Jordan Harrison has been a music educator for 10 years. This blog brings new ideas and refreshes old ones for all educators to use technology in the classroom. Feel free to make comments and add to any posts!
Podcasts or vodcasts can be an incredible tool for music educators. They can be used as a teaching tool or form of communication to parents, students, or community members. Instructional material can be taught, a message to students, or information on upcoming events can be communicated through podcasting and vodcasting. Once the podcasts or vodcasts have been subscribed by a follower then they are uploaded automatically through iTunes or other sources every time they log in to his or her account. The podcasts or vodcasts can then be shared through social media sites to reach even more people!
There are several ways one can create a podcast or vodcast. The examples I will show were video recorded, created through iMovie then uploaded to my Apple account to my personal website I had at the time. I saved the actual videos so I can use them through my YouTube channel now for demonstration to others to create new ideas and uses for the podcasts and vodcasts.
Here is an example of one I created for one of my guitar classes I taught at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, FL.
Besides vodcasts being a great instructional tool, they can be utilized to communicate information to students, families, and community members. A teacher can describe a new assignment or project that is due in a classroom. This way students and parents can revisit the video or podcast episode if they are lost or have any questions. Since I teach band, communication to parents and students is key with many after school activities, performances, and other events. As I mentioned before, all of the podcasts and vodcasts can be shared on social media sites such as FaceBook, Twitter, or Google+.
I urge any educator to expand on the idea of podcasts and vodcasts. Find other creative ways to use these tools in the classroom or teach students how to apply them in real world applications. Business owners can use them to promote their products and share it through social media. There are so many options and ideas available one just needs to dive in and explore!
Assistive technology is tools used to help
people with disabilities to manage daily life activities. The tools range from
computer software, motorized wheel chairs, to portable reading devices. Assistive
technology does not mean the tool has to be an electronic device or operate
with electricity. Any object that can assist a person with a disability is
considered an assistive technology. Rubber grips on pencils, highlighters,
raised-line paper, special writing utensils, and a planner are all considered
assistive technology tools.
There
are several groups within special education that need assistive technologies.
Students with mild and moderate to severe cognitive disabilities, physical
disabilities, sensory disabilities, at-risk students, and gifted students all
use assistive technology to help with learning and daily functions. Each group
in special education must have these resources available to them so they have an
equal opportunity at being successful in school, life skills, and a career as
an adult.
Mild Disabilities
Students
with mild disabilities include those children who have a learning disability,
emotional disability, and mental retardation. These students need more
assistance with learning new information and building on existing knowledge. There
are several apps that can help these students with developing higher level
thinking. Dragon Dictation is an app that can put words into text to assist
those with dyslexia or who struggle with writing. There is a Spelling Test app
that can help students practice spelling words who may struggle with a learning
disability in reading. Sushi Monster is another app which assists with helping
students in math. All of these apps can be utilized on the iPhone or iPad in
the classroom or at home.
Severe Disabilities
The
students who have severe cognitive disabilities are usually working on daily
life skills to function in the world. These types of students are learning
proper hygiene such as bathing or brushing his or her teeth, how to get
dressed, or other tasks that help a person become employed. An example of a
great tool for a student with severe cognitive disability is the StepPad. The
StepPad can create individual steps to remember a multi-step activity. This can
be used to remember a class schedule, household chores, personal routines, or
shopping list which all assist with daily functions. A great app that can help
a student with employment would be the Dollars & Cents app. The Dollars& Cents apps can be used to teach a student how to shop for a product, pay
for it, and receive change. It also allows a student to be a store clerk where
they can learn to ring items in a computer system, receive payments and return
change to a customer. These assistive technology tools provide an idea of what
is available to students with severe cognitive disabilities.
Physical Disabilities
Physical
disabilities are related to issues with mobility due to an injury or birth
deformity. Accommodations with assistive technology consist of tools that help
a student move around such as a wheel chair or easier access to electronics
such as different keyboards or a mouse. An example of assistive technology
hardware would be Big Keys Plus keyboard that has over-sized keys for easier
access to the keyboard. A great example of a software product that can be used
in the classroom would be MathPad. This product can allow a student who may
have a physical disability with writing and needs to perform math problems on
the computer using a special mouse or keyboard such as Big Keys Plus. Math
problems can be pre-loaded on to the software program for the student work practice
during class or at home. These tools help students overcome the physical
disabilities that keep them from normal mobility or functions.
Sensory Disabilities
Sensory
disabled students are those who have a deficiency in hearing or vision. These
students receive different accommodations with assistive technology. For
students who are considered blind use canes or sensory technology, tools for
converting printed information, and screen readers on a computer. A braille
display can help blind students input information into a computer while using a
computer program such as MagniLink to read the information on the screen.
Students who are deaf do not require as many accommodations as those with
vision impairment. Deaf students would use audio enhancing tools such as a
personal hearing aid or a custom audio system for the classroom. A great
software program for the classroom teacher would be YouCaption. The program can
caption everything the teacher says so the student can read it on the board.
All these adaptive technologies will help students with learning in the
classroom.
At-Risk Students
Students
who are considered at-risk academically can also utilize many of the same
assistive technology tools as those students with disabilities. The focus is on
motivation and engaging students to help them develop higher level thinking
skills. Software programs have been designed to help students in all subjects.
There are reading programs such as Read: OutLoud which can read text out loud
so students can follow along or SOLO Literacy which helps improves a child’s
reading and research skills. Great web sites are available such as Brain Pop
which covers many subject areas from music to English and science. Any
technology such as iPads, iPhones, laptops, eBeams, or Smart Boards that can be
used in the classroom is a great tool for engaging at-risk students. As a music
teacher I enjoy using SmartMusic which is an interactive way for a student to
practice an instrument and stay engaged.
Gifted Students
Students
who are gifted in special education learn at a higher level and faster pace
than most students. While this does not seem like it would be a problem for a
teacher it is because gifted students need to be challenged. The challenge
keeps students engaged in class and lessens any possible discipline problems.
Assigning gifted students self-guided research or using technology for projects
such as podcasts or web sites will allow the student to grow and stay engaged
in lessons. Gifted students provide a challenge for teachers to create
stimulating lessons so utilizing these assistive technology tools is extremely
important for the students to continue to learn at a higher level.
Music Therapy as Assistive Technology
Being a music educator I believe music is one of the most powerful and necessary things we can teach students! Music opens up parts of the brain that words or science cannot reach. It pulls emotion from people that is indescribable and amazing to witness. As I stated in the beginning of this blog, assistive technology is a tool that helps students overcome their disabilities. I was reading through Music Matters Blog and I came across the blog on Music Education and Therapy. The blog post discussed how music therapy can help improve cognitive functions and improve speech. Music therapy is such an awesome tool that it is used with more than just students with disabilities. Music therapy taps into portions of the brain other tools cannot and helps it grow!
I have been tagging educational resources through my Diigo account. If you are not familiar with Diigo, it is a social bookmarking website used to save websites and tag them for easier searching. The websites one tags can be shared with others to search and use. There is some great information on my lists on technology tools, music education, classroom tools, student games, English language learner students, etc.
These resources have been helpful to me so please feel free to search and find some useful info!
Web 2.0 tools are awesome for small classroom assignments to bigger projects. Web 2.0 tools allows students to be creative while working with technology and learning the content. These tools open up endless possibilities of creating new ways of teaching different subjects and making it fun!
I have several tools I want to demonstrate on how to incorporate them into a few music lessons. If one is creative enough they can use it for other subjects too! The tools I discuss below are concept maps, Glogster, Animoto, and Blabblerize.com. Each one can be used for all subjects and are fun once you get into them!
The Web 2.0 tools I used based off one of the Alabama state standards for instrumental music: 12. Define the elements of music, including melody, rhythm, form, timbre, harmony, and texture. The first Web 2.0 tool is from a free site bubbl.us which allows one to create concept maps. Each map can be customized with different bubble colors and texts. They can be saved as a photo and used in a blog, web site, or anywhere you can put a picture! Below I created a concept map based on the elements of music. A teacher can use this for any subject to outline or organize a concept. They can also have students do the same thing so they can learn to organize ideas.
The next Web 2.0 tool is called Glogster which is a more creative way to blog. It gives one plenty of options for adding photos, graphics, hyperlinks, embedded videos, and different backgrounds. Students can be given an assignment on a subject where they must create a Glog. The teacher can provide a rubric that requires them to have minimum graphics, notes, embedded videos, or hyperlinks. Click on Harrison's Glog to view an example of one created for the same music standard for elements of music.
Animoto is the third Web 2.0 tool I want to share. A teacher or student can create a short, free 30 second video that has background music and shuffles through photos. These photos can contain content being taught in the classroom. The video can be uploaded to a YouTube account and shared on social media sites. In my example I continued using elements of music.
The last Web 2.0 I want to share is Blabberize.com. It is definitely fun to experiment with different lessons or just for laughs. This site will allow a teacher or student to upload a photo where the mouth of a person or animal can be made to move. One simply uploads a photo of a person or animal, adjusts the mouth tool, then records or uploads a voice which will move with the tones of your voice! In my example I would have students choose a composer of their choice to upload. They would have to create a voice for that composer, then have them explain certain elements of music. It is so cool to listen to all the different voices students create!
I have been following Eric Sheninger's blog A Principal's Reflections since I am working to become an administrator. In his blog post Autonomy Breeds Change he talks about a professional growth plan to implement more Web 2.0 tools within his leadership and teachers. He allotted teachers two to three 45 minute slots of time each week per semester to work on Personal Growth Periods. Mr. Sheninger instructed teachers to pursue a teaching tool that interest them to use within the classroom. The teachers created an electronic portfolio to present in a one-on-one meeting with Mr. Sheninger at the end of the year as part of their annual evaluation. The results were incredible and was a catalyst for the teachers to reach for higher goals for next year.
Finding ways to integrate Web 2.0 tools in the classroom only inspires creativity in students. Learning how to use these technology tools to teach students will help them in the future when they attend college or join the work force. Technology is rampant among most jobs and careers and must be embraced in education.
