How can we design units and projects? – Designing goals, or objectives, such as transfer, meaning, knowledge and skill, to generate projects based on a “worthy topic”

{Worthy Topic} Defining Music.

Generative Questions: 

1. (What is music?)
2. In order for music to be considered “music”, does it have to have text, or sound? 
3. Without text, or without “sound” (instruments), or both, can music still be expressive?
4. Does music have to evoke emotion, meaning, or even be expressive, if it is going to be called music?

Knowledge Goal

• Students will be able to (SWBAT) express in words, what music is.
  • How would this specific goal support students’ creative and critical thinking?
    • Through a reflection, which my students would fill out, I am supporting their creative and critical thinking by allowing them time and space to search within their own thoughts, based on what they previously know or have experienced, about what mean actually is. Not just in generally, but how they feel about on an individual level.

Skill Goal

• SWBAT experiment with different types of “music”, by evaluating/analyzing what meanings or expressions they trigger.
  • After my students identify what they know/think, this goal would allow them to [think critically] experiment with other types of “music”, which they may or may not consider music, and then describe expressive traits, how it made them feel, and/or the meaningful message that was (or was not) communicated.

Understanding Goal (meaning-making)

• SWBAT post a YouTube video which demonstrates their idea and understanding of music.
  • At this point, students have only thought about what music is to them. Now, I am supporting their creativity and critical thinking by asking them to find a selection of media, visually or aurally (depending on their definition), which will represent what music is to them.

Understanding Goal (involving transfer)

• SWBAT create and perform a live version of their original work, which expresses to their audience what music means/is to them.
  • How would this specific goal support students’ creative and critical thinking?
    • I think this goal would offer an opportunity for them to present what they know to be music. They can now do whatever they want (as long as it’s appropriate for school regulations), and create something that they regard as music, no matter what anyone else would label it as. I think this aspect of creativity would open all sorts of doors for them and produce a final product that’s raw and meaningful to the learners. The process leading up to the completion of this goal, would provide enormous amounts of critical thinking alone.

Notes:

• This task (of coming up with goals based on my worthy topic and generative questions) was quite difficult for me, and required a lot of thought. I am still unsure if the goals I came up with for each category are “correct” or fit the category they were placed under. That being said, I feel that some of my objectives/goals could apply to multiple categories. It’s my opinion, and understanding, that my topic is somewhat broad, and uncomparable to a topic such as Beginning Spanish, or The Declaration of Independance. For this reason I found it difficult to understand and construct appropriate goals and objectives.

 

Final Post!!

How might technology mediate musical engagement?

There are MANY ways that technology could mediate musical engagement. For one, anything that is allowing you to engage in music, is mediating music! Something as simply as a door, (if the door is closed, making the music hard to hear, then it is restricting you from engaging in music, therefore it is still mediating your engagement), can even mediate musical engagement. As far as technology, a speaker (streaming music through it), a microphone (allowing the sound you make to be amplified), and even a beat-pad (the buttons you press make sounds), or computer (playing music videos, using garageband), all these things can mediate musical engagement.

What is hybridity?

Hybridity is putting/mixing two different things together to create something, or one thing. For example, in this class we put together digital and acoustic sounds all the time, to create something, such as a project. Although, the actual definition of hybridity is the quality or condition of being hybrid, Hybrid means the offspring of two animals or plants of different breeds, varieties, species, or genera, especially as produced through human manipulation for specific genetic characteristics. Or, another definition I feel could be appropriate for this class is: anything derived from heterogeneous sources, or composed of elements of different or incongruous kinds: “a hybrid of the academic and business worlds”.

How might you define the roles of a teacher in a digital hybrid musical space?

If I am understanding the question correctly, a teacher’s role in this type of space, may be to assist their students with confusing things or obstacles they may face, involving technology or digital technology. Another role could be to simply teach students about how to use the technology they have available to them in class, such as garageband, ableton, midi pads, recorders, etc.

Describe such a space.

This space could be a school music classroom. This classroom could have digital as well as acoustic technology/objects. In other words, all sorts of objects that can make music, including digital things and not just instruments, such as a guitar or piano.

Describe what a teacher might do in such a space.

I feel like this is the same question as the roles of the teacher, but a teacher in this space might assign projects to create music involving both acoustic and digital instruments. Or possibly assign the students to think out of the box and use things such as websites, and other digital applications to complete assignments! (kind of like what i am doing right now, and start constructing their PLN!)

If you were teaching this class what would you do differently?

Honestly, I am not sure there is much I would do different. If I had to name one thing, I might not give my students as many homework assignments (mainly not as many posts), but that is from a student standpoint. I don’t know how it is for you as a teacher, so if I was in your shoes, looking at it from a teacher’s point of view then my opinion might totally change.

What did you like about this class?

I liked the idea of the class, and by that I mean the main purpose of the class. The ideas, and things about technology that it taught me, and how it opened my mind to new and different concepts and ideas that I hadn’t thought about before. For example, how to think about teaching through a technological view, and different techniques and approaches to take, or what tools to use and how to use them, etc.

What do think could have been better about this class?

Well, I would have loved for it to not be at 7:30 am! (Even though I know 7:30 am is the best time of day!) One thing that could have possibly been better, was knowledge and teaching beforehand on things such as technology that we had to use for projects, instead of learning how to use, while also having to create something with it. Although, this may have been the purpose of the whole class? To use our minds in a different way, and be introduce to things we didn’t know how to use? Basically figure it out on our own. This just made it very frustrating at times to complete projects, but in the end I learned something new, and got through it. 🙂

THANKS, for a wonderful semester, overall I enjoyed my time in this class!!!

Video Project Post – Sun Don’t Set in the Morning!

<—Edited video – Tutorial of “Sun Don’t Set in the Morning!”

<—Screenshot recording (sorry there isn’t any sound, but its proof I used piano roll notation!)

1. Describe how you did what you did.

Well, first I imported the video into iMovie. Then I began to create the piano roll, in Garageband, with the melody from my teaching video, “sun don’t set in the morning”. Once I created that, I realized the pitch in Garageband’s recording didn’t match the one in the video. So, I raised the pitch using Piano Roll (which was awesome and saved a lot of time). Then I went on and added in titles, repeating words that were said in the video to clarify them more. I also split several different parts and added in transitions where I felt appropriate so that it would run more smoothly. After that I also added in several sounds underneath several different clips for more fun and flare, (such as sounds from YouTube, and iTunes) and then I decided to cut some parts completely out that I felt unnecessary (such as, parts where the person wasn’t speaking, so that clips went straight on to what she was saying)! Next, I attached the screenshot of my piano roll dictation. Lastly, I added the 10 links i found from my google search on the song “Sun Don’t Set in the Morning”, into this post! (found at the bottom)

2. Describe what went well.

-I think I did a very good job matching up her voice and the background acoustic guitar, to be on the same pitch. I think my video is creative and fun to watch, so you could say. I think I did well with where I put my pop up titles and text in the video, as well where i inserted transitions and made cuts.

3. Describe what you could have done better.

-I think I could have maybe did a little more cutting, and added in some more text and pop-up titles. Within my video there were some parts i completely cut out because they were not necessary to the video, and I think I could have taken a little more out. Also, towards the end of the video, I definitely could have matched up the rhythm of her singing and the acoustic guitar to be even more accurate, but I did my best, and honestly, I was quite fed up with trying to get it perfect (it took forever!!).

4. Describe any problems that you had with the assignment including with specific technology or with the parameters.

-I struggled with the iMovie application in general! I didn’t know what else to use to edit this video, so I had to just figure it out as I went along. For me it was difficult to figure out how to line up sound, add in an image to a selected clip, or just add in little things here and there. I think had i used iMovie before and had more experience with it, then it wouldn’t have been as difficult. Although, given that I didn’t have hardly any experience with it, this project created a whole new learning experience and made the project much more difficult. As far as technology, that was all i used to edit the video, besides Garageband, which I have had much more experience with so it was too bad. There were a few things I didn’t know how to do, but with some help, i was just fine and Garageband was a breeze.

5. Describe what this project might look like in a future educational setting. Write a vignette.

-In my music class we are learning about tutorials, and how to construct them using simple concepts such as how to sing or play a C scale, how to sing a nursery rhyme, or how to clap out a rhythm; anything as simple as those suggestions. Then, with whatever they came up, they constructed a tutorial video. Once that was completed, their assignment was to edit the video, making changes and other alterations to it. Each students tutorial had to be at least 5 min long, and have several steps included into the teaching/instruction. The main purpose of the assignment was not only to learn about tutorials and how to create one, but also to familiarize them with video editing, to make their videos more exciting, and helpful to the teaching process. My students could add-in things, and make changes such as adding in text, pictures, sounds or music to clips. Other requirements included making at least 10 changes or add-ins, and to be creative! Make it their own; fun to watch! The last requirement included showing me that they knew how to cut clips, and have multiple shots/clips in their video, instead of it being one long recording, with no changes in angle, or shots, etc. The students could make any changes they wanted, as long as there were a total of 10 changes, and they made it their own!

10 links:

http://www.waterbug.com/calhoun/lyrics/sundontset.html

http://simplyrobert.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/sun-dont-set/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imo7aSx-Wo0 – (choir singing sun dont set in the morning)

http://bethsmusicnotes.blogspot.com/2012/10/sun-dont-set-in-mornin.html

http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/sun-don-t-set-in-the-mornin-based-on-a-southern-folk-hymn-sheet-music/7634617

http://www.amazon.com/Sun-Dont-Set-Morning/dp/B0019E66MW

http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/window/media/page/0,,3352622-8261603,00.html

http://www.westmusic.com/p/my-singing-bird-804068

5 How to’s!

1.) How to prepare an M audio track in garageband

1. Retrieve your M-audio track device
2. Plug in your M-audio track into your Mac computer, assuring the USB port is connected and the power cord is also attached (if the M-audio track requires a separate cord for power).
3. Pull up Garageband, and select empty project
4. Select a new track by selecting the + button.
5. Once you have selected the + button, a window with 4 different icons will pop up, under Audio, you WILL select the microphone icon à but FIRST, do the following:
6. Click the arrow that is to the right of “My instrument is connected with”…
7. Under “Input device” select the M-Audio option.
8. Then, in order to hear sound from the computer speakers be sure the Output device says “Built-in Output”
9. Now plug in your microphone into the proper plug on the your M-audio device.
10. Speak into your microphone and you should see green sound-waves on your selected Garageband track, as well as on the M-audio device.
11. You’re all set! You can now record sound through Garageband by pressing record and then making sound into your microphone through the M-audio device, yahoo!!

2.) How to embed a SoundCloud link into a WordPress post

1. Once you have found a track you would like to share on your WordPress.com blog, you can do one of two things…
2. First, you can copy the URL in your browser and paste it onto your WordPress.com post…
3. Or, you can click on the “Share” icon above the track
4. Once you have clicked the share icon, select the WordPress.com option
5. Then, grab the short-code, by highlighting it, right click, and copy and then post that to your clipboard.
6. Or, if it’s a self-hosted WordPress: Grab the regular short-code (by clicking the Share button and then highlighting the text underneath the title “Grab the code”
7. Now that you have the short-code, head to your WordPress post and paste in the link where you want your SoundCloud player to appear!
8. And… VIOLLA! You have your SoundCloud track embedded into your WordPress post!

3.) How to play a C major scale on a midi pad

1. Plug in your midi pad to your Mac computer. (USB port)
2. If Garageband doesn’t automatically pop up, open up the application: Garageband.
3. Click on the empty project icon, starting up a new project.
4. One track should already be selected, so now change that track to any of the piano selections (if not already selected).
5. Now, once you have the piano selected as your instrument, press the “scheme 2” button on your midi pad. This is where we will begin our scale.
6. Press the following buttons in this order: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12
7. Then select “scheme 3” and hit number one, completing your scale.
8. If you would like you can go back down, by following the last two steps in the opposite order.
9. Viola! You have played a C major scale on your midi pad!

4.) How to make a song fade in or out using GarageBand

1. Open up your existing track in GarageBand that you would like to fade
2. Once you have your track selected, click on the metronome icon (turning it off)
3. Then, click on the clock icon (to the left of the timer), and select Time
4. Now, select the icon that looks like a line with two dots connecting the lines; (if you put your mouse on this icon and wait a second, it will say Show/Hide Automation)
5. Once you have clicked that icon, a box titled “Volume” will drop down underneath the track
6. Click anywhere underneath the track (where the soundwaves are visible) and a yellow line will appear with a yellow dot on it.
7. Click on the line where you want the fade to begin
8. Then click again, in a different area where you want your fade to end
9. Drag the dot down (up: louder, and down: softer)
10. Depending on how close or far apart the dots are, will determine how fast or slow your fade out/in will occur
11. You now have a fade!
12. Determine what you think sounds best and what you want your fade to sound like, by adjusting the dots further apart, closer together, up, down, etc.
13. Happy fading!

5.) How to detach audio from a YouTube video using iMovie

1. Go to YouTube, and find the video you want to edit.
2. Once you have found the video, copy the URL in your browser
3. Then, open up a new window and go savemedia.com
4. In the space provided, paste the URL and click Download by URL
5. Below the space, a number of options will pop up underneath the title “Download video (choose format)”
6. Select, Save as high quality – MP4
7. Once the video finishes downloading, it will then appear in your Downloads folder of your computer
8. Now that your video is in Downloads folder, open up iMovie
9. Go to File, Import, and select Movies
10. Then open up your Downloads folder and select your video
11. And click Import
12. Once you have your YouTube video imported into iMovie, we can begin detaching the audio..
13. Start by selecting the entire clip
14. Then, grab it, and drag and drop into your time line
15. Right click on your selected clip, and select detach audio
16. This will completely separate the audio from the video.
17. Yep, it’s that simple!

Watch stuff

As a student in Digital and Hybrid Lab, I have noticed that this class has a lot to do with challenging our minds to view teaching and teaching strategies in a number of different ways. Based on the videos we were asked to watch, (which i found very interesting, and educational), I gathered that our world today is overflowing with growth, in every way, especially education and technology! Researchers know more today about the human brain more than ever, and how it develops, especially as children are just starting to grow and learn. In regards to music education, and as future educators, we should be thinking about those things presented in the videos and applying them in our teaching. Each student will have individual needs, its important to remember that, and with technologies growth there are now many ways to to let students step outside the box and not restrain them into a one-way thinking pattern.

What would make this class better?

Well, the thing that wouldn’t necessarily make this class better or worse, would be to have less assignments outside of class, in my personal opinion. Sometimes I feel like we do a lot of busy work, that isn’t totally necessary to excelling in this class, or helping us learn more in regards to this class. That’s just a thought though, and I am not that teacher so I probably do not know whats best for this class! Other than that, i feel as if we do a lot of great things in this class that teach us about digital/hybrid work. I have learned many things in this class that I had no idea about, prior to this course! -Thanks 🙂

Review

Project Information

Overarching Project “Parameters” (Criteria)

1) Each project must include both acoustic & digital sound – For this particular requirement, we used the midi pad, a capella and instrumental tracks, our digital sound. As for acoustic sounds we used an egg shaker, tambourine, drum, and beat boxing! 

2) You must demonstrate how any existing music or sound used in your project is used legally in accordance with copyright, fair use or other appropriate licensing mechanisms. – Well, because we did not publish them OR try sell them, we did not violate any rules or regulations in accordance to copyright laws, and we used it for educational purposes only. 

3) Every person in the group should participate in the process collaboratively (This should be reflected in the final “exhibition” (sharing of the project,) in the collaborative document used for reflection, attendance, and participation in class and your personal portfolio reflections) – As for working collaboratively, we all participated fairly equally. Casidy knew much more about how to cut, and blend the songs, so she played a big part in teaching Jillian and I, about how to do that. All of us worked together though to figure out how we wanted to construct our mash-up, recording audio and digital sounds, and updating and constructing our google doc. 

4) You can build upon existing knowledge and skills but must demonstrate growth and learning with technology and practices with which you have little knowledge or experience (Your reflections both in the google doc and on your portfolio as well as your participation should help to demonstrate this growth) – Overall, everything we used to create our mash-up, I had very little, if any, experience with; such as garageband, and the midi device we used to record acoustic sounds. 

5) Every group needs to create a shared google doc that archives the process i.e. decisions, questions, challenges – Our group logged our progress and thoughts after each class, whether it was inside or outside of class. And by the end of the project we also went through and edited/updated what we needed to, due to changes we made throughout the time of the project. 

Presentation

…For our presentation we will be displaying our mash-up track through a sound system. We still need to discuss whether it will be one we find in the met lab, or the sound system in the classroom. Along with presenting the main track, I think we will also explain what acoustic sound we recorded, and which three microphones we used. In our presentation we will also discuss how we constructed our piece, and why we decided to construct the track the way we did. I am much more confident in our project this time around and excited to present it!! 🙂

Make It Fit

My dream job would probably be working with young, special needs children; whether it be teaching them in a general education aspect, working with them through music techniques, or just simply teaching them basic music skills to help improve their general skills. In this circumstance I think it would be extremely difficult for children with special needs, preschool-aged, to accomplish a project such as creating a mash-up. So, in order to “make it fit” within my circumstances I will have to greatly simplify the project.

For my preschoolers, rather than it being a project, I would construct the project to be more of an activity, which they would engage in for no more than a week. The requirements would be as simple as creating music (no particular melody line) by putting together (mashing-up) two different kinds of instruments, and then showing their peers at the end of the week what they came up with! Because of their young age, I would allow them to choose any instrument; anything from a shaker egg, maracas, mini keyboards, vocals, or even a bell; whatever they can get their hands on and isn’t to complicated for them.

DAY 1 – Present the (mash-up) activity! – include details and requirements. Put students into groups.

DAY 2 – Choose instruments! – Let the students make their own instrument choices; have them practice their own independent skills and choice making, as well as creativity.

DAY 3 – Begin making/creating music! – However the students please or are capable. Teachers and Aids, give assistant as needed; teach them how to correctly play the simple instruments. Teachers and Aids, assist in making the activity as simple and fun as possible, encouraging social interaction and decision-making through music.

DAY 4 – Continue same activities as DAY 3! – Continue making music, and review/practice what the students have already learned. Teachers and Aids, also continue to assist students.

DAY 5 – Presentation day! – Students perform for their peers what they have learned, and the music they have made.

THE END. 🙂

Something I Found.

This YouTube video is a prime example of what our group is trying to create. (click on YouTube video to check it out!) This group in the video did a very nice job mixing up songs, specially Firework by Katy Perry (one song we are using in our mash-up), and Grenade by Bruno Mars. The people in my example also demonstrated the use of microphones, and instruments to mediate their musical engagement. They used a dynamic microphone to record vocals, and other mics to record guitar and piano accompaniment. I also think that just by using the guitar and piano, they are demonstrating the use of instruments to engage in music! As far as this example being some sort of hybrid creation, I have to point out that the classification of something being hybrid can be a matter of opinion. First, I think that because they took two completely different songs; different meanings, tempos, & sounds they demonstrated hybridity. And lastly, they also brought 3 different instruments together to make music, which also demonstrates something hybrid.