Picture this quiz...

I feel like this week I am on an assessment kick.  Through another blog post (Free Technology for Teachers) I found a website that allows you to create online quizzes that can be sent directly to your students.  While other online sites like Edmodo.com allow teachers to utilize quizzes and have them sent to classes, Quizbean has the option of adding pictures and diagrams to enhance the multiple choice question format.  As a music teacher, this would be a great way to assess students in any setting from elementary music to high school orchestra to AP Music Theory.  Students can be assessed on their knowledge of note reading, chord progressions, or parts of the instrument by looking at a picture and clicking on the correct answer, and they receive immediate feedback after they answer each question.  Quizzes can be taken in school or at home (for those that have Internet access) and for teachers who want extra protection from students sharing answers, the question order can be randomized each time it is taken.  While only free on a trial basis, there are various levels of paid accounts with a money back guarantee if you are unsatisfied with the program.  Not a bad solution for the teacher looking for a way to quiz a 200 member choir over note names.

EPortfolios and Learning Objectives

As school districts around the country are implementing new teacher evaluation systems, teachers are not only faced with new criteria for themselves but also for their students.  We are now responsible for student achievement through the use of tracking systems and can no longer only rely on test and quiz scores as proof of learning.  Teachers now have to provide Student Learning Objectives (or Student Growth Objectives in New Jersey) and evidence of student achievement through the use of portfolios. At times music teachers are responsible for anywhere from 80 to 200 students (depending on the year and ensemble), and can be overwhelmed with the thought of so many video and audio recordings, concert programs, and performance assessments that need to be collected to meet the new objectives set by the state.  Why put all of the collecting on the teachers when the students can be proactive in their own portfolio building like in a visual art or English class?  With the help of various platforms like GoogleSites and Evernote, students can build their own portfolios by uploading documents, video and audio recordings, and photographs into a file that can be set to either private or public viewing.  Most blogging sites can also serve the same purpose and can be used for free.  Taking some of the portfolio building off of the teachers' shoulders and placing the responsibility with the student will ensure that the teacher has a new way for ongoing, regurlar assessments, the student takes ownership of his or her progress and presentation, and the SLO's are kept track of throughout the school year.

4 Ways to Make Digitial Portofolios

Bolero: In Your Face

Thanks to the social networking site, Facebook, and a former colleague and good friend I am a member of the "School Orchestra and String Teachers, v.2" group.  Now one of my favorite and almost addictive sites, I check it regularly for questions, answers, stories, pictures, and website links posted by my now over 3,000 colleagues in string education from around the world.  Talk about a big personal learning network!!  I have found many funny, inspiring, and thought provoking posts over the past few months.  Questions about bow holds, classroom management, and working with students with learning disabilities are followed up in a matter of minutes with five to ten answers or suggestions and sometimes more questions to clarify what is lost in translation through the internet.  One post that I found memorable from a few weeks ago was this link to a page of the London Symphony Orchestra's website.  Not only do you get to hear and see a world class symphony orchestra perform, in its entirety, Ravel's "Bolero", but you can change the view if what you are seeing.  You can watch the conductor head on as if you were the principal violist, sit in the woodwind section and watch the oboist play his solo, have a panoramic view of the string section, or just simply watch that poor sucker of a percussionist play his snare solo over and over again for the 15-ish minutes that the piece lasts.  What a fun way to see a symphony perform from so far away.  Who wouldn't want to be up close and personal with a world class orchestra?

The London Symphony Orchestra plays Bolero

A replacement for staff paper?

How many times did you find yourself running to the school bookstore for a new note book of staff paper for your theory class that starts in 20 minutes?  I, for one, have about 10 notebooks that are only partially used and are now sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be used for photocopies for my students.  In a world that is going green, many are also going paperless.  What is the wayward music student, recently out of staff paper, to do?  Recently Neuratron, a company with the ability to scan handwritten music into music publishing computer programs, released an app for iPhone and Android that allows one to hand write music on a smart device, using a finger or stylus, and have the device read, recognize, and digitize the new composition.  Much like Sibelius and Finale, one can compose a piece of music for various ensembles, set key and time signatures, and transpose parts.  However, this new app allows a composer on the go to do work without the use of a computer or MIDI keyboard.  For $13.99 it is a bit steep for schools, but for the budding composer or music student, it is a good, on the go app for composing tunes.  As a teacher, this would also be a good tool for students to practice drawing various musical symbols like clefs, notes, and rests.  This would also be a solution to constantly running to the copy machine for staff paper.

NotateMe

Where Worlds Collide

As an orchestra teacher and director I have to face the hard truth that there are many composers and compositions out there that my students just don't know about.  When orchestra and classical music are seen as dying I sometimes find if difficult to make what I teach relevant to my 21st century classroom and students.  The following article has given me an opening to show my students that with the modern world of music technology emerging around us, there is still room for the classics.  From Beethoven to Barber to Orff, DJs are looking back to move forward with their music.  This "mash up" of past and future, electronic and acoustic, brings the standard orchestral literature to my students in a new and exciting way and also opens up a new world of music to those who may have never even considered classical music a listening option.

Soothing the Savage Beat

I am Claire, a student with Kent State University, working towards my Master's of Music in Music Education.  This blog has been started as a part of the music technology course and you will find postings of various information and interesting articles that I find throughout the course.  You are more than welcome to comment on my findings or send along anything you think I may find interesting or useful. :)