to particular sections of the score. This way, all learners are able to be engaged and “see” how their instrument part fits into the overall piece. This is particularly help- ful for visual learners who may have had trouble hearing this in the past. Having the score projected, also enables students to see everyone elses’ part, which is particularly helpful with group and/or self-assessment activities. To date, displaying the score has been the piece of technol- ogy that has most transformed how rehearsals are run in my classroom.
Enhancing How to Share Audio and Video with the Ensemble
Playing a metronome or tuning pitch, an audio clip,
or video are now all able to be projected onto the front board with sound running wirelessly through the Blue- tooth Music Receiver that is hooked into the classroom’s stereo system. This is all able to be done right from the Ipad without having to leave the conductor’s podium to walk over to other areas of the room. This technology streamlines how long it would have previously taken in a rehearsal to set up and share any type of audio or video examples with the ensemble.
Immediate Feedback and Self-Assessment Activities As a musical ensemble, being able to immediately
hear one’s performance and self-assess is one of the most beneficial things for improving as a group. By imple- menting this new technology into the classroom, the IPad’s video camera can be used to record the ensem- ble as they are performing through a section of a piece. The video can then IMMEDIATELY be played back to students while being projected on the front board with the sound running wirelessly through the sound system. This type of activity would have previously taken much longer to implement into a class period; therefore, the assessment would not have been planned for as often. To be able to quickly and seamlessly provide this type of self-assessment opportunity to the ensemble has been extremely beneficial to their growth as musicians.
Streamlining the Performance Assessment Submission Process
Previously implementing Google Classroom as a platform for students to submit their individual playing test videos was one of the many ways that it was already being used. Students now have the option of submit-
MARCH 2018
ting their playing tests from home or school. Having the availability of the IPad in the classroom to the students, has given them a way to streamline the process. By load- ing the Google Classroom App onto the IPad, students can video their assessment material and submit it into Google Classroom directly from the IPad. Considering that only a decade ago, student’s playing tests were being recorded with hand-held audio recorders, this technol- ogy has truly transformed “how” the teacher can quickly assess students.
Technology as an “Instrument” in the Ensemble The last way that the Ipad has been implemented into
the classroom to date, is through the use of it as a “musi- cal instrument”! During our ensemble’s performance of Erika Svanoe’s, The Haunted Carousel, a student played the IPad using the Garage Band App to mimic the sound of a theremin. This technology was not available to en- sembles only a short time ago!
See it Live!
A short video of the live implementation of these technologies in my classroom can be found at the You- Tube link below:
https://youtu.be/Ba3_e5AMq3o
Connecting our classrooms to the technological world outside of our school buildings, is becoming in- creasingly more and more important in order to truly be effective as educators. The technology that has begun to be implemented in my classroom has only scratched the surface of what is available. Everyday, it is important to strive to think of more ways that one’s teaching can be transformed through the use of technologies. Tech- nological knowledge is something that current college graduates will already have in their “data banks.” Those of us that live as “Digital Immigrants” must constantly be forward-thinking to truly create a culture and envi- ronment in our classrooms that prepares our students to not only be lovers and consumers of music but, to be technologically-apt citizens in today’s global society.
A special thank you to the East Brunswick Education
Foundation for funding this grant and their continuous gen- erosity towards the students and teachers of the East Bruns- wick School District.
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