm-up

Providing teacher modeling for all the options and others might prove to be crucial as students build their improvisation skills.

  One colleague made a good point that taking time to improvise will improve student performance generally. This is true, and I think simply trying to incorporate improvisation will show the benefits and make me a "believer." However, you have to take that first risk and I tend to worry about that point. Improvisation does require students to develop better audiation skills (Bauer, 2014). These skills are certainly needed if my goal is to have a skillful, and IN-TUNE orchestra.
 
  As a side note, the continuous worry about time taken away from concert prep makes me see an interesting correlation between our concerts and standardized testing. They both are high takes for teacher, they both take up a large amount of instruction time, and they both might not be the best focus for study. Perhaps more time should be taken aside from concert prep to help students become well-rounded and musically literate.

The  text mentioned a 7-level model described by Kratus (cited by Bauer, 2014). Each step builds towards greater levels of improvisation starting with exploration and ending with personal style. While I would really enjoy having jazz band students who can improvise stylistically, my biggest worry is removing student reticence towards improvising. I believe we don't give students enough time for the exploration phase. As they are beginning instruction, students should be encouraged to "babble" in their instruments; this is especially important if we espouse the belief that improvisation is like speaking a language.
   After giving students the freedom to explore, it is important to lead them through the process of improvisation with useful constraints. Limiting the number of choices (notes, rhythms, etc.) can reduce the cognitive load and help students focus on the act of improvising (Bauer, 2014). This is important as students need a certain level of automaticity at later stages to create musical improvisations.
Also, I think most of my students have been afraid to improvise because they don't know the "right" answer. Providing constraints can help them feel "right" and worry less about failure or peer judgement.

Technology can be useful in a number of ways. GarageBand offers easy ways to eliminate "wrong notes" while also not requiring basic physical skill necessary for playing real guitars, basses, or drums. Teachers can also create interesting loops that can act like "backing tracks" for improvisation.

Jamey Aebersold was a huge help to me as I developed my jazz improvisation skills. I use some of the easy tunes from "Maiden Voyage" as warm-ups during the jazz band season. I have students play the melody and then play the scale or a pattern over the rhythm section. After they play through the "changes" they play the melody again much like a jazz combo would do.


Noteflight and MuseScore

This week I also explored Noteflight and MuseScore 2. Both offered good ways to get students to engage with notation.
  Noteflight is simple and free. Students don't even need to download anything which is a big plus when you need administrator approval to even plug in a printer. The uses are quite limited, but that may actually provide useful constraints. Computer-based composition does not require students be able to write clean notation or even know all of the symbols used in music notation.The measures are automatically fixed for students who may not grasp how many beats are in a measure. Both programs also offer decent playback features which give students instant feedback on their compositions.

  I was most impressed with MuseScore 2. I had previously used the older version of MuseScore and had to work around buggy and awkward parts of the software. To this point, everything makes sense, and there are ways to make a variety of specific edits to the score. The hotkeys are also very useful including simply pressing "r" to copy entire measures rather that cutting and pasting. If you don;t have the money for Finale or Sibelius, I highly suggest MuseScore. I might even do so anyhow, and you can import files from both of those programs.

This week gave a good glimpse into some useful technology for creating music. I hope to continue thinking about applications for technology and find ways to authentically integrate improvisation into my classroom.

References:

Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music Learning Today. New York, NY: Oxford University Press

Noteflight

Noteflight can be an excellent resource for educational settings. It is a browser-based notation program that has many of the same functionalities as other notation programs. There are limitations; the playback is not very realistic, and more complicated functions are unavailable. However, you can do many of the more common notation activities. As an educator, I can write out simple exercises, melodies, and accompaniments that can be printed or shared online. Students can also use Noteflight for their own composition. Playback is extremely beneficial for instant feedback, and files can be sent to the teacher or peers for additional feedback and editing. For me, the best features of Noteflight are that it is web-based and free. Limited budgets and a lack of dedicated computers can stall composition activities. With access to a computer lab and time, composition can be addressed in the curriculum with Noteflight.

Notation program in general, and Noteflight in particular, can help constrain students by avoid a need to draw notation including notes, rhythms, and other music symbols. Notation programs automatically adjust measures to have the correct number of beats which can help students who might struggle with counting. Notation programs also afford students with the ability to playback their compositions for immediate editing. Normally, a student would need to either use a piano or use "inner hearing" to have an idea of how their composition might sound. Noteflight allows students to use a "guess a check" method which might help students create music that better fits their intention.

TPACK and the development of a PLN

   This blog is a place for reflection during my enrollment in Technology Assisted Music Learning. I will take time at the end of each week to synthesize my learning. Viewers of this blog are welcome to post comments and join me in a search for meaningful integration of technology in the music classroom. My current use of technology is minimal and only impacts student learning in the most basic ways. Though not uncommon in music education (Bauer, 2014), a lack of meaningful integration is troublesome.  In fact, teacher training that includes technology has mainly been a point of frustration. This is due, in part, to my inability to see ways to integrate technology that are truly transformative. Why should I use technology to do what I've always done if it doesn't make a difference in teaching and learning?
 
   To start, I teach 4th-12th grade orchestra in a rural district. I also teach a high school beginning guitar class. Our district has made a push for technology by going 1 to 1 in all schools (each student will have a device by the end of next year). We have been inundated with professional development that utilizes technology. Our technology integrationist has pushed for all students and staff to use Onedrive, Schoology, and a variety of other school-based technologies. Overall, it's been difficult to move towards more technology because of a lack of connection to content and pedagogy.

    In his book, Music Learning Today, Dr. Bill Bauer notes the importance of TPACK (2014). While one can learn how to use the technology, it has little value unless connected to content and pedagogy. This connection forms an important part of professional development with technology.

   In all aspects of teaching, we must be able to combine our content knowledge with our understanding of how to teach that content (PCK). For example, I might be a master violinist, but if I don't know how to convey that knowledge to students, I will be a poor teacher. When approaching technology, how it connects with our content and how it is taught is of utmost importance. This is why most technology based professional development doesn't work; it only teaches us how to manipulate the technology. Similar to being taught how to use a screwdriver; it's useless until we know how and when to apply it. We must be able to build TPACK for the technology to be effective. 

      

     Developing one's TPACK is not an easy task. However, having a PLN (personal learning network) can help with the process (Bauer, 2010). During the last week, I've been developing my PLN through twitter and an RSS feed through Feedly.com. Already, I've found twitter to be a great place for professional development. NAfME's twitter account helped with a fantastic article about improvisation in string classes. 

Creativity and Improvisation for String Players  

I also found twitter's search function to be a great way to find tweets by colleagues. A number of hashtags (#) have become valuable for continued learning. 

      Feedly is an excellent place to store RSS feeds for later perusal. I've found a number of sites relevant to my teaching and can check them all in one location rather than going to each site individually. This has already saved valuable time, and lead to some great reading. I found an article about building a guitar culture that I can apply to my teaching situation. There are also great resources for using iPads that I believe will be useful. 

   

     As I continue to explore web-based ways to grow my PLN, I hope to find additional ways to integrate technology that includes an understanding of pedagogy and content knowledge. Though using technology can be daunting, I believe it will lead to better student learning in the long run. 

References:

Bauer, W. I. (2010). Your personal learning network: Professional development on demand.
           Music Educator's Journal, 97, 37-42. DOI: 10.1177/0027432110386383

Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music Learning Today. New York, NY: Oxford University Press