Digital Learning

Using Technology in the Orchestra Classroom

This week we have an assignment through my graduate class to create a lesson plan using a digital resource.  In my opinion, there are so many options, it is difficult to choose only one.  I will begin, however, stating that I am not going to discuss how to choose the actual device to be used.  My school just adopted 1:1 iPads, which is a great thing for me and my class.  There were many considerations when deciding what device to go with for my district, and we are still trying to decide what device to go with for the high school students - if they are also going to do iPads or go with the Chromebooks.   The considerations consisted of mobility - how easy is it to carry around, usability - how easy is it for the students to use, and cost effectiveness - does the cost make sense for this group of students.  For the types of assignments our district was accounting for, iPads seemed to be the best option.  Although students still write papers and such, it is not to the same extent as high school students.  As middle school students, we do more drawing projects and creative videos than the high school, therefore iPads work great for us.  Also with the right protective case, they are more durable than laptops; this is also an important consideration.  Therefore, this is what my district decided to do.  As a teacher, I like this decision and am happy to use it to the best of my ability in my classroom.

Socrative

Now, on to my decision making process for my classroom:
Although I have many ideas, I am trying to get out of my comfort zone to work on something new.  I have already started using exercises and lessons provided through the website www.musictheory.net as well as assignments through Google Classroom, including the use of collaboration through Google Docs.  I would now like to expand into something new.  I'll start with Socrative, which is an app for student discussion or timed quizzes.  If a question is posed to the students, each can respond with an opinion or fact.  This can be a student-led discussion or a team-based race.  Although audio and video recordings are not supported by Socrative at this point, you can attach an article for students to read before answering any questions (Socrative.com, 2016).  This allows classes to have a Socratic Seminar type discussion without having to answer questions aloud in front of their peers.  This resource would be good when thinking about how music makes an impact in different situations or time periods or even the students' own lives.  The downside to Socrative is that the free version only allows one class to be added.  Otherwise, there is a $29.99 per year subscription in order to have up to ten classes enrolled.  This would have to be a part of the consideration before implementing it into the classroom.

Classroom Response System

This is also known as using clickers.  This is a system set up as multiple choice questions where the students use a "clicker" to choose an answer and submit it into the system through a teacher computer.  When most people hear of multiple choice question, they think of basic recall questions.  Although that is one way to use multiple choice questions, that is not the only way to use them.  They can be used for deeper level thinking skills, student monitoring, and application questions.  Depending on the immediate feedback the teacher receives based on the student responses, the teacher can then guide the discussion or the lesson.  There are many different options when deciding whether or not to use this system.  One is using it as an opening activity to start class, find out what students know about the current topic or start a discussion.  Two is using it as an assessment, find out how students are comprehending the current topic.  The third is to use it as a possible "choose your own adventure" activity.  This would allow the teacher to ask a question, and take whatever direction the students choose based on the choices given. 

The positives to this system is that it gives every student a chance to give their opinion in a more anonymous way, which is much less intimidating in front of peers.  It also allows them to have some choice in the direction of the discussion or show when they need more explanation of a certain topic.  Last, this definitely allows for student engagement in the classroom, which every teacher wants. 

The negatives include: it takes time to set it up, especially the first time; technical difficulties can arise; and teachers must learn how to write multiple choice questions in a way that allows for open ended discussions or deeper level thinking (Vanderbilt University, 2016). 

Another Consideration

A teacher must always make sure each of their students is considered when deciding on any resource for the classroom.  All IEP requirements, as well as other personal needs, must be met when using technology.  If students need specific differentiation, whether it be more challenges or making it slightly easier, every students needs that consideration before the technology is introduced into the classroom and planned for accordingly. 

Have fun choosing different resources to use in the classroom.  It can be fun and educational!