Week 7 Discussion
The first section of Chapter 8 discusses the role technology has in assisting music
teachers with the organization and management of a music program with tasks not related
to conducting ensembles, teaching general music classes or music theory classes.
“Technology can serve as an important role for teachers in being productive with these
responsibilities” (Bauer, 2014, p.169). Technology can help “to facilitate overall
organization, communication, public relations and advocacy, the creation and acquisition of
instructional support materials, data management, travel, and maintenance of financial
records” (Bauer, 2014, p. 169). I have found the use of technology, especially Google
Drive, Google Docs, and Google Sheets extremely helpful over the past few years with
managing all of the above tasks. Editing any document such as a music library database,
or instrument inventory from a phone, tablet, or computer is very convenient and efficient.
Using Google Drive also makes it easy to reuse informational letters and programs for
concerts each year by editing dates, times, and musical selections; saving a lot of time.
One thing that has really helped me is the making of a calendar in the spring of each
school year for the following school year. This detailed calendar contains all concert and
contest performance dates, when music should be passed out, when to contact
accompaniments and when SLO’s are due. This has allowed me to think far ahead so that
a task does not forget to be completed. After teaching at my current job for a few years, it
became easy to learn the yearly routine and making this calendar helped relieve anxiety.
When it comes to professional development and technology, I always attend one
session at the Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conference
about technology. TI:ME always has information presentations about using technology in
the music classroom and ways to use it to help manage day to day tasks. The most recent
session I attended featured Charms Office Assistant. This program looks outstanding and
is a “one stop shop” in helping with the complete organizational management of a band or
choral program. I have not been able to spend a lot of time with this program, but I am
interested in taking a more in depth look at it over the next few months to potentially use in
my school.
Before this class, I did not know of or use PLN’s. I plan to keep using Feedly and Twitter
after this class is completed to keep current with various sources of information about
teaching music and music technology. I found these resources to be very useful and
applicable. When it comes to professional development and continuing education, I feel
that with the ever increasing workload for teachers, taking classes online are becoming
more and more popular because of the convenience of taking courses online, from home,
and the ability to complete coursework in a timely fashion.
In conclusion, a study by Bauer examined that the ways in
which music teachers acquire their musical, technological , pedagogical, and content
knowledge may provide insights on professional development strategies. The results of the
study found that the top three TPACK components were Pedagogical Knowledge, Content
Knowledge, and Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Subjects related to technology content
and technology pedagogy were in the bottom four results. It should also be noted that “for
each of the technology domains, self-exploration was the top means of knowledge
acquisition” (Bauer, 2014, p.185). Finally, Bauer states, “of course, one of the best ways to
develop one’s TPACK is to actively utilize it. Use technological tools for personal and
professional tasks on a daily basis. When implementing new teaching approaches that use
technology, be sure to allow adequate time for preparation” (Bauer, 2014, p. 185). This
relates back to the first week of this course when it was asked of us what our concerns are
when using technology and especially when using new technology in the classroom.
Resource:
Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music learning today; Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and
responding to music. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.
teachers with the organization and management of a music program with tasks not related
to conducting ensembles, teaching general music classes or music theory classes.
“Technology can serve as an important role for teachers in being productive with these
responsibilities” (Bauer, 2014, p.169). Technology can help “to facilitate overall
organization, communication, public relations and advocacy, the creation and acquisition of
instructional support materials, data management, travel, and maintenance of financial
records” (Bauer, 2014, p. 169). I have found the use of technology, especially Google
Drive, Google Docs, and Google Sheets extremely helpful over the past few years with
managing all of the above tasks. Editing any document such as a music library database,
or instrument inventory from a phone, tablet, or computer is very convenient and efficient.
Using Google Drive also makes it easy to reuse informational letters and programs for
concerts each year by editing dates, times, and musical selections; saving a lot of time.
One thing that has really helped me is the making of a calendar in the spring of each
school year for the following school year. This detailed calendar contains all concert and
contest performance dates, when music should be passed out, when to contact
accompaniments and when SLO’s are due. This has allowed me to think far ahead so that
a task does not forget to be completed. After teaching at my current job for a few years, it
became easy to learn the yearly routine and making this calendar helped relieve anxiety.
When it comes to professional development and technology, I always attend one
session at the Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conference
about technology. TI:ME always has information presentations about using technology in
the music classroom and ways to use it to help manage day to day tasks. The most recent
session I attended featured Charms Office Assistant. This program looks outstanding and
is a “one stop shop” in helping with the complete organizational management of a band or
choral program. I have not been able to spend a lot of time with this program, but I am
interested in taking a more in depth look at it over the next few months to potentially use in
my school.
Before this class, I did not know of or use PLN’s. I plan to keep using Feedly and Twitter
after this class is completed to keep current with various sources of information about
teaching music and music technology. I found these resources to be very useful and
applicable. When it comes to professional development and continuing education, I feel
that with the ever increasing workload for teachers, taking classes online are becoming
more and more popular because of the convenience of taking courses online, from home,
and the ability to complete coursework in a timely fashion.
In conclusion, a study by Bauer examined that the ways in
which music teachers acquire their musical, technological , pedagogical, and content
knowledge may provide insights on professional development strategies. The results of the
study found that the top three TPACK components were Pedagogical Knowledge, Content
Knowledge, and Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Subjects related to technology content
and technology pedagogy were in the bottom four results. It should also be noted that “for
each of the technology domains, self-exploration was the top means of knowledge
acquisition” (Bauer, 2014, p.185). Finally, Bauer states, “of course, one of the best ways to
develop one’s TPACK is to actively utilize it. Use technological tools for personal and
professional tasks on a daily basis. When implementing new teaching approaches that use
technology, be sure to allow adequate time for preparation” (Bauer, 2014, p. 185). This
relates back to the first week of this course when it was asked of us what our concerns are
when using technology and especially when using new technology in the classroom.
Resource:
Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music learning today; Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and
responding to music. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.
Hi Melissa! I totally agree with Bauer's quote that "technology can serve as an important role for teachers in being productive with these responsibilities” (Bauer, 2014, p.169). This is my eighth year as a music teacher and I've seen so much advancements in my career in those years. Once a month at our school, we have a technology specialist provide professional development for all teachers with new innovative ways to implement technology in your classroom. From how to keep students engaged to how to organize your documents. I love seeing the tools and resources to help me. I must say, this course has allowed me to see more than I expected for technology use in music education. I'm looking forward to growing and learning more. Thanks for sharing.
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