Category: EdTech Blog Page 1 of 2

Minecraft looks like a great way to get students to interact with the content you’re teaching. The many different way it can be used are very exciting from a teacher’s perspective.

That being said I am still struggling to make the connection between this and music.

I’ll attach the minecraft education website here so that you can see the different resources available.

Homepage

After learning about the SAMR model twice now, I have come to really appreciate the way that it presents the use of technology in classrooms.

It is nice that this method has acknowledged that just substituting technology into regular activities has no real function. There are no obvious benefits and it can possibly be distracting. The idea that introducing technology to a classroom should be adding something to the learning is important. Don’t just add technology for the sake of adding it.

This model also shows how much deeper technology can take you. It even goes as far as to talk about redefining learning through technology. I really like how it clearly shows steps that enhance the learning in deeper and different ways. This would be really helpful if you found a new technology you were interested in trying as you would be able to clearly find a way to include it that would be most beneficial to student learning.

In the workshop we went to in Multiliteracies also talked about another model: TPACK.

I found this model useful for getting a more comprehensive overview of how technology should fit in and be just as important as pedagogy and content. It also includes the idea of context which I think is really important. You need to know what students you’re working with and what their abilities and resources are before you can plan properly to include technology in your classroom.

I think it was valuable to have these two models introduced together as they play off each other nicely. The SAMR model is more in detail about using technology in specific lessons or situations where as the TPACK model is an overview that could be used for unit or year planning. Im glad to have had the chance to consider these models as they have put technology in the classroom in perspective.

In this past class we talked about different technologies we can use as teachers to make our lives easier. I enjoyed the idea of using PowerPoint as a tool for image editing. During class I made my new header using power point! The bass image is a little blurry from stretching it to match the trumpet image in the way that I wanted it, but overall I really like the product. Once I had the images, I was able to use the design suggestions and create this within 5 minutes. I struggled to save is as an image and ended up taking a screenshot to use which probably added to the blurriness as well. Anyways, this will be a tool I can use to make images, charts, etc, quickly and efficiently.

I also like the idea of having students use PowerPoint to make their own projects. If they had to make some sort of poster they would be able to use it to easily manipulate the images and shapes they were trying to use. It is easy to bring in your own images as well as use shapes and organizational systems(smart art)  that they already have programmed in.

This past week my eyes have been opened to the possibilities of PowerPoint as an educational tool that is much more exciting as the way I have been using it in the past.

After having the opportunity to experience PSII from a teachers perspective, my eyes have been opened to the possibility of what education could look like. I would love to teach in a school like that where students can follow their passions. The idea that they are teaching students to become well rounded people and real life skills is very attractive to me. I was really blown away by the girl who was in ninth grade and was able to articulate her thoughts so clearly. She was filled with passion for the school and the ways that it has helped her. This opportunity almost made me sad to be learning and participating in typical public school. Are there ways we can bring these ideas into the public school framework? It doesn’t really seem like it in high school.

I personally wonder about how students who are interested in music get along there. They had a pretty nice music room but they obviously don’t have large ensembles to play with. Would that deter students from applying to a classical music school? If the student had a real interest in music could they do their inquiry around actually getting better at an instrument? It seemed like they had a music teacher but are the music classes limited to “pop” instruments or can they study classical?

Overall I was really grateful for the experience. I definitely hope to be able to go back sometime and find the answers to some of the questions that have popped up since leaving there. It might also be interesting to teach in a school like that someday.