technology
Personalize Your Music Classroom Michael Hayden, WMEA State Chair, Technology
Project-based mu- sic is a way for students to person- alize their learning, take ownership, use relevant technol- ogy, build upon and acquire new skills and showcase their understanding to
key learning outcomes – and yes, solve a real world “problem.” As with other types of personalized classrooms, project-based environments focus on learner outcomes and 21st
century skills such as critical
thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication.
This type of democratic learning envi- ronment has students learning by doing and by allowing all to explore individual interests and passions. Learners are more motivated and excited about school. Fi- nally, this real world context has a direct connection to our students’ lives outside of school.
The heart of project-based music is per- sonalized learning. This student-centered environment places each student in control of their learning outcomes, the resources they use, and the ways in which newly acquired skills or mastered content will be showcased. A few takeaways about personalized learning and project-based learning are:
• Learner becomes more responsible for their learning
• Connects with learner interests, passions and talents
• Makes learning relevant to each individual student
• Inquiry based education
• Acquire skills to select and use appropriate technology
• Makes use of various 1:1 technologies
• Goes beyond differentiation and individualization
12 Let’s Get Started!
Projects in which students take control of their learning can be started with any grade level and are perfect for the music class- room. There is no one-size-fits-all first step so start small, design a single project for your students and center it around your learner outcomes. Don’t forget to make it relevant. As you get started with your first project be sure to plan formative steps that build off one another, provide students with an assessment rubric or work with individuals/groups to create their own, include an opportunity to reflect and create opportunities for students to share (pres- ent) their projects.
You may also find it useful to create over- all objectives for each project that include a project template and general guidelines. These guidelines set up the project and help students who are not yet comfortable designing their own learning objectives.
What Do Some of These Projects Look Like?
Music Composition • Create a remix of a favorite song
• Arrange pre-made loops to create new music
• Video game / movie trailer soundtrack
• Create a cover song
• Live audio composition using recorded (found) sounds
• Create a soundscape
Instructional Videos Students work in small groups and show- case understandings of skills, concepts, or topics and create an instructional “how-to” video that highlights the process and the product. These videos serve as a resource to other students. One great tool for student video creation is the YouTube Video Editor. You can use Video Editor
Go to the online version of WSM to easily access hyperlinked content within this article.
tools to put together clips to create new videos and publish them to YouTube with one click. All of your uploads are added automatically.
Graphic Novels / Comic Books Similar to a how-to video, having students create their own instructional guide can personalize, strengthen and showcase their own understanding while providing a resource for other students to use in the future. There are numerous graphic novel/ comic book creator apps and websites available that go beyond creating a word processing document.
Student Newsletters Students create a newsletter for their par- ents and the school community that high- lights what is going on in music class and explains the process behind some of the skills based products (like performance). Pages (for Mac), Microsoft Word and Google Docs have built in newsletter tem- plates as a starting point for students.
Independent Musical Focus Students independently explore one of the many facets of music. This provides students the opportunity (and the time) to further explore and investigate an area of musical interest ranging from music history to the intersection of physics and music. Students create their own learning outcomes, how they will showcase un- derstanding and identify what resources they may need.
By placing students at the center of their own learning, music educators can re- ally tap into the individual interests and
April 2017
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
