Teaching Demonstration: Technology for Music Educators

1. Teaching Demonstration: Technology for Music Educators Sean Michael Jackman, DMA

2. Technology for Music Educators Three goals for today: • Understanding why technology is important in our lives as music educators • Ideas and materials for using technology in K-12 music classes • A sample lesson around musical creativity that uses technology

3. Rational for Technology in Music Education Technology has become an important part of the lives of practicing musicians and music educators – indeed to all of us. It is important for educators to be embedding technology into classes at all levels as models for students. Also, students need information about and strategies for using technology in their future lives. This is especially important for pre-service music teachers. Why?

4. WHY use technology? • Many of the goals of our music ed. programs can be achieved more effectively with tech. help! • Use of technology is expected for all professional staff. • Has been shown to bolster student achievement.

5. How? There are many ways in which technology can be used in the day-to-day life of a music teacher. They include but are not limited to: 1. Teaching 2. Assessing 3. Connecting

6. Teaching Shortly after NAfME published the National Standards for Music Education in 1994, they published the Opportunity-to-Learn Standards for Music Instruction. Many of these standards discuss technology and their use.

7. Teaching (continued) • Musical accompaniments, vocal models, and stereo mix’s can be loaded on iPods which replaces literally 100s of CDs for classroom singing. • Many websites demonstrate a myriad of “how to” lessons for pre-service teachers on everything from how to play instruments to music theory concepts. • Information about musical styles and composers is easily accessible online.

8. Teaching (continued) • iPads and Smartphone apps can be used to teach about music, to turn these handhelds into musical instruments and to record student music making.

9. Websites: Examples (Slide One) 1) Noteflight – Music notation for a connected world www.noteflight.com 2) IPAD apps for Music Making http://www.ipadmusicapps.ca/category/ipad-virtual-instruments Example: OscilloScoop for iPad OscilloScoop 3) International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) www.imslp.org

10. Websites: Examples (Slide Two) 4) Weebly: Create your own website or blog www. weebly.com www.seanmjackman.com 5) You Tube www.youtube.com Using the search engine, you can find hundreds of useful Video podcasts.

11. Websites: More examples (Slide Three) From You Tube • ELEMENTARY SCHOOL:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCWmQ0En4hY&feature=related • MIDDLE SCHOOL ORCHESTRAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVZtUmTTktc • HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciIvhB-zTfc

12. Assessing Technology is very useful in assessing student learning and storing data required for authentic assessment. iPhones and Flip Cameras can be used to record student compositions and performances. Playing back to them is very powerful. They hear what needs to be fixed and they love it too!

13. Connecting Daily music teachers use technology to connect. • Connecting with students – emails, websites, surveys for feedback • Colleagues – Skyping and Facetime to build Professional Learning Communities • Families – emailing, websites used for keeping lines of communication open • Administration - transparency • The wider arts community – building bridges, student fieldtrip to the local Symphony or Theater • State-wide and National Organizations – conferences and workshop, journals and magazines, experienced, sources of support

14. Teaching with Technology: Sample Lesson Music Ed. Students would have had prior experience teaching use of: 1. Playing handheld instruments 2. Using Orff instruments

15. TODAY Today I will model a mini-lesson you can use in elementary/MS music classrooms which uses technology as a tool to create music. FOCUS: 1. Creating Music 2. Guided Listening 3. Connecting Music/Text 4. Reflection

16. INTRODUCTION 5 minutes Model how to invite students to create their own rhythms using body percussion with a background song Sarasponda (Spotlight p.210)

17. INTRO (Continued) Listen and get involved by: • Keeping the beat • Playing the rhythm of the words • Performing a simple ostinato.

18. INTRO (Continued) Class Discussion: Which ones are the easiest? Read rhythm charts for the song. Ostinato: Ta ta ta-ah or ti ti ti ti ta-ah

19. Lesson: Listening/Creating 5 min. Ways to create in music. Let’s start with a guided listening as a launch pad for creating our own music. Musical Excerpt: Mai Noziop (Mother Noziop) by Duminsani Mararie Spotlight, Gr. One, Teacher Edition. Page 201.

20. Mai Noziop Musical Excerpt: Mai Noziop (Mother Noziop) by Duminsani Maraire Spotlight, Gr. One, Teacher Edition. Page 201. Maraire was an ethnomusicologist, performer and composer from Zimbabwe who also taught at the University of Washington, Seattle. He wrote this as a tribute to his Mother following her death. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumisani_Maraire

21. About the music/composer: From the album Piece of Africa by the Kronos Quartet (1992). www.kronosquartet.org Another performance: Video Clip of Percussion Ensemble

22. TheLesson: Procedure • 1. Think (or write) about any feature of the music that stands out - instruments, meter, melody. • 2. Listen for a second time and improvise to accompany the track. Use body percussion, vocal sounds or electronic sounds as you feel the beat and style of the song. (Encourage discussion in pairs or small groups about the features of the music and what one hears that is interesting. Possible answers: style melody harmony OSTINATO)

23. Lesson: Procedure (Continued) • 3. Song is replayed as individuals improvise with the recording. • 4. The third time, students are invited to sing a long as well. • 5. Improvisation continues without recording- music stands on its own. • 6. Group work starts (Task on next slide.) • 7. Group pieces are recorded for future analysis.

24. Group Work 8 minutes Task: In groups of three or four, work on create your own piece based on the listening example. Materials include: body percussion, handheld instruments, electronic instruments, Orff Instruments. If not using 2nd lesson: Next slide: 26

25. Example of Student Group Composition (sound file) Audio Clip of Student Work college class, 4-person group

26. Optional 2nd Lesson: Music and Text Use a poem for inspiration (launch pad) www.haiku.com Whitecaps on the bay;  (5 syllables) A broken signboard banging  (7 syllables) In the April wind. (5 syllables) - Richard Wright, African-American novelist

27. More Process than Product Use a poem for inspiration. http://www.haiku.com Bird chirping tweet tweet (6 syllables) flying diving hunting fast (7 syllables) Merrily up and away (7 syllables)

28. Creating : Procedure 8 min. Procedure: Now using the sounds you created inspired by the musical excerpt and thinking of the poem, work on an accompaniment for the Haiku. Work in groups of 4 or 5.

29. The Lesson: Messing Around Hint: Perhaps the poem could be repeated several time during your piece or you could use a portion of the Haiku as a coda, introduction or interlude. There are many ways to proceed. The choice is yours. Hopefully a few groups will have time to share with the whole class.

30. Group/Individual Reflection Following group time Possible questions for reflection: • 1. How was the music organized? • 2. What was successful? • 3. What would you do differently next time? • 4. How do you assess student learning in this kind of activity? Answers could shape classroom or group discussion, be required on a class blog or by email to the instructor. Student input and feedback could be included as a part of a student portfolio (final assessment).

31. Group/Individual Reflection(Continued) You will receive a survey (questions below) from surveymonkey.com. Please complete by our next class. • 1. What were the most interesting aspects of today’s lesson? • 2. Please list three ideas that you imagine you could use in your own classroom someday? • 3. What portions of today’s lesson were least interesting or helpful? • 4. Any other comments to share?

32. Thank you for yourparticipation in today’s class.

33. Resources/Future Study • Frankel, J. (2010). Music education technology. In H. Abeles and L. Custodero, (Eds.). Critical Issues in Music Education, (pp. 236-258). New York: Oxford University Press. • Kerstetter, K.. (2009). Educational Applications of Podcasting in the Music Classroom. Music Educators Journal, 95(4), 23-26.  Retrieved April 20, 2012, from Research Library. (Document ID: 1740351491). • Macmillan/McGraw-Hill. (2006). Spotlight on Music Series. New York: Macmillan/McGraw-Hill. • NAfME: The National Association for Music Education. (1999). Opportunity-to-learn standards for music instruction. Reston, VA: NAfME: The National Association for Music Education. 

34. Wrap Up Teaching with technology is an imperative today. For composing, technology is particularly useful. Of course, most of the other musical behaviors found in music classes (singing, playing, moving, learning about music) can be augmented by tech tools, too. Classrooms which use technology to encourage this kind of creativity become places for experimentation and spaces of: High Risk/Low Threat

35. Teaching Demonstration Sean Michael Jackman, DMA Thank You . . . for your attention and creative efforts!