Technology - A Trojan Horse?

As we ready the books and scores and pencils for back to school, here is a NY Times article to think about. Are schools finally realizing the inevitable? That we have to use technology to train the youth of today or they will not be able to compete in the global market. I certainly hope so! But, unfortunately in my upper middle class district on Long Island we still do not have this 1 to 1 ratio of computers to children, let alone enough computers for each of the teachers in the music department! This is incredibly frustrating for a teacher who wants to branch out into project-based learning with her students. Yes, it is true that I can sign out a computer lab to use for work with my students, but there are no keyboards, no music software save the free download of Finale notepad that it took months for me to get permission to have installed, not to mention the fact that it is incredibly difficult to get a reservation when multiple teachers are fighting for that lab at the same time. I only hope that this article does show us turning a corner in US schools. I hope that many schools will see the success of project-based learning and put more money in the budget for all programs to take advantage of this awesome technological revolution! 

iLove iPod for teaching music theory

This is something I have been thinking about for awhile. I don't know if other teachers feel the same way, but the iPod has transformed my use of audio examples in orchestra and music theory. No longer do I have to go searching through my CD collection to find the Beethoven symphony or Coltrane tune that I want to play for class. No longer do I have to put off listening to an excerpt of a piece that comes up in class because I do not happen to have it with me that day. Now, thanks to my iPod and a stereo, I have my entire music library at my fingertips to share with my class as needed. This is incredibly convenient, simple, and expedient. I also love that my students can bring in their own mp3 players and share their music with the class. It really has transformed music listening in class by making it more accessible. Now, iLove the whole process!

100 Music Ed Bloggers

So, musictechnology.net is on a mission! They are trying to link up to 100 Music Education blogs by the end of the year, in an effort to extend the conversation about music, education, and technology. I think this is a terrific idea. It is great to have a source to read up on the latest developments in our field and a place to get inspiration from other bloggers, teachers and advocates.

Check out the ME blog campaign today!

Plan Ahead! That is my new mantra!

Well, I am so excited by what I have been learning about Flash, Dreamweaver, ActionScript, etc. this semester! But, one thing that really sticks out to me is that I have to plan ahead!!! After spending hours of time working with tables revising and revamping on the go, I began to realize that it might be better to plan the layout first. It seems like that would be obvious - but it took me awhile. Once I decided to plan the layout of a page ahead of time and designate which cells would merge and which would expand, it became easier to negotiate the size and placement of images. I found that life was much easier. Being a web designer has a lot to do with visualization. Perhaps it is like being an "architect" of cyberspace. It's all in the planning!

Technology Challenges in Music Education: Moving Forward

As we try to incorporate more and more technology into the classroom, better preparing our students for the world today, we still meet with resistance from a variety of sources. One of the main sources of resistance comes from teachers who are unwilling to try to new things. 

When the high school I work for was splitting into two campuses a few years ago, the administration wanted to offer certain classes on one campus and use long-distance learning technology to teach the same class concurrently on the other campus. Businesses teleconference with each other all the time, why not do the same in schools? However, the teachers at my high school were very upset about this turn of events! Perhaps they feared this was one step closer to their jobs being irrelevant? They fought and overturned the proposed long-distance learning project before anyone knew if it could work.

Last year the music theory class in my high school had the chance to move music theory from a regular classroom into a computer lab. The teacher declined because she was afraid of having to incorporate computers into the curriculum! And yet, there are so many terrific music theory training websites and software programs that could help the students improve their understanding of music theory. I am frustrated by this 'fear' of change in schools. But, how do we change this kind of thinking?

I am not sure, but I do think that we have to encourage our students to love learning and embrace change. We have to help our students understand that flexibility and adaptability are imperative in the 21st century! Jobs are changing at a more rapid rate than they ever have in history and if we don't equip students for this, they will likely experience much frustration. Hopefully over time this mindset of resistance can be transformed into a mindset of openness!