A New Point of View

This week I am learning a new online music creation program called Soundation, I have also gathered information concerning student technology use.  Both of these topics have given me a new point of view concerning composition and student learning.

The online music program, Soundation uses midi, loops, and even provides the opportunity to implement personal recordings to create a piece of music.  Personally I have always thought of composing music using standard music notation, but this week I am creating music through Soundation.  In this week's reading, Bauer (2012)  reminds us that some educators believe that students must learn to read and write music because it is integral to music literacy.  My past practice relates to this statement mostly because this is how I've learned and was taught.  But a large percentage of student music lovers are not literate in music notation.  By using a non-notational creative music approach like Soundation, these students have an opportunity to create music and hopefully build upon these musical experiences.

I also interviewed 5 of my high school choral students and asked for their perspectives concerning technology.  Overwhelmingly my students clearly communicated their confidence in technology.  YouTube and their iPhones are their favorite resources.  Their phones are used as a "one stop shop" for everything from social media, schoolwork, and entertainment.  Students use their iPhones for numerous activities.  The phone is used for texting, taking pictures, connecting with friends on social media, keeping track of schoolwork, google searches, shopping, and entertainment.  Entertainment includes using Spotify a music listening program and Netflix, a way to watch past movies and TV shows without commercial interruptions.  I am impressed with my students ability to adapt and learn new things.  Personally I struggle with aspects of technology.  At times it feels like I'm learning a foreign language that everyone else knows and I have make up for lost time.  This class, Technology for Music Teaching has been an encouragement to me and is given me weekly steps to acclimate myself to current technology practices.