Thing #11

Online image generators

These are the kind of things that I really enjoy doing. I get so carried away creating things that I don't realize how much time has passed. I made so many things that I had a hard time deciding what to use on my blog.

1. The first thing I added was text at the bottom of my page I made this with a glitter graphics generator created online. To make the graphic, you type in your text, choose your font and your glitter pattern. The HTML code is generated for you to copy and paste in your blog.

2. The second thing I made was a animated sign. I created this using an online image generator at Image Chef web site. I later plan to make a slideshow and use this image for the title slide.

3. I also added a thank you note to the sidebar using the note generator at Satisfaction.com. You just type in your text and the note is generated for you.

These are all fun tools to use.They can definitely help to make a lesson more visually appealing.

Thing #10

Creating A Slideshow

Now we are doing things that I enjoy. Reading blogs and responding to blogs are fine, but I am one those people that need hands on activities. these are the kind of things that I think are fun.
For my slide show I used photos that I found while searching the Flickr Creative Commons section. I wanted to show how a song could be illustrated using photos instead of words.
The song that I chose to use is "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." I originally added a midi audio version of the song to my slideshow, but since I already have a song playing on my blog, I embedded a video without sound. If you would like to view the same video with sound just click on the following link. Twinkle, Twinkle - with midi sound



Photo credits:
Twinkle in the Trees -M.V. Jantzen
I Wonder - Maryl
Twinkle Twinkle little star - acerview54
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - Picto Brand / Shaun
Twinkle, twinkle, little star(s) - a.drian
Diamond in the Sky - WTL

Thing #9

Photosharing with Flickr

I really like Flickr. I already had an account but I had only used it for viewing photos that my friends had posted and sent me an email to view their pictures. I took time to really explore the site and found numerous things that I could use. I did a search in the Flickr Creative Commons and found pictures to save for my next thing. I also thought of a music appreciation class that I teach where this site would really be useful. As an example I found a picture that was perfect to use with my favorite song of all times "Over The Rainbow." The photo is titled "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" by Ilse The audio clip that I am using is from the album: Kenny G: Classics in the Key of G

Thing #8

Creative Commons

Being involved in music, copyright is a large concern. Most of the time, the number of copies of a musical piece that must be purchased is stipulated and the printed music is never to be copied unless permission is given. There have been a few times that due to extenuating circumstances I have found it necessary to contacted a publishing company to ask for rights to perform a musical piece. Permission has always granted because it was for an educational establishment and a fee to attend the performance was not going to be charged.
Creative Commons makes sharing materials a much simplier process. We can share our ideas using Creative Commons and still have a license for how other people that use our work can edit or modify it for their use.
No matter what type of copyright, the most important thing to remember when using material created by others is to give credit to the person that created it.

Thing #7

Creating community through commenting

I know that commenting is a important part of blogging, and as much as I like to talk and give my opinion you would think that I would really enjoy commenting. However I sometimes find it very hard to do. When I talk to someone I normally read a lot into a persons facial expressions, body movements and vocal fluctuations. But when something is put in writing it can sometimes be interpreted differently from the way the writer intended, due to the lack of these physical attributes being there to help us understand their thoughts. That is why I am very careful in what I put in writing. It's easy for me to blog when I agree with the person, but when I disagree it's hard to make a comment because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or be perceived as being harsh. Because of this I tried very hard to adopt blogs that I was in agreement with so that I could leave positive comments.
Yessss I know that 's being a chicken!
On the other hand, when it comes to the feeds that I subscribed to, I chose one that has some very controversial blogs, and I won't have any problem blogging my disagreeable comments. After all, I don't feel like I know those people.

Thing #6

Feed your reader: find & subscribe to feeds

Well I finally finished each part of thing #6. This should be called 75 things not 23 things since each thing has about four parts. :-) I wanted to add feeds that I would really use so I searched for feeds in the music education field. One of the feeds that I have subscribed to is MENC-TheNational Association for Music Education I am already a member of MENC but by subscribing to their feed, I can have information sent directly to me. For example yesterday I read a blog about how young film stars from the soon to be released movie BandSlam worked with middle school students at The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. They explored the music business through an interactive educational experience. They also had a question and answer sessions about music arrangement, composition, musicianship, and the importance of music in everyday life.
Another feed that I subscribed to was A Music Education Blog Collective. This is a project of the Music Educators Network, a group of music educators that discuss current topics and events in music education.
Of course me being the wanderer that I am, I could only stick to the topic for so long before I started subscribing to my second most favorite thing FOOD! So if you're interested you might want check out Betty Crocker Recipes, but be careful, I know I'm gaining weight just from looking at the pictures. :-)

Thing #5

Getting started with RSS

I have been subscribing to a few feeds for a while now so this is something that I am familiar with. I like getting information this way. It's like pulling out only the section of a newspaper that interest you and not having bother with the rest of it. While looking at some of the required feeds, I read a very comical article on Techlearning entitled What if the government mandated that all kids learned how to ride a bike in school? This blog is about how we have a tendency to over think things in educations. Learning doesn't always have to be difficult. It can sometimes be a very simple process. It's doesn't always take a act of congress to teach a child a simple lesson. I think the author of the blog said it best when he said "Shouldn't we all just give our students a push in the right direction to get them started down the road of learning, run along side of them to give them guidance, help them stay on the right path and pick them up when they fall off." So simple, yet so true.

Thing #4

Blogging Begins With Reading

I Love, Love, Love, Duck Diaries! If anyone can read those blogs and not get a smile on your face then you are really having a bad day. The second graders response to what could have happened to the missing duck is priceless. This is a great example of how technology can be used in the classroom. It also shows how you can start at a very young age. I would venture to say that the students learned more and will retain more from this lesson, because of this activity. I also like how this was extended cross curriculum and kindergartners drew duck pictures and the music teacher wrote a duck song to include in the music lesson, my favorite of course. What does it say about me, that I enjoyed this so much?

Another really good blog post was Learning Now: An Open Letter About Cyberbullying What a powerful well written letter in response to a short thought provoking article published by Wired Magazine. I totally agreed with the letter, as did all of the responses that I read. But whether you agree with the letter or not, a lesson can still be taught about the effect of the written word. The magazine article Beware These Six Lamest Social Networks was originally suppose to to be funny. But after reading it and the responses, Many people failed to see the humor in it.
I enjoyed reading many bogs, but as you see I have a tendency to wander off into other parts. This will also be a problem for some students. Therefore it is important that the teacher closely monitors the student activity on the computer during instruction.

Thing #2

Thoughts about Web 2.0

Technology is constantly changing. Web 2.0 is a way for teachers to keep up with the changes, to communicate with their students and to help their students take an active part in their own learning. It is also a way to get the parents actively involved in their child's learning. Of course that is assuming that the students will have the technical resources that they will need. Unfortunately all of the students I teach don't have a computer. Web 2.0 also doesn't take into account those students that need more guidance in their instruction or those parents that never check their child's backpack to look at the work they have done or sign the papers that are due the next day. I love to use different forms of technology and it can definitely be used to enhance instruction. However, right now I think most of that technical instruction has to take place during the school day, where all of the students have the same advantages.

Thing #1

Reflections on Lifelong Learning

I truly believe that you are never to old to learn. The way to keep the mind sharp is to constantly challenge yourself. There is no limit on learning. Growing up in a home with parents that were educators, learning was always stress in our family. As an adult, the biggest obstacle I face when it comes to continuing to seek knowledge is TIME. There are so many other obligations that I feel need to be taken care of before I can concentrate on myself.

Technology is something that I really enjoy and I like to learn new things on the computer. I am normally good at pacing myself, however when it comes to the computer I have to make myself stay focused and not venture off into other challenging activities.