UF MM

This week we focused on how technology can aid teachers with assessment and productivity. We read about assessment and used google forms to create a quiz. We utilized google docs to create a newsletter, google slides to create a presentation and created events on google calendar. I felt like everything we did this week was practical and useful for teachers. Assessment is one of the most important things we do as teachers. Teachers must find ways to assess through both formative and summative means. Formative assessment includes both formal and informal elements and is given to students throughout the learning process. Summative assessment is typically given at the end of a unit, chapter, semester or entire class. This type of assessment helps teachers and students determine if the learning goals have been achieved before introducing new material (Bauer, 2014). In order for assessments to be effective they must be both valid, meaning the assessment aligns with the learning outcome ...

This week we focused on integrating technology into our instructional design. We read about how people learn, backward design, differentiated learning, project-based learning, and copyright law. We experienced creating a google site and began our WebQuest projects. I really enjoyed the content this week since much of it was new, but also accessible. Learning is a process that spirals over time. The idea of Constructivism is that learning is: Contextual, active, social and reflective (Bauer, 2014). The portion that most affects my students is that of contextual learning. The school I teach at had five years of music teacher turnover before I came a year and a half ago. Those five years were damaging to the students emotionally as well as musically. The students not only did not gain new knowledge, they went backwards in their musical understanding. Building on what students' know is a powerful tool, as long as they have something to build upon. Technology can aid in catching stu...

Spotify playlist with scanning code. This week we explored how music technologies can be utilized in responding to music. We explored this by creating a Spotify playlist, exploring the software program Music Ace, creating a Diigo account and reviewing online resources and learning how to look at music software with a critical eye. Music listening is the most common way people interact with music (Bauer, 2014). Through the teaching of listening, not simply hearing music, we can help develop students into lifelong music listeners (Bauer, 2014). Our musical background and experience determine how we respond to music and what music we prefer listening to. Since people generally enjoy music they are familiar with, we have a special job during early elementary and middle school years as music teachers. These are the ages when students are the most open-eared towards new music (Bauer, 2014). Music teachers must help students develop the language to describe what they are hearing, ...

This week we read about how music technology can be integrated into musical performance, both in the context of teaching and learning as well as in public performance venues. We also experimented with editing a sound clip and remixing music using the program Audacity. Bauer emphasized the fundamentals of music performance in our reading. These include: Technical and motor skills, expressive skills, aural skills, notation and reading skills, and presentation skills (2014). Students must first master the psychomotor skills necessary to perform on their instrument. These skills involve both perceptual and motor skills (Bauer, 2014). Students must not only learn to process the information relating to reading music and transferring it into expressive music-making, but they must also learn to master the physical demands of their instrument. In order to acquire the skills necessary to students must learn how to practice effectively. Research has shown us that practicing for shorter amou...