technology
And the Winner Is... Michael Hayden, WMEA State Chair, Technology
According to the Neilsen year-end music report for 2017, 7 out of the top 10 streamed al- bums came from this genre. Any ideas? And the winner is... hip-hop! The over- whelmingly popular
genre is really more than that. It continues to redefine youth culture in the U.S. and around the world. And for many of our students, it is the music they choose the listen to when outside our classrooms. Frequently with earbuds in, students pass through the hallway, using the music of their choosing to help create their sonic landscape for the five minutes allowed to get to their next class. Our youth culture also values individual expression and even though they are not consuming music (or media in general) in the way that we are as educators, students are continuously discovering new music through platforms like Pandora, SoundCloud, Spotify and/ or BandCamp. These streaming music services have tens of millions of subscrib- ers and streaming revenue, unlike digital downloads, continues to rise. So the big question is: How can we as educators tap into this incredible interest in music, more specifically hip-hop/R&B as a way to further grow student musical under- standings?
This past July I had the privilege of attend- ing the “Hip Hop in the Heartland Summer Institute,” offered through Urban Word NYC and the University of Wisconsin’s Office of Multicultural Initiatives. The weeklong workshop was comprised of classroom and restorative justice educa- tors, as well as community organizers/ leaders, and focused on ways to use hip- hop and urban arts as relevant, dynamic and necessary educational tools to engage students across multi-disciplinary curri- cula. I had heard of this workshop before but nothing could have prepared me for
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the incredible, transformative week it would be for me. As listed on their web- site, the week really focused on hip-hop and social justice pedagogues as a way to help educators connect hip-hop as both an art form and an instructional tool to improve the academic success of students who remain marginalized in our schools. There was so much to unpack from the workshop that I left feeling exhausted, yet invigorated each and every day. Even as a secondary instrumental music teacher, there were numerous activities, exercises, and overall pedagogical practices that I am looking forward to learning more about and exploring with my students. One example that was shared by a person in my group was to create a class mixtape, which is essentially a playlist of songs to greet students as they enter the door. Each student shares their favorite song at the beginning of the term and the teacher then creates a Spotify playlist (sharing the link via Google Classroom). Imagine the excitement of walking into class to your favorite jam being played. What a simple and great way to build a positive classroom climate!
So in full disclosure, I am by no means an expert in the field of hip-hop pedagogy; however two outstanding Wisconsin music educators, Anthony Cao (acao@
madison.k12.wi.us) and Luke Hrovat- Staedter (
lshrovatstae@madison.k12.
wi.us), are not only teaching hip-hop studies in their schools, they are also sharing their methods and practices at the upcoming state conference in October. Both would love to share more about how teaching hip-hop has helped them connect with their student populations and embrace student and musical diver- sity. You can also learn more through one of the many organizations that values the power of youth culture and voice (HipHopEd), through their weekly twitter chat #HipHopEd, held every Tuesday at 8 p.m. CST.
“Imagine the excitement of walking into class to your favorite jam being played.”
Technology Networking Session at Conference This year at the Wisconsin State Music Conference there will be a technology networking session. Similar to other strand networkings, this session will be a place to connect with other educators using technology in the music classrooms, share ideas and collaborate on creating solutions for the classroom. A survey will be sent out to WMEA members to identify areas of music technology in which attendees wish to take a more in-depth look at in the networking session. I encourage all to attend and to complete the survey prior to the session.
As I am beginning a second term as your state technology chair, I’d like to continue to find ways to help WMEA members with tech related questions, curriculum design (or redesign), integration, or really any- thing that I can. This year I am calling on all teachers to reach out with technology questions or ideas they’d like to bounce off of someone. Music technology, especially when we think of integration, varies great- ly depending on your school, district IT, and the best fit for you and your students. And while there are countless overarch- ing principles and tenets, guidelines and parameters, specific solutions depend on you, your school and your district.
Have a question? Want to share and idea? Let’s connect!
Michael Hayden is director of orchestras at Wauwatosa East High School. Email:
michayden@gmail.com
September 2018
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