Class Webpage

https://sites.google.com/my.lr.edu/therebelregiment/home

Blended, Flipped, or Personalized?

It is extremely difficult for music educators, specifically ones that teach performing ensembles, to imagine teaching in any other format than what has been done for centuries. Our situation is a bit different in these settings because we are always dealing with a performance task. Most of the activities or assessments in our classrooms are performance based. 99 times out of 100, we are going to be rehearsing with 60 or more students on a piece of music. There is not some magical app or website out there that has help on how to play the pieces right in front of our students. So, it is scary for many music educators to even think about changing it up.

After going through this course, I have began to think of ways I could possibly incorporate these styles of learning in my performing arts classroom. While I do not see it as functional on a daily basis, I do see some of them becoming useful from time to time. These would like surface or be relevant during sectional work. This is a period of time that the students gather in their particular section and work on smaller portions of a piece or pieces. Here I could see blended or personalized learning coming into play. I could see students gathering around a laptop or iPad and watching short master classes on a concept that is presented in their music.

Similarly, I could see flipped learning introduced for home assignment purposes. There could be instructional videos presented by professionals in the field that teach them a subject that I may not have time for in class. These could be considered sub-mini lessons outside of regular class time. Almost like a science lab that is attached to those science classes we took in undergrad, remember those? While this is not complete implementation of these learning devices, I think it is a way to incorporate them into our unique situation.

Image Reference:

Blended Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://michiganross.umich.edu/programs/executive-education/why-ross/blended-learning

Personalized Learning. (2018, March 21). Retrieved from http://www.dreambox.com/personalized-learning

Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship, in many ways, is extremely similar to the citizenship we experience in our everyday lives. Citizenship revolves around this idea of "acceptance" into a society. This acceptance comes in many forms: social groups, educational institutions, and in the work place. Sometimes digital citizenship is harder to manage than our everyday experiences because they are open to more people in a shorter time frame. Crisis management in the social arena is something that everyone has had to deal with in the new world on some level or another.

Digital Citizenship is different from other forms of the term because it could hinder someones reputation more quickly and for a longer period of time. The saying today is, "once it is on the Internet, it is there forever." While this is debatable, it is true in many ways. While we once were able to recover from a social incident before technology, that is now becoming more difficult.


Citizenship is something to usually be very proud of. It comes from a sense of nationality and pride in your community. Often it is very difficult to gain citizenship unless born in that country. We can think of gaining this status into a foreign country as very similar to gaining good citizenship. Often creating a decent digital footprint calls for a lot of effort. It is something that we must take great pride in, because it follows us for, potentially, a significant amount of time.

It is very important for teachers to recognize the ever increasing role that digital citizenship plays in our students' daily lives. Students frequently struggle with school, not because of the content itself, but because of outside influences–gossip, if you will. Teachers most now put extra emphasis on what it means to care for our online perceptions of self. To take pride in what others see of us is very important for our futures.

Image Reference:

Digital Citizenship. (2017, October 11). Retrieved from                          https://www.heathwood.org/academics/digital-citizenship

TPACK and SAMR

TPACK and SAMR are both frameworks for integrating technologies into teaching and learning. TPACK is used primarily as a visual representation of how to perceive this process. It uses a venn diagram to illustrate the interrelationships between Technology, Content Knowledge, and Pedagogy. SAMR uses four topics to define how technology can be used in the classroom. These topics include Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition.

TPACK

When I think of TPACK I think of: "using technology to effectively teach (pedagogy) content. While there are many criticisms of TPACK, I think it servers it purpose. Sure, it may not offer detailed ways as to how to do what it is illustrating, but I do think it is something worth checking in on from time to time; a way to "check" yourself, if you will. 

From this diagram we can see the different parts of TPACK and their intersections. I consider these check points. The importance of TPACK is understanding how these intersections matter in our teaching. Technology and Pedagogy intersect to bare the question: Do you know how to teach students how to use tech? Technology and Content knowledge meet to ask: Do you have the knowledge of what technology works for your subject field? Content Knowledge and Pedagogy meet to ask a question that teacher education has for centuries: do you know how to teach your content? All of these aspect combine to make TPACK.

SAMR

SAMR does something that TPACK does not and that is, SAMR digs a little deeper into how teachers use technology in the classroom. Substitution can be described as the new tech replacing the old tech without changing the task. This means that students are still completing the same assignments during the year, however, they are using a different medium to do so. Augmentation is characterized by increasing functionality when using technology. This may look like students making a google doc sharable with other classmates to facilitate in collaborative learning. Modification is when technology is now used to transform the task. This means that students are now doing the same task as before, but they are doing a variation of the previous task. Redefinition is designing and creating a new task through the use of technology. Each and every day teachers are finding new avenues to teach their content. These are things that us "old folk" did not think was possible when we were our students' ages.

In Support of SAMR

I believe that SAMR is a great tool for all teachers to utilize in their classroom. When considering using technology in today's world, you can ask yourself "how effectively can I use this," by reviewing this model. Without asking fundamental questions that this model indirectly asks of you, you truly cannot effectively implement technological use within your content.

Picture References:

M. (2017, June 09). TPACK Explained. Retrieved from http://matt-koehler.com/tpack2/tpack-explained/

The SAMR Model is Missing a Level. (2017, September 11). Retrieved from       http://ajjuliani.com/samr-missing-a-level/

Personal Learning Network

As I am a millennial, you would think that I know Twitter, like I know how to walk. This actually was not the case. Sense Twitter become popular, I have often criticized it for its lack of substance. When Tweeting first came to the social media front, you could only post like 8 characters (joking– but seriously). I questioned the point of such fragmentations in thought and what they contribute to society. In this quest, I have found that Twitter, if used correctly, can actually be a useful tool throughout one's career. I wholeheartedly believe it still has flaws, but I am willing to admit I did underestimate it more than I should have. While fruitful thoughts still struggle to find their way into this media, it seems there are many educators who find solace in the fact that there is a community they can ask questions and share with on Twitter.

This picture shows just a little snippet of what I came across in my endeavor to make use of a medium I once thought not useful. While the thoughts are strict and to the point, adding a link can lead to further discussion about a topic. Also Twitter chats are a great way to get a meaningful conversation going. I particularly found hashtags to be a great tool in finding new people and organizations to follow.

I plan to continue to dive into Twitter and find useful accounts like these and 20 of my other current followings. I hope that I will be able to sustain this portion of my PLN by conversing in dialog that helps me form my classroom in a manner that benefits my school and colleagues.