As this course comes to a close...

As this course comes to a close I have been giving a lot of thought to the tools that I have learned about.  I know I have said it time and time again but there is a huge amount of interesting and free things out there that I can use for my music courses.  Right now I am working on a website that I can use to introduce my students to chorus class. In the past I have sent them home paper copies of a handbook and contract to be signed.  I have recently realized that I can do all of this electronically through my new website.  Not only is it easier to complete but it's also "greener".  I have also discovered very creative ways for students to express themselves musicall but creating tagxedo's, etc.  I truly hope that I can continue with these courses.

Google Calendar

This weeks class was really beneficial for me! Kevin's Tool Time for Google Calendar might just change my professional life! As a choral teacher there are tons of important dates for my students to remember.  In September I would create a word document listing important dates to remember and I would post it on my e-board.  This document would be such a pain to have to change if I needed to change a date or cancel an event.  Now I can just post my google calendar on my e-board and it takes literally seconds to change if need be.  This is also going to be VERY useful and convenient when I schedule rehearsals for the spring musical.

Knol and other fun stuff

As I said in my A-ha moment last night, I feel like it's the same every week.  Every week I learn about yet another great tool to help make my life just a bit easier and more interesting.  This week Kathy did her tooltime on Knol.  Looking over her worksheet that went with it I thought to myself...WOW this would be a great tool to use to make flyers and handouts for the mountains of information that I have to send home to my parents concerning, concerts, fundraising, t-shirts, etc.

As I'm learning about these tools that I've never heard of before and realizing that there is a plethora of useful information on the web I'm beginning to feel a sense of accomplishment...and I like the way it feels! :-)

April 19th Class

As a choral teacher I never really had the opportunity to explore any of the great tools available to me...or I just never even gave them any thought.  I mean, I teach chorus, why would I need to know about google docs?  Boy was I wrong.  After learning about this great tool I realized that there are lots of things that I can use this for.  One of the big ones that I thought of would be to use it for analyzing a piece as a class before we actually sing it.  Each student can comment on the different aspects of the piece.  This would be a great way to learn about the composer, the form, and how the piece should be performed.  

Since last weeks class, I've also become quite fond of Prezi.  It's so easy to use and makes a really interesting presentation.  This would be a great tool to promote the chorus trips to the parents, and explain fundraising, etc.

Looking forward to learning more! 

2nd class

I really enjoyed trying out the few tools that we learned about in class tonight.  I particularly liked prezi and tagxedo.  I teach 4 sections of College Prep Chorus.  These students are required to write a 5 paragraph essay each marking period on topic of my choice.  After being introduced to prezi tonight, I am seriously considering incorporating a project in which they have to utilize this tool.  I think that they would really enjoy using it. It could be something that they have to present to the Non-college prep students.  Perhaps this would encourage more students to take chorus, concert choir and select choir at the College Prep level.
I also think that tagxedo could be a great tool to make musical posters for my classroom.  I love that I can incorporate these tools in my choral setting!

INTC 5330 First Class 4/5/11

I have been out of school now for 9 years.  My younger sister just completed her Masters and I remember thinking "wow, I'm so proud of her.  I don't know if I could ever go back to school".  Then JC Martino informed me about this opportunity and I thought "why not?".  I'm so very glad that I decided to begin the process with this class.  After tonight's class I realized that there are so many amazing tools on the internet that I never even knew existed.  I teach high school chorus and feel like I could do so much with this technology to make my classes more interesting and less redundant.
I was sitting in class tonight listening to the discussion on future projects and my mind was working on using upcoming events in my career for these projects.  Next week I'm taking 30 students to New Orleans for 5 days to compete in a choral competition and I can't wait to take pictures of the rich musical environment to use in some of my projects.
I am really looking forward to the weeks ahead!