EEND 677 Introduction

I am excited to begin this new technology course on Multimedia Tools in Education! I currently teach general music to elementary students in Kindergarten through fifth grade. This is my sixteenth year teaching in Indian Prairie School District 204. I have taught elementary, middle, and high school grade levels of students, but I truly love teaching elementary. I love being able to explore lots of different styles of music, at many different age levels. 

I always loved music, but it wasn't until I had been out of the music field that I learned to appreciate it. I started out in music at the University of Illinois, but struggled to find its place in my education. So I decided to step back from it for a bit, and earned my degree in Health Administration. I worked in the health insurance industry for a few years and realized that something was missing. I eventually discovered it was music. So I went back to study music education, and earned my Bachelors and Masters of Music Education from DePaul University. Since then I have continued to pursue professional development opportunities, but was NOT very excited to pursue another certification, especially one in technology. How could I use this in music? 

After earning my degrees, I decided to pursue my Orff certification from Vandercook College of Music and DePaul University. I discovered World Music Drumming through Will Schmid's World Music Drumming workshops, where I have met some of the most wonderful people on the planet! The World Music Drumming philosophy uses drumming and multicultural music to teach social & emotional skills such as RESPECT, COMMUNITY, LISTENING, and TEAMWORK. I have used it at the elementary, middle, and high school levels and absolutely LOVE it! 

Over this past year, I have discovered some very cool technology resources to use in the music classroom. While it has taken me awhile to incorporate some of these tools, I am finding them more and more beneficial to enhance student-learning. Some of the cool tools I have discovered and been able to use in my classroom include PearDeck, FlipGrid, Google Chrome Music Lab, Google Classroom, Remind, and Kahoot! I have found a VERY cool technology tool called "flipped learning" that I plan to use this year with my students, after learning about this in my Flipped Learning Class (check out the link if you have never heard of this!) I have posted some additional links to other favorites of mine on my site; however, I am always looking for new ones, so don't hesitate to leave me a comment with some new ideas! 

Personally, I live in Aurora with my husband and three kids: seventeen, fourteen, and six, who keep me entertained and barely sane!