Google

At the JPPSS Instructional Technology Integration Institute, there was a common thread throughout most of the sessions. The thread was a phenomenon of Google. It was interesting to learn first of all, the many services that Google has to offer that I haven't been taking advantage of;and secondly, the ways that utilizing these untapped sources could benefit me, both as a teacher, and personally as well.

The funny thing is that the "secret" to using Google to its full capacity is not a secret at all. It just takes a little more curiosity and a little time. All of Google's tools are accessible through the homepage which has all of the "magic" links visible plain as day. However, most of us only use the little search box; but beside the search box and above the search box are other links that can be very useful to us to find helpful programs or better our searches for information.

On the topic of searching on Google. We all do it. If I had a nickel for every time I have said to someone "google it" or said, "I know, I'll google it", I'm sure I would be a rich woman. So, if I, a 27 year old woman tend to use Google as my main means of getting information, how much more would a teenager who is constantly glued and plugged in to the Internet use it? That is why its important to learn how to more effectively search Google, so that we can teach or students how to get accurate information.

Going through the advanced search link on the Google home page, found on the right side of the search bar is the easiest place to begin learning about the different modifications you can make on you search to narrow down results to the most trusted content. There are tricks you can use like site: gov to get only government sites back in your search results. Also, every country has a code that can be plugged into your search to get only results from that country. For example, if you wanted to know about the British colonization of Kenya, you might want to get the Kenyan perspective. So, you would put site: ke in your search. (If you ever need to know the correct code, just google it!) Also, you can manipulate the format in which your results return. This tool can come in handy in the classroom. For example, if you're talking about Kenya during a class, you can ask for results in the format of Google Earth which makes a nice use of smart board technology during a lesson.

Another very handy link found on Google's homepage is the more link which takes us to even more where a wealth of wonderful tools abide. There are more links to narrow searches such as the scholar link. There are opportunities to create Wikis for classes, create a place for you and your class to do work and edit it online in your own private group, and much more. Take an hour or two one day to just sit and play around with all the available links and try to envision ways of incorporating the technology into your students' learning.

Lastly, I want to talk about a tool in Google that has literally changed my life. Its called Google Docs. I thought I was using Docs, and didn't see what the big deal was. At the Institute, I saw the light. There is so much there that can be used for teaching tools and to help organize a teacher and gather resources to use and archive for future use.

In the even more section of Google, on the right side is the link to docs. Click on that link and it will take you to a host of other links. Click on all of them and learn. There are many opportunities to enhance your Google experience. It takes a while to get used to them, but the pay off is big. There are tutorials and helpful guides available all over the place. Don't hesitate to use them. Check out the Reader and Notes tools. They are fabulous time savers.

Some, not all of the tools I talked about are not available without owning an account with Google. However, the things that can be accessed without an account are enhanced when used with one. So, I would absolutely recommend getting the account since its free.

Start googling!

relating technology to music education

As many technologically advancing educators know, Promethean boards come in very handy when designing engaging lessons for the class. The boards are globally interactive. Also, they can be a great assessment tool. Information is readily available before students eyes.

So, since I'm a music educator, I've been looking at ways to specifically integrate technology into my music curriculum. One of the newest ideas I had just today, was to use a thinking map for learning how rhythms relate to each other mathematically. The tree map comes from the thinking in maps series from Promethean Planet.

The things that are great about the maps, is that they are all available as templates in Promethean Planet to be used with the active board, they allow students to be visually engaged and interactive, and they encourage higher level thinking. There are several kinds of maps, but the tree map struck me as the one most conducive to a music lesson.

The tree map allows students to organize information by starting with a micro figure and adding components until the macro figure is realized, or vice versa. Its a way of seeing both the "trees" and the "forest" in one planar view. I thought this would make a perfect oportunity to think about rhythm critically. Since rhythms are all based on either triple or duple, it would be easy to make those two entities a category on the map and then continually divide the rhythms by two's or by three's all the way down the map. Then, the students will see how the notes may speed up while the tempo stays the same. I think it could potentially be a "oh, I get it!" moment for many students. I can't wait to try it out this year!

taking our classrooms into the blogoshpere

Many teachers who want to engage students by using technology are blogging. Its a really simple and easy way to make lessons accessible to students who are bred in a "technology" age. Ask any child of all ages what the first thing is that they do upon arriving home. Look at kids walking down the street with their eyes focussed on the phone in their hand rather than the people and/or objects in front of them. Kids are engaged in the internet, wireless devices, and other technology at least 60% a day. Probably anyone reading this will be thinking that that figure is on the extreme low side.

So instead of trying to pull kids away from their world in orger to teach them, why don't we find our way into their world in order to reach them. Blogs are one of our access portals. Teachers are using blogs in a variety of ways. They post lessons, or home assignments for the kids. They allow the kids to update approved material to the blog. They include images and audio footage to make the site more engaging for the students. They allow the kids to interact through the blog. Some let their students do their journaling online. Also, blogging can be used by kids to do some of their group work out of school, where before it could only have been worked on in class when all the students were present. One other great use is for students who for whatever reason, cannot physically be in the classroom.

Here are some good resources about using blogs in the classroom.

Web 2.0 continued

I learned that web 2.0 is being used more and more by todays educators to get kids "hooked" on learning. There are so many ways that it can be used and so many different websites, technological tools, and tricks.

Largely, the effectiveness of web 2.0 will depend on the creativity and ambition of the educator as far as application in the classroom. Before we can apply the concept of web 2.0, we must be aware of the different resources that are available to incorporate technology. What I will do over the next few days, is talk about the things I am learning from the JPPSS Instructional Technology Integration Institute that I found especially useful to my specific content area (music); or that I found to be extra useful information in general.

First of all, to further explain the whole concept, web 2.0 is meant to get kids actively involved in learning. For example, the internet can be used: to teach an interactive lesson; allow kids to interact with other people (kids, classes, etc.); share information like lessons or homework with students; or even get them involved in writing curriculum!

One of the best lessons I learned today was how to use the internet for my own professional develpment. I can gain more and more knowledge of web 2.0, by interacting with colleagues in places like twitter.com and through blogging. In fact, no sooner did I get released from a session with lesliefisher did I immediately find internet access, start a blog, and tweet that I had a blog and my followers who are educators should check it out. I instantly connected with another JPPSS educator who was also in attendance at the Institute and who directed her followers on twitter to my blog through a process called Retweet (abreviated RT). Now, I have access to dozens of other music educators who are successfully executing web 2.0 in their classrooms and who can share their knowledge with me, and make my job easier. So get on Twitter!

Other web tools that can be used are Google , youtube, Wikis, skype, and of course facebook and myspace. The premise behind the concept is that we are connecting kids through the media that they eat, sleep, and breathe everyday.

As I mentioned before, the best thing I got out of the technology integration sessions was the use of blogging. Check out this Louisiana teacher's effort to use web 2.0 with her class. http://pnaugle.blogspot.com/ More to come.

JPPSS Instrunctional Technology Integration Institute

I am in the midst of a great covention of educators from the Jefferson Parish public school system. Thus far, it has been a wonderful and worthwhile learning experience.

I attend a session called Web 2.0. It turns out that I had already been using Web 2.0, but didn't realize it. Nor was I reaping the full benefits.

Web 2.0 is the use of any interactive website. Whether it be social networking, blogging, or updating your life to the world constantly, these are all a part of Web 2.0. Even if all you do is search for information and then comment and/or put in your "two cents", you are still using this system.

The concept behind Web 2.0 is this: that we control the content of the website, not just access them and read information. By using this system, we can not only gather information on topics that are important to us, but also contribute our knowledge or expertise in certain areas, as well as elaborate by posting comments to others' pages. Twitter, facebook, blogging, and Wikis are some common examples of Web 2.0 interactions.

The purpose of the class I attended today was to realize the benefits of incorporating this kind of technology in the classroom. I definitly intend to do so.