BP8_Link to another's blog

Check out my comment on Alison's blog









Here's a link to my comment on Carl's Educator Studio page.

RILS

Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario

Brief Overview: Students will use Garage Band to create a podcast sharing their analysis of a piece of music, post it to the classroom blog, and comment on their peers’ podcasts.

Target Audience: Middle School Music

Materials

·      Recording of piece

·      Mac with Garage Band

·      Classroom Blog

Objectives

At the end of this scenario, students will be able to:

·      analyze a piece of music.

·      create a podcast.

·      post their podcast to the classroom blog.

·      discuss their opinions regarding the podcast

Procedure

1.      Students will analyze a piece of music for form/recurring themes, the instruments used in the piece, and style.

a.     Some questions that should be addressed in the podcast:

                                               i.     What is the form of the piece? (binary, ternary, rondo, fugue, theme and variation, etc.)

                                             ii.     What instruments do you hear used in the piece?

                                            iii.     What style(s) are being used? (staccato, legato, etc.)

b.    The piece should be one that was covered in class or otherwise approved

2.     Create a 30 second podcast discussing the required elements

3.     Post podcast to classroom blog

4.     Comment on 2 classmates’ podcasts

a.     Do you agree or disagree with their analysis? Why or why not?

Web 2.0 Tool

Garage Band- recording software to create music and podcasts. http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/

Social Participation/Social Learning

Students will use the classroom blog to comment on each other’s podcasts about whether they agree or disagree and why.

Making Connections

·      Previous knowledge of form, instruments, and style

·      Previous knowledge of Garage Band

·      Something relevant and global: All music, regardless of genre or era contains similar, fundamental elements.  Identifying these items helps students to understand unity and variety.  Creating a podcast incorporates technology skills that can help connect them to both a local and global audience.

Create/Produce: Podcast

Assessment

Rubric:

	4-5 points	2-3 points	0-1 points
Form	Correctly identified	Somewhat correctly identified	Incorrectly identified
Instruments	Correctly identified	Somewhat correctly identified	Incorrectly identified
Style	Correctly identified	Somewhat correctly identified	Incorrectly identified
Length of Podcast	30 seconds, + or – 5 seconds	30 seconds, + or – 10 seconds	30 seconds, + or – 15 seconds
Comments	Appropriately commented on 2 students’ podcasts	Appropriately comment on 1 students’ podcast	Did not comment or comments were not appropriate

Reflection

·      Students reflect in comments on classroom blog

·      Following assessment, educator will reflect on the assignment’s effectiveness and student engagement.

Things that went well:	Things that could be improved:	Ideas for improvement:

This is an example podcast for my RILS project

RILS example by danascobie

PE5_Garage Band

I used all of my new Garage Band skills to create a recording.  My husband finished writing a song this summer (the same of I used in my iMovie project), so we made a recording of it.  First he recorded the guitar, then vocals, then drums.  Then, I put them all together for you to enjoy.

I Feel You Move by danascobie

It didn't quite turn out exactly as I hoped.  We live in an apartment complex, so recording the drums was a little tough.  Kyle couldn't play loud to get the full sound out of them.  I think it turned out ok though.

PE4_Garage Band

The tool I chose for my RILS is Garage Band. This is a tool that I think could be very useful to me as a music teacher. Beyond making podcasts for various assignments, I haven't used Garage Band very much. I decided it would be beneficial for me to go through the Garage Band '11 Essential Training on Lynda.com.
One thing that I thought was really neat and potentially very useful was learning how to add tracks of live instruments.
Here, he is working on various tracks with different instruments.  The drums and acoustic guitar are already in, and he is recording his own bass guitar part to go along with what is already there.

I think using something like this in the music classroom could be very engaging for students.  Building a song from Apple loops that are pre-recorded in Garage Band and ready to use, and then adding their own instrument could be a very fun exercise that really allows the students to be creative.

I also learned about many customization features Garage Band has.  For example, when recording electric guitar, there are many different types of amps and effects to choose from.  You can choose and amp, adjust all the knobs, add different stompboxes, adjust all of their knobs, and the list goes on.

There are so many different options, I think you could spend all day playing with all the options.









Since my RILS specifically deals with podcasts, I found the podcast section of the Lynda.com Training particularly interesting.  I have made podcasts for previous assignments, but only learned about the features in Garage Band by figuring it out on my own.  Here I learned more about how to adjust track volumes, and also how to add artwork, chapters, and links to websites.

BP7_One Minute Video

I "interviewed" our turtles about Diigo. Enjoy!  :o)

BP4_Diigo

For my second Web 2.0 tool review, I chose Diigo.  Diigo is a social bookmarking tool that we first learned about last month.  I hadn’t really used Diigo, so I wanted to learn more about it.

Diigo’s three highlights are research, share, and collaborate.  Through a browser add-on, Diigo allows you to highlight, clip pictures, and add sticky notes to websites.  Pages that are bookmarked, along with highlighted sections, and clipped pictures appear in My Library.  

I was researching the Outer Banks 8k Race that is in conjunction with the Outer Banks Marathon.  Here, I highlighted the section I am interested in:

  

Here, I clipped a picture of the race logo:

 Here you can see My Library, with all of my bookmarks, the section I highlighted, and the picture I clipped.

Diigo also uses tagging to organize bookmarks and allow you to find them easily later.  There are multiple search options that allow you to not only search for websites, but also tags and annotations.  Diigo has both iPhone and Android apps, to allow access anywhere.  

To share with Diigo, you can build your own Professional Learning Network.  You can follow and be followed by people you choose in My Network.  There are multiple sharing options, so your research can be public or private.  You can also share a tag via an RSS feed.  Material can be shared with non-Diigo users by sending them an annotated link.

Collaborating in Diigo is done through groups.  You can share the items you find with annotations to the groups page, share snapshots, and have threaded discussions.  There is an email alert setting for group members.  This is my Diigo group for my CBR project.  I found an interesting article, so I added it to my CBR group.

 In the article, someone else has used Diigo to highlight and add sticky notes.

I think Diigo is a very useful tool, and could be used in any subject area.  With so many possibilities, Diigo is a great resource for both professional and personal settings.

PE3_iMovie

Here's my iMovie!  One of my husband's New Year's Resolutions was to learn a new song every week.  Here are some highlights set to an original:

 

www.kylescobie.com

BP6_Link to another's blog

Check out my comment on Duwaine's blog.  Here's the link!

BP5_Link to another's blog

Check out my comment on Amanda's blog.  Here's the link!

PE2_iMovie

I have just finished the Lynda.com iMovie '11 Essential Training.  It was really long, but definitely very thorough and useful.  I thought the training was very well done, and I'm excited to go play around in iMovie and try some of the neat things I learned.
One thing that I thought was really cool was flash and hold last frame.  This is where a still image is created and held for a few seconds to add special effect.  Here's a shot of that being demonstrated:

Ok, I'm off to have fun in iMovie...  :o)

PE1_iMovie

As I work my way through the Lynda.com iMovie '11 Tutorials, I'm wishing I would have done this sooner.  Last month in the TMD class was the first time I used iMovie.  A friend who has some experience using iMovie helped me some, and I used the help section at apple.com, but this tutorial is very detailed and extremely helpful.
The most useful aspect of the tutorial right away was the layout of the events and projects.  Being new to the Mac, I had initially had a hard time remembering the difference between an event and a project.  Having this clearly explained and after watching someone else work in the program for a while has made this very clear.

BP_2 Google+

The Web 2.0 tool I chose is Google+.  It is a new social tool that is still in the "invitation only" stage.  Google+ is a sharing tool that tries to make sharing online more like sharing in real life.  It basically combines Facebook, Twitter, and Skype.  The main features are circles, hangouts, instant upload, sparks, and huddle.
Circles allow you to organize your friends based on how you know them.  Friends, family, acquaintances, boss, and people you follow, for example.  When you share a status update, you choose which circles you would like to share with, so you don't have to worry about your boss seeing your Friday night party pictures.  Here are my circles:

With hangouts, you can let people know you're online and hanging out and see who comes to hang out with you.  It's similar to Skype, in that it's a video chat, but you can add up to 10 people (for free!).

Another neat feature of Google+ is Instant Upload.  Google+ will automatically upload pictures taken with your Android phone to a private album, where they're stored until you share them.  This allows uploading from your phone quickly and easily with no cords needed.  Here are a few photos that I took last week on my phone that have automatically been uploaded to Google+.  No one else can see these, unless I decide to share them.  Even then, I can share them with only who I want to.

Sparks is a feature that suggests articles you might want to read or videos you might want to watch based on the interests you enter.  I like to run, so I have entered running into my Sparks.  Here are a few articles and videos about running that might be interesting.

The final feature is Huddle.  Huddle makes coordinating with a group of people easy.  Rather than individually texting each one of the group of friends that is going to hang out later, all of those texts can be combined into a group chat.  Everyone can be on the same page quickly and easily.

I think Google+ is a great social networking tool for educators.  I especially like how easy it is to manage contacts.  Teachers being on Facebook was always a big "no-no" in my school district.  Google+ is a great way to manage both personal and professional contacts while reaping all of the benefits and networking opportunities that social media offers.

P.S. I still have a lot of invites, so if you'd like to try Google+, let me know and I'll send you an invite.

BP3_iGoogleScreenShots

Here's my iGoogle page:
Home

FSO/CBR

ETC

BP1_Welcome to my blog

Hey all,
Welcome to my EMDT blog!  I'm excited to use blogging in our new class.  I have a bit of experience with blogging, but just for personal use, and I'm excited to use it in an educational setting too.
As I write this I'm at a Panera Bread, using the wifi for about the 4th time this week.  My husband and I just moved to Raleigh, NC and don't have internet at home yet.  :(  I'm so ready to be connected again!
Happy blogging!