Emerging Practices in Music Education- Essay/Reflection 1

Alexandra Finnie

What are some of your preconceived notions about teaching music with technology? What biases might
you have? What experiences (positive or negative) have you had that might impact your teaching with
technology in the future?

My experiences using technology in music classroom/teaching settings are quite

limited. I have used computers and projectors regularly in my substitute teaching

situations. My substitute teaching experiences have afforded me with a limited amount of

experimentation with Smart Boards, SmartMusic, keyboard labs, finale (for a composition

project), and websites such as YouTube, GoNoodle and ClassDojo. While it may seem as if I

have been exposed to a decent variety of different technologies, I do not know much about

how to use, or why to use, many of these different tools.

This past year, I had the opportunity to substitute teach for a middle school general

music teacher. I taught two different types of classes, some that consisted of students

learning piano performance skills, and some that involved a musical composition project.

The students who were practicing piano, used keyboards and headphones for the majority

of their class time. After leading the students through a warm-up activity and introducing a

new concept for playing a scale with the proper finger patterns, I walked around the

classroom and monitored the students as they were practicing. Unfortunately, the

classroom was not set up with a system that allowed the teacher to hear individual, or

groups of, students. This made it a little bit difficult to monitor student practicing (and

focus). This set-up reminds me of the Cycle of Mastery that Dorfman discusses throughout

chapter six of his book. Each student was able to work independently. Some students were

very advanced, however, other students needed more time and guidance. Using

headphones and individual keyboards allowed students to work at their own pace. The
other classes focused on a composition project that used Finale. After a class discussion

about different types of duets, musical elements that we noticed from a few listening

examples, I introduced the composition assignment. Before students started working, we

set-up their compositions together, and saved them to their student accounts. I also offered

basic instructions about note and rest entry. The goal of the assignment was to compose an

instrumental duet using the different techniques that we discussed. They were able to

choose from a list of acceptable instruments (concert-pitched), and were instructed to

include each type of duet technique that we had previously discussed. Other parameters

included a minimum of a certain number of measures, using specific rhythmic figures, and

using a specific key. These limitations helped students focus on the musical goal of the

project, which centered on experimenting with the different types of duets. I think that

there was a healthy balance between musically focused instruction/activities and

technology instruction. Overall, both of these activities seemed to challenge and motivate

the students, and if it makes sense in my future teaching positions, I would like to use them

to my own teaching.

As a student, I experimented with creating a short composition using sound loops

and recording through Garage Band. However, since that experience, I have tried to use

garage band and found it to be slightly confusing. At this point, I am not comfortable using

Garage Band with my students because I do not feel prepared to answer their questions.

I believe that technology can be a very useful tool in the classroom, however it also

has the potential to take away from the learning experience if the teacher is not

comfortable with the different types of technologies. My goal for this class is to become

more comfortable with using different types of technology programs, so that I can apply

this knowledge to my teaching experiences. Using appropriate technology can help

motivate students to be more engaged in learning, and I am interested in learning about

new ways to use technology.

Crematas research study introduced new ways of thinking about constructivism in

a music setting. I love the idea of the teacher acting as a facilitator for the learning

experience. Also, using technology in popular music settings seems to be a great

opportunity for teachers to differentiate instruction. Additionally, before this class, I had

never thought about the music classroom in terms of the music industry. It is a unique and

intriguing way of viewing the music classroom.

The Dorfman reading opened my eyes to many new ways of using technology in the

music classroom. I noticed that the majority of the examples involved high-school or

middle-school level students. At this point in my development as a teacher, I do not have

the skills or knowledge to use a lot of these technologies. I would love to learn about quality

recording techniques and equipment, so that my students can record themselves and

combine multiple recorded lines to create original compositions. Two of the teaching

situations stood out to me. I would love to incorporate the music listening journal idea into

my teaching (p. 125). This listening and reflecting activity provides a unique experience for

students to share their musical preferences, and creates an opportunity for students to

realize that musical elements of music theory relate to the music that they listen to outside

of school. I want to use this activity in my own teaching so that students have the

opportunity to direct their own learning experiences by reflecting on musical examples of

their choice (constructivism). I am also interested in creating a composition project in

which my students are able to connect some aspect of literature or visual art to their

compositions. This idea is inspired by the mythology project (p. 111). Finally, I am very

curious about learning what hyperscore has to offer, and how to use it.