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I agree with you. Sometimes it does seem hard to find relevant technologies in music.

When I visited my High School to observe their band classroom, all of the students had iPads to use with music resources loaded on the computer. I think that schools that have more money are more fortunate in regards to incorporating technology into the classroom.

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Response to Reflective Post #3 (Brody Felix)

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Response to Reflective Post #3 (Brody Felix)

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Be sure to keep updated on current Apps as well! Our students are very likely to have smart phones and we can take advantage of this opportunity that they have access to this resource. There are apps for ear training, music theory, etc...that are free and easy to use.

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Laura,

Look up this book at Milner; I read it this semester and it was very helpful in focusing on how literacy development can be incorporated in the music classroom;

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Laura, you bring up a good point; that there are so many literacies available it is almost overwhelming. Finding a balance between literacy and application is important. I always think about the content first, and then find literacies to support the content. If the literate activities are responding to the content and there to aid in learning, I do not think there is any fear of having too many.

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Laura, I totally agree with how this class has really made you think of different literacies within your field because it has for sure done the same thing for me! I think it is cool how you have become aware of that and have also thought through in what ways you could be more literate or incorporate different literacies into your music lesson. We really have learned so much that is able to help us sort of reconstruct our classrooms and realize all the different options we have as teachers!

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Laura--
Technology in music, or really any classroom, seems to be a hot topic for future educators and current teachers alike. I think the most important technologies that you have expanded on are the adaptive technologies to make the classroom and all activities accesible for all students. I think the fault of the music classroom previous to our years is that it has always been taught just one way. Educators are starting to learn that not all kids learn the same way and any accessible technology to aide these different learning styles is very useful.

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Re: How Much Extra Literacy is Too Much?

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Re: How Much Extra Literacy is Too Much?

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I definitely agree with you. There is no point in teaching a skill that your students will not be able to apply. Students need to be practicing the skills they are being taught in order to actually learn from them. I am really glad that you raised this point because we are so caught up in teaching lessons that we aren't/ can't be focused enough on "are our students actually learning?"
-Nikki

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How
Much Extra Literacy is Too Much?- Reflective Post 4

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How
Much Extra Literacy is Too Much?- Reflective Post 4

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While I believe it is extremely important to exemplify different forms of literacy within the classroom, is there a point where you're doing too much and taking away from the root of the class?

I think there is a breaking point where the extra literacy incorporation could distract from what the class is actually about. If you continuously teach the students how to interpret all aspects of literacy within the discipline, but never give them an opportunity to apply it, then the students don't get an opportunity to practice what they learn. It is important for teachers to find a balance between sharing different forms of literacy and how to think about and disect them and then having the students apply that knowledge in the classroom setting.

For example, when playing a piece of music it would be beneficial to begin with a literacy technique such as pictorally mapping out how the piece sounds as a class. From there the students should be actually playing the piece to apply the new literacy they just added to their repetoire as opposed to using another outside literacy to further their knowledge. If the students are overwhelmed by extra ways to think before applying one of them, the performance will be too complex instead of easier for them.

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Response: Literacy through Music or Literacy of Music

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Response: Literacy through Music or Literacy of Music

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I think you've hit on a key point in the way people have been thinking about literacy in music. For many people (still), the arts are seen as a means to the end of supporting "core" content. However, as you've been noticing, there is an effort being made to recognize the literacies that are inherent in music education---whether in teaching, learning, and the discipline. Here are some examples of where these two come together--one where the discipline is foregrounded and one where literacy is foregrounded:

https://sites.google.com/a/dpi.wi.gov/disciplinary-literacy-in-music/home

http://educationcloset.com/2012/07/17/integrating-music-and-literacy/

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Something I have always struggled with is being able to keep up with technology. Because of this flaw I have been very opposed to new technologies until fairly recently. I believe they are an extremely useful tool and can be excedingly helpful in a music setting.

Programs like Finale and Sibelius are notation software that can help students compose their own music. Having one of these programs available to students and guiding them on how to compose would boost their creativity, audiation skills, and overall musical knowledge. When students write out by hand, they have no way to easily check their work and the process can be more frustrating than beneficial and encouraging.

There are many more examples of ways that technology can keep students engaged musically, but there are always many adaptive technologies that are essential for music teachers to be aware of. Music is too often considered a skill that people have or don't. In terms of physical and mental disabilities, this can be extremely discouraging to most. There is an adaptive technology for every instrument, ways to enlarge music on a iPad with a pedal to turn pages for people with impaired vision, pulsing watches for people with imparied hearing, and so on.

Being aware of technologies is so important in any discipline, especially in music since it could mean the difference between someone being able to perform and not being able to perform.

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What Literacies are Prominent in Music?- Reflective Post 2

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What Literacies are Prominent in Music?- Reflective Post 2

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This class has made me think a lot about literacies within music. The major idea that I have gained from considering this, is how inclusive music truly is. I cannot think of a single literacy that is not included within this discipline. In a music class you have to be able to read and interpret musical notation, all style and dynamic symbols, auditory clues for tuning, balance, and blend, the conductor's pattern, steady beat internally and externally, different language cues for tempo and style, the title, the date, the composer, fingerings or stickings, tendencies or your instrument, and so much more that I'm sure I'm excluding.

The reason I think it is important to point this out is to show how many teachable moments lie within a music classroom. We don't just teach how to play an instrument, we're teaching math, history, reading, foreign languages, and creativity. It is important to capatalize on this idea in music because it is one of the main reasons it can be so appealing. Every student with different strengths has something to offer in a music classroom.

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What is the Difference Between Literacies and Texts?- Reflective Post 1

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What is the Difference Between Literacies and Texts?- Reflective Post 1

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We lightly touched on this distinction in class one day and I wanted to elaborate and share my thoughts. Personally I believe texts are all types of literacies, but not all literacies are texts.

To me, a text requires written word. Any book, newspaper, online article, etc. I would consider a text. When I looked up the definition I got "the content of any form of written word." The key part of that definition is the content part. This means that  not any series of random letter strung together is a text, but it has to be meaningful, coherent words linked to create content.

Literacies on the other hand means anything that can be interpreted. Texts are a great example of a literacy, but literacies can also include street signs, musical notation, color coding, etc. Anything that can be deciphered constitutes as a literacy, whether it is words or symbols.

This is the distinction that makes the most sense to me from what I took from our conversation in class.

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Developing Literacy in Music- Epiphany Post

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Developing Literacy in Music- Epiphany Post

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One of the major things I struggled with coming into this class is trying to apply everything we learn about how to help my students develop different literacy skills in a musical setting. All the activities we have done in class appear to be core class based, but I have learned and developed ways to creatively apply some of these practices to a music classroom.

The major difference between traditional core classes and a band class is the added idea of a collaborative, skill-based activity. The whole band has to develop individual and group skill to reach a collective goal of a good performance. With this goal in mind, it is so easy for directors to ignore the teaching aspect of their job and focus of just rehearsing. This class has taught me that not only can literacy activities apply  to a band class, but they could actually be helpful to the overall learning of the students.

For example, when studying a piece of music from a certain time period, it would be beneficial to take time out of rehearsal to discuss a memoir or short story from the same time period. This would give the students perspective to the mind-set and emotion that was put into the music their playing. It would increase their general literacy and help them connect literature to music which is a whole new literacy in itself.

I now find extreme worth and merit in this class and the idea of teaching multiple literacies within your discipline after giving it much skepticism and thought.