One of my favorite projects that I began using is the 4th grade rhythm assessment I created through Pear Deck. Before taking this class, I had briefly been introduced to Pear Deck as part of a professional development day. I thought this was a cool program but didn't think I could really use it in music class. As part of an assignment for my Ed Tech class, I had the opportunity to research the Pear Deck tool and investigated it online. I began to imagine how I could use it with my students. Could it be possible to use this with 4th grade, which I already had an assessment for? Given the tech challenges in the computer lab logging on to Google Classroom, would students be able to bring their own Chromebooks to class and complete the assessment in the limited time that we have? Why not give it a chance?
So I transformed my rhythm assessment into a creative tool that students could use in class that would also assess their skills. It took time to create and looked pretty good from my perspective, but would it actually work? Well, I tried it out with my first class and was very surprised at the results! First of all, none of the students had ever used Pear Deck, so this was a cool new tool to introduce. Students were engaged from the start. I immediately thought "what a great tool to augment the learning experience for them!" Once students started responding to the questions, the lesson became transformed through their own creativity! The student responses transformed the lesson from responses to questions on a Google Form, to creative demonstrations of knowledge. This fit right into the modification aspect of the SAMR model! This project gave students the opportunity to now be Empowered Learners, as they demonstrated their understanding through technology. Students were applying the ISTE-S Standard 1c Empowered Learner through their responses.
Here are some cool examples of what students created just in their initial responses!
This project not only allowed me to transform my teaching through the SAMR model, but it also allowed me to grow as an educator. My previous experiences with technology in music had mostly occurred through music notation programs such as Finale, Sibelius, and most recently, the on-line program, Noteflight. Occasionally I use YouTube videos to supplement student learning with variations of songs, or different perspectives on music. Up until I took my Ed Tech class, I had been pretty much using only a basic level of technology by projecting my lessons on the SMARTboard. I had pretty much taken whatever information I could on technology presentations, but never really took the steps to implement it in my classroom. There just was never enough time. And sometimes as I have found with technology, the learning curve takes awhile to get over.
What I learned in taking this Ed Tech class is that, even though initially it may take a great amount of time to learn, technology can save a ton of time once you understand how to use it. Our readings and discussions in Week 3 focused on tools to make our days more productive. There were so many tools to explore! Some of them I had already heard of, like Remind and Flubaroo; however, for those that I didn't this activity gave me a chance to explore tools that maybe I hadn't previously considered.
I have also learned from many of the other educators that I have been fortunate enough to be taking this class with. Throughout this entire class I have been able to learn from other educators in their discussion posts, articles, and TED talks, which has helped me become a better learner according to the ISTE-E Standard 1a Learner. The assessments and projects for this class have helped me think of ways to use technology in my own teaching. I now feel that I understand how to design appropriate learning activities for students using technology according to the ISTE-E Standard 5 Designer.
Another really cool thing that I learned from this past project was that while students were exploring their technology, I also felt like I was learning along with them. This gave me an opportunity to experience learning along with the students as a co-learner, as in the ISTE-E Standard 4b Collaborator. I can't wait to explore future technology with my students as I learn along with them!
References:
ISTE Standards for Educators. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators
ISTE Standards for Students. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students
PearDeck, (2018). Retrieved from https://www.peardeck.com/
SAMR Model Explained for Teachers, (June 6, 2013). Educators Technology. [On-line post] Retrieved from https://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/06/samr-model-explained-for-teachers.html
HyperDocs
Before presenting the Pear Deck assessment to students, I worked on another project which inspired me to add more creativity and diversification to my 4th grade rhythm units. For our digital lesson diversification project, I created a HyperDoc for students to use with their Chromebooks. This was something that I had heard and read about, but never had the chance to implement. Through some exploration of my Google resources, I discovered some cool websites with some great HyperDoc templates. A fantastic, easy-to-use resource that helped me create my HyperDoc is the HyperDoc Samples by the HyperDoc Girls. Be sure to check this site out if you have a chance.
In this project I created two documents to differentiate learning for my students. I provided the links below for my advanced project and for my on-track project. I hope to use them soon with my 4th graders, after we finish the PearDeck rhythm review project on their Chromebooks. Here are the links:
Advanced 4th Grade HyperDoc
On-track 4th Grade HyperDoc
Before taking this Ed Tech class, I had a limited knowledge of HyperDocs. I read through the article How HyperDocs Can Transform Your Teaching (Gonzalez, J. 2017) in our Class Resources, but had not really envisioned a creative way to integrate into my music classes. Then I found the HyperDoc Girls website, and my ideas started to come to fruition. It was very easy to use their templates, and as I developed each diversified lesson, I felt like I was learning more too. This project not only allowed me to develop a diversified learning experience for my students, but also engage in ISTE-E Standard 5 Designer.
In music I constantly diversify for my students, as I see all of the students in the entire school, and also see students of many levels of needs. Before taking this class, I never would have imagined that technology could be used to diversify learning in my class as well. I probably would have also been overwhelmed trying to use a tool like this before, would have put it on the shelf with my other resources, and not really thought that it could be applied in my class. With this project and tech tool I found another possibility of extending the creativity and learning in my class through technology. I NEVER would have expected this!
References:
Gonzalez, J. (June 11, 2017). How HyperDocs Can Transform Your Teaching. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/hyperdocs/
HyperDocs Samples. (2018). Retrieved from https://hyperdocs.co/samples
ISTE Standards for Educators. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators
Chrome Music Song Maker
A final project that I created in this class and am excited to use is my 1st grade Chrome Music Song Maker creative composition project. In music we have known for sometime that future employers are looking for their future employees to be skilled at the 21st century skills or 4 C's of Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, and Critical Thinking. I have always used this in my music classroom through creative exploration of music through teaching styles such as those of Carl Orff and Zoltan Kodaly; however, these have been limited in that they don't rely on much technology. Everything is very hands-on and collaborative without the use of technology. The thought of integrating technology into my music class has been on my mind, but the challenges always seem to outweigh the benefits. In addition, my previous experiences with 1st graders and technology have been fairly limited to music programs in the computer lab on heat rotation days, as students often need tons of guidance just to navigate the computer. So I have strayed away from using technology in music.
In designing this project, I have had the opportunity to facilitate student learning of musical objectives through technology. This has allowed me to "model and nurture creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge or connections" (ISTE-E Standard 6d Facilitator) while helping students learn music through technology. If I hadn't had the opportunity to create this project, I probably would not have considered doing anything more with technology in 1st grade. Even though I have not tried this with students yet, I am excited to see what they come up with for their compositions!
Here is my sample composition project to start off our learning:
After taking this class, I have become much more open towards integrating technology in music. I have been able to explore many options for using technology in my classes, even at the primary levels, that I perhaps would not have considered before. Our school just recently became fully 1:1 integrated with Chromebooks at the 2nd through 5th grade levels. In 1st grade students have access to computers in the lab and on laptop carts with the Chrome applications. In the creation of this last project, I have been able to explore the Chrome extensions more thoroughly than I would have during my regular day. I probably would not have even considered using them with 1st grade students.
I am so thankful that I have had the opportunity to experience so many different ways of integrating technology into my music classes! After sitting through many presentations on "technology in the music classroom," and not feeling like I could use any of it due to time or access for students, I now feel like I have the tools to expand students' creativity through technology. I have created some pretty cool projects to use in the music classroom to demonstrate student understanding of concepts, and also facilitate their creativity. I have learned many new ideas from colleagues, and hope to continue building my Personalized Learning Network. I am excited to see what the future holds!
References:
Chrome Music Song Maker. (2017). Retrieved from https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Song-Maker/
ISTE Standards for Educators. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Above & Beyond. [pdf File]. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/4csposter.pdf
A final project that I created in this class and am excited to use is my 1st grade Chrome Music Song Maker creative composition project. In music we have known for sometime that future employers are looking for their future employees to be skilled at the 21st century skills or 4 C's of Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, and Critical Thinking. I have always used this in my music classroom through creative exploration of music through teaching styles such as those of Carl Orff and Zoltan Kodaly; however, these have been limited in that they don't rely on much technology. Everything is very hands-on and collaborative without the use of technology. The thought of integrating technology into my music class has been on my mind, but the challenges always seem to outweigh the benefits. In addition, my previous experiences with 1st graders and technology have been fairly limited to music programs in the computer lab on heat rotation days, as students often need tons of guidance just to navigate the computer. So I have strayed away from using technology in music.
In designing this project, I have had the opportunity to facilitate student learning of musical objectives through technology. This has allowed me to "model and nurture creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge or connections" (ISTE-E Standard 6d Facilitator) while helping students learn music through technology. If I hadn't had the opportunity to create this project, I probably would not have considered doing anything more with technology in 1st grade. Even though I have not tried this with students yet, I am excited to see what they come up with for their compositions!
Here is my sample composition project to start off our learning:
After taking this class, I have become much more open towards integrating technology in music. I have been able to explore many options for using technology in my classes, even at the primary levels, that I perhaps would not have considered before. Our school just recently became fully 1:1 integrated with Chromebooks at the 2nd through 5th grade levels. In 1st grade students have access to computers in the lab and on laptop carts with the Chrome applications. In the creation of this last project, I have been able to explore the Chrome extensions more thoroughly than I would have during my regular day. I probably would not have even considered using them with 1st grade students.
I am so thankful that I have had the opportunity to experience so many different ways of integrating technology into my music classes! After sitting through many presentations on "technology in the music classroom," and not feeling like I could use any of it due to time or access for students, I now feel like I have the tools to expand students' creativity through technology. I have created some pretty cool projects to use in the music classroom to demonstrate student understanding of concepts, and also facilitate their creativity. I have learned many new ideas from colleagues, and hope to continue building my Personalized Learning Network. I am excited to see what the future holds!
References:
Chrome Music Song Maker. (2017). Retrieved from https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Song-Maker/
ISTE Standards for Educators. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Above & Beyond. [pdf File]. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/4csposter.pdf
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