Thing 8

I can use https://bubbl.us/ to make bubble diagrams for learning in my music classroom. I think this is a great way to incorporate visual learning into our subjects. Here is a screenshot of a bubble that I created on this website.

I also used http://www.wordle.net/create to create a world collage. 

These two programs are great for getting students to be creative and expressive in class! These programs are easy to use and create a project very fast! Even students that are not great artistically can create something that they can be proud of. I would like to use these to decorate my room. We could also use these programs to develop fliers for their upcoming performances and I could use the wordle program to have students describe how they feel about a certain piece of music or how they would describe a genre of music. This is definitely something I will be using!

Thing 6

Differentiated Instruction:

As teachers, we must always find ways to differentiate our curriculum to meet the needs of a vast variety of students. For example, I teach a special needs group for music twice a week. These students learn the same music concepts as others, but I teach it to them in a different way. I find ways to teach them concepts that are visual and hands on. We spend more time on the concepts and those that are ahead will lead others.

I have special needs students that are also mainstreamed into my music classes. If these children fall behind in a category, such as recorder, I pull in the advanced students to help tutor them. This helps both students. One gets special attention and the other gets to practice being a teacher.

I have activities or harder music that my advanced students can practice so that they are also challenged in my classroom. I try to meet the needs of both the advanced learner and the special needs student while bringing along the average learner as we step through the curriculum.

Technology can help me to differentiate learning. The website: http://www.wested.org/cs/tdl/print/docs/tdl/home.htm is a great site for teachers to get ideas about using technology to enhance learning with audio and visual tools.

I could use the image enhancer to make text larger for my visually impaired students. I used to blow up the worksheets or music that I was using before by using the copy machine. The technology will make this better and easier.

I could use the video/images to help integrate current and past knowledge for learners who have trouble making connections between curriculum.

I could also use this website: http://udlstrategies.wikispaces.com/. This website has multiple resources for teachers. I found a link to this website, http://www.collegeathome.com/blog/2008/06/10/100-helpful-web-tools-for-every-kind-of-learner/ and this website has an article called 100 Helpful Web Tools for Every Kind of Learner. This article helps teachers decide which type of learning is best for the individual needs of their students. Some may learn best from doing a lab experiment, while others answer test questions better. Being a music teacher, some of these things do not apply to me, but it does give me ideas about how to differentiate my assessing and teaching styles.

I also learned how to use the free text to audio technology called VOZme. Here is a screenshot of my typing:

I could use VOZme to help students who need to hear instructions when I am not there to read it to them. This can help reinforce learning through both audio and visual.

These tools will be valuable in my teaching!

Thinkfinity

Thinkfinity is a great site for teachers to use to help create interactive lesson plans for their students. It is difficult to find teacher resources that actually include the arts on their websites, but this one does! I found a link to a website that has a designed a unit that is focused on listening and responding to music around the United States. This unit will help students to listen to music from different cultures and it also helps introduce them to different instruments.

http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/music-across-america

I also found a set of lesson plans titled "M is for Music." This page is dedicated to celebrating music in the month of March. I think these plans could be beneficial for both music teachers and general education teachers. The lesson plans are diverse and include cultural studies.

http://www.thinkfinity.org/music-in-our-schools-month

I will definitely be using this website to help design my lesson plans and units!

Thing 5

I now know how to use RSS feeds properly! I was able to set up my google reader with teacher resources and a few personal fun resources that I can enjoy.

I think this is a neat way to stay connected with the news. I can stay informed about local music news and be able to share that with my music students and perhaps even use some of that information in my own blog. This will save me a lot of time searching the internet to get the content that I need. It will all be right there waiting for me on my google reader.

This is easy to use. I always saw the symbol for the RSS feeds, but didn't know that I needed a google reader to see the feeds. I found that I already had signed up for a few feeds, but never went to the right location to view them! Now I know!

Thing 4

RSS feeds are a great way to get the information you want in a quick manner. You also do not need to scroll through a bunch of advertising! I am using a google reader and it is very efficient. I can stay connected to blogs from fellow teachers or others in music education right through my RSS feed. Students and teachers can use this technology to stay connected with one another all at one site. 

I also use this in my personal life to stay connected with my favorite sport, figure skating! I like to read skater blogs and commentator blogs and can keep them all organized in my google reader.

Thing 3

After listening to the 7.5 things recording, I believe that the easiest one for me to do is to accept responsibility for your my own learning. I have just started my Master's Degree and I am learning so many new things that I can apply to my teaching. I know that learning is a life-long responsibility and I am just scratching the surface!

The hardest thing for me to has been to use technology! I am making steps in the right direction. I have been using my ipod to compile my songs that I am using with k-5 classes. This makes it easier to have the songs that we are using right at my fingertips instead of going through countless c.d.s. I just bought a "dummies" book about Garage Band as well. There is a lot for me to learn in this category!

Thing 2

I think that a good blog is one that is insightful, entertaining and enlightening. I like to read blogs that keep me informed about subjects that I enjoy. I think it is important that blogs stay updated frequently. If a blog is only updated once a month, readers will lose interest quickly. Blogs must be updated daily, or at least every other day. A good blog must also be free of errors so that it is easy to read. Facts must be accurate and revisions should be made to mistakes that occur in a post.

I think a blog could enhance our school website because it would draw more of our younger generation of students and parents. Administrators and teachers could easily keep the community informed on upcoming events, charities, school schedules and so forth. Relevant issues could be addressed to the community and people who prefer the internet as their main news source would stay connected. 

Blogs are also a very easy way for people to self-publish their thoughts, opinions or reporting on subjects or news. Many blogs are free and can be sent as links in emails, facebook and twitter. Blogs are easy to access and update as well. You wouldn't necessarily need a lot of time to sit down and update your blog from your computer.

I think that Web 2.0 is something that will definitely enhance the connection that teachers have with students and parents. It seems that most students (even many elementary students) have cell phones, computer, ipads, or an ipod touch. These are all mediums that students use to access the internet. They are on these devices all the time, so it makes sense that teachers should use these tools to reach the students! Anything that helps to peak students interest and help them to reach their learning goals should be something that staff considering using here and now.