technology Pulaski Community Middle School:
Seamless Integration of Technology in the Middle School Band
David Johnson, WMEA State Chair, Technology
Pulaski Commu- nity Middle School (PCMS) has a ter- rific vibe and anyone who would spend just five minutes in the building would feel a deep sense of community in spite of the school’s
larger size. The surrounding community that feeds PCMS is very proud and sup- portive of its music programs. This is clearly evident in everything from the well thought out facilities, the very strong recruitment and retention throughout the instrumental music program and the ad- equate allocation of funds for music, sup- plies and equipment needs. They also have an active music booster organization.
Rachael Radkey responded early to the Wisconsin School Musician’s music technology survey. She directs the sixth grade band and teaches individual and small-group lessons throughout the entire day. She, along with seventh grade band teacher Jean Fontaine and eighth grade band teacher Tim Koslovsky, works together to ensure every student is given the individual attention needed. Together, this trio of dedicated teachers creates a very positive and effective environment for learning. Walk into any one of their
classes and you will see students who are polite, considerate, outspoken, inspired, enthusiastic about learning and sounding good on their instruments.
“It’s really a dream situation,” says Radkey. “Tim and Jean are amazing people to work
with...It’s hard to imagine trying to do any of this all by myself.”
During the seventh grade band rehearsal I watched Koslovsky hop back to the percussion section to assist the snare drummers on a tricky part while Fontaine continued directing from the podium. Radkey quietly pulled a few students here and there from the rehearsal to give them a short small-group lesson. Without a doubt, the band students at PCMS are getting a lot of individual attention on their respective instruments. Anyone who has the pleasure of listening to the students play will im- mediately hear the wonderful results of this skillful interaction.
Technology at PCMS
Radkey says, “I think that using technol- ogy in the classroom is an amazing way to connect music to students lives. When I’m teaching a new rhythm, I can pull up a metronome with a rock or pop beat and ask the kids to play along to it. The rhythms we teach can be found in today’s music and students respond better when you can
Visit the online digital version of WSM for additional content and features to this article.
relate the rhythm or music to something they are familiar with. When I ask my students to compose in the computer lab, we talk about composers today and how they write down their hit songs. If we can relate our content to students experiences and interests, they will respond and yield some amazing results. Students can really take pride in their compositions.”
The students are enthusiastic about the ad- dition of the SmartBoard and SmartMusic, and most of their comments regarding music technology was centered around those two tools.
Sixth grade student Kevin says, “I like it [the technology] - The SmartBoard is a lot more interactive. I enjoy the games like Staff Wars,” an arcade-style, note-naming game, “and SmartMusic makes me think of how to play and makes me more aware of what notes I’m playing.”
Classroom instruction is enhanced by integrating SmartBoard music
technology at Pulaski Community
Middle School. 46
Other students agree. They appreciate having the play-along tracks while practic- ing, seeing the music being tracked on the screen as they play, the visual feedback it provides showing the performer which notes they miss while displaying the notes they actually play and being able to record and listen to their performances.
“I have made it my goal to incorporate one student project that uses technology per grading period,” says Radkey, “It can be overwhelming to initiate these types of projects in a large group setting like band. However, I have been able to make this goal a reality.”
April 2011
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