This is a link to a recording of the Mount Baker Jazz Band in Mount Vernon. I recorded this with the recording equipment I bought through this grant.
Front Burner - MBMS Jazz Band - Directed by Aaron Wagner
This is a fantastic way to allow students to self-asses and reflect on their own learning and performance.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Technology in the Music Room
One of the most important elements of this learning process (grant) for me has been the emphasis on taking small steps. Technology can be overwhelming as one of my partners shared in her posting about the NCCE conference, but we take it one small project at a time..."This week I'll learn how to import names into Easy Grade Pro, next week I hope to upload a video on the school website!" I've been trying to encourage my partners and colleagues with this mantra, "Let a small goal or project that you really need done drive you to learn something new." Then give yourself a pat on the back as you check it off your to-do list!
This video represents a small goal I had. One of the music teachers in our district put a file from iTunes (free) on the district's server for the rest of the music teachers. I was embarassed to admit that the shared drive intimidated me. I didn't know how to use it and often heard people say they had put things there for the purpose of sharing. Anyway, I became determined that I had to figure this out. It had huge potential to help my 6th grade guitar class. Well, as the stories often go, it wasn't difficult to learn how to download from the shared drive (with help from our help desk!) and this free video series from Dave Wish (Little Kids Rock) has improved my guitar class immensely! As you can see, ELL students greatly benefit from this clear, visual resource. Every student in my class has a chance to see how to make the chords and then gets to play along with a rockin' sound track. Dave is entertaining and cool and plays the guitar much better than I do!
One of the most important elements of this learning process (grant) for me has been the emphasis on taking small steps. Technology can be overwhelming as one of my partners shared in her posting about the NCCE conference, but we take it one small project at a time..."This week I'll learn how to import names into Easy Grade Pro, next week I hope to upload a video on the school website!" I've been trying to encourage my partners and colleagues with this mantra, "Let a small goal or project that you really need done drive you to learn something new." Then give yourself a pat on the back as you check it off your to-do list!
This video represents a small goal I had. One of the music teachers in our district put a file from iTunes (free) on the district's server for the rest of the music teachers. I was embarassed to admit that the shared drive intimidated me. I didn't know how to use it and often heard people say they had put things there for the purpose of sharing. Anyway, I became determined that I had to figure this out. It had huge potential to help my 6th grade guitar class. Well, as the stories often go, it wasn't difficult to learn how to download from the shared drive (with help from our help desk!) and this free video series from Dave Wish (Little Kids Rock) has improved my guitar class immensely! As you can see, ELL students greatly benefit from this clear, visual resource. Every student in my class has a chance to see how to make the chords and then gets to play along with a rockin' sound track. Dave is entertaining and cool and plays the guitar much better than I do!
Smartboards
The Smartboard!The Mount Vernon School District has placed a focus and priority on math for the past few years. It is encouraging to find so many resources for the smartboard that provide learning objects and lesson plans for math (and other subjects).
www.theteachersguide.com/InteractiveSitesMathSmartBoard.htm
Jeff has just received the final pieces of his Smartboard. He still needs some help, including Flash on his desktop. Our tech coach can get to that easily, but it's taken a lot of patience to get this far. Jeff is an outstanding first-year teacher and is already doing the research necessary to make the most of his smartboard. Jessica is also just getting started using her board. Both of these teachers have had 30-31 students in their classes all year. Jessica has 12 ELL students in her class. The board has great potential for these students, but also has been a challenge to approach with all the marking and meetings that multiply with larger classes. Jeff is open to new ideas and we have talked about all sorts of cutting edge stuff, such as using cell phones in the classroom. However, as a first year teacher with a large class it has been difficult to venture from the smartboard. During the time it took to install, we did a blogging project together and Jeff used my Flip camera for a project, but I didn't want to create projects that he really didn't have time for just because the smartboard was taking a long time to install completely.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
My first blogpost!
It's been a week since I returned from the NCCE conference in Portland. I have to say it was both inspiring and depressing.
Inspiring: there were so many good sessions to attend. Unfortunately, all the ones I wanted to see were all scheduled at the same time....
I did get to Tammy Worcester's sessions on Technology Tips and Tricks, which inspired me to figure out some way to use PowerPoint in my classroom. I've decided to put the vocab words for my Reading stories on Ppt, and use them to review with my class. Not only do I get the "wow" factor, but the kids get some needed review while learning a new tech skill (you assign a "cat" to be in charge of the "mouse"...)
Annette Lamb's session on WebQuests was amazing--I could have listened to her for the whole conference. The best tip: do a Google search on the subject you want to webquest to see if there's already something you can use...And who knew that if you do a search at books.google.com you can find preview chapters of books--what a great way to get kids hooked on reading!
Sally Bankson was another inspiring presenter--showing how she used her interactive whiteboard with her kindergartners. My take-away from this: I need to be modeling technology use in context for my first graders--and the best part is--they don't know they can't do it, so they are fearless!
I missed the session on Digial Storytelling--but many of the presenters promised their session notes would be up on their website, so I'm hoping a Google search will help me figure this out...or, there's always next year!
The depressing part was--I left feeling very behind the times. It seems as if our district is playing catch-up in the area of technology. Interactive whiteboards, teacher laptops, regular computer lab time, blogs, wikis, digital storytelling....there's a brave new world of education out there, and I feel that I'm doing my students a disservice because I don't have the training, time, or technology to help them navigate it. Many of our students will never learn the skills they need to be successful in the Web 2.0 (or 3.0 or 15.0...) if we don't teach them. I really hope that as the technology bond funds start coming in, that we make wise decisions and give teachers the tools and training they need to ready our students for the future.
Inspiring: there were so many good sessions to attend. Unfortunately, all the ones I wanted to see were all scheduled at the same time....
I did get to Tammy Worcester's sessions on Technology Tips and Tricks, which inspired me to figure out some way to use PowerPoint in my classroom. I've decided to put the vocab words for my Reading stories on Ppt, and use them to review with my class. Not only do I get the "wow" factor, but the kids get some needed review while learning a new tech skill (you assign a "cat" to be in charge of the "mouse"...)
Annette Lamb's session on WebQuests was amazing--I could have listened to her for the whole conference. The best tip: do a Google search on the subject you want to webquest to see if there's already something you can use...And who knew that if you do a search at books.google.com you can find preview chapters of books--what a great way to get kids hooked on reading!
Sally Bankson was another inspiring presenter--showing how she used her interactive whiteboard with her kindergartners. My take-away from this: I need to be modeling technology use in context for my first graders--and the best part is--they don't know they can't do it, so they are fearless!
I missed the session on Digial Storytelling--but many of the presenters promised their session notes would be up on their website, so I'm hoping a Google search will help me figure this out...or, there's always next year!
The depressing part was--I left feeling very behind the times. It seems as if our district is playing catch-up in the area of technology. Interactive whiteboards, teacher laptops, regular computer lab time, blogs, wikis, digital storytelling....there's a brave new world of education out there, and I feel that I'm doing my students a disservice because I don't have the training, time, or technology to help them navigate it. Many of our students will never learn the skills they need to be successful in the Web 2.0 (or 3.0 or 15.0...) if we don't teach them. I really hope that as the technology bond funds start coming in, that we make wise decisions and give teachers the tools and training they need to ready our students for the future.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Question - How can video recording be used as a teaching/learning tool?
Jessica bought a video camera last year with grant funds and this year the music dept. received a FLIP camcorder (used to create Jeff's link).
Here is an example of a video segment that Jeff Ballew created with his class to review a series of social studies lessons.
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=03b0b774c234563bb50f
Jessica bought a video camera last year with grant funds and this year the music dept. received a FLIP camcorder (used to create Jeff's link).
Here is an example of a video segment that Jeff Ballew created with his class to review a series of social studies lessons.
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=03b0b774c234563bb50f
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