According to the assigned reading for this week technology
is an important part of people’s daily lives but the instructional uses for
technology are not being implemented to their fullest capacity in the
classrooms. Some of the reasons for this are “inadequate budgets and facilities”
(Bauer, 2014, p. 9) as well as inadequate training.
I definitely agree that there is a lack of
training for teachers to learn, practice, and become comfortable using new
technology. I have been teaching for twelve years and we have never had a
technology related professional development training at our school, much less
one geared towards music teaching. If expertise is desired in this particular
area it is left up to the teacher to either enroll in a program outside of
school, such as a graduate class, or to learn about different technologies on
their own. The reading for this week also stressed the importance of different
types of knowledge that will allow teachers to implement technology
successfully in their classroom. This is where professional development
training could help teachers. Not only do teachers need to learn how technology
works and how to use a new program but also how to effectively implement this
technology or program into their instruction in order to better teach their
students.
The inadequate facilities and lack
of computers are also a problem at my school. I have three desktop computers,
one in each practice room, for my students and the band students to share. They
have eliminated the computer labs at our school and we now only have a few
mobile labs with laptops. In order to use these computers we must sign up for a
particular day and time. Priority for these computers is given to the academic
teachers so it is very difficult for me to get my request approved. In
addition, the computers are not available during the months of April and May
due to testing. I used SmartMusic last year as an assessment tool with my
students and I assigned particular songs for the students to practice. During
class they would take turns using the computers in the practice rooms to record
and submit their assessments. This was not an effective way to assess students
because it took too much time for each student to login to their account,
practice, and record their performance. Also, while they were in the practice
rooms they would miss the important instructions and techniques that were being
taught during the orchestra rehearsals. I then started using SmartMusic to make
recordings of the rehearsals and students would listen to the recordings and make
suggestions about how to improve their performance. Bauer mentions that
teachers should determine if the benefits outweigh the costs when considering the
purchase of a particular technology. When I did consider the cost and benefits
I decided not to renew the SmartMusic subscription and instead I used the money
to purchase a digital recorder.
If I had access to computers for my
students to use on a daily basis I would be much more likely to find
pedagogical ways to integrate technology into my lessons in order to teach
music concepts more effectively. My dream situation would be to have a midi lab
with programs that would enable students to record, compose, and practice music
theory concepts in fun and engaging ways. I would love to have my students
participate in a world- wide collaborative composition project such as the Rock
Our World project that is mentioned in the reading. Eric Whitacre’s virtual
choir is another collaborative project that involves people singing together from
around the world. I remember seeing one of these performances for the first
time online and being entranced by the performance. I hope as we progress
through this music technology class I learn ways in which to integrate
technology into a classroom with limited resources.
Reference:
Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music
learning today. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
I too spoke about the difficulties of music technology in schools with lack of technology. The hardships we face as educators in general are difficult, let alone as music educators. Like you said, the computers are utilized more for the core standards teachers so it can be almost impossible to get your hands on what you need. I've also been in situations where say a SmartBoard was put in my classroom but was given no training on how to use it. The disconnect in many districts as far as technology goes is apparent. It really comes down to how much extra time and effort you personally can put in to become more technologically savvy. Not that self-starting is a bad thing; however more support needs to be given by our administrators as well.
ReplyDeleteState testing has become the priority in all school districts in my area. I have come to the saddening realization that music programs will probably not be at the bottom of the priority list when it comes to technology. There is also a great deal of misunderstandings by the core academic teachers that music teachers do not need computers. I have had teachers literally say this to myself and my colleague. My colleague has managed to get some resources by being a "squeaky wheel", but I find this technique creates alienation from my other teachers and annoys administration. I try to stay on my administration's good side and hope that my work speaks for itself.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, I would love to have computers for my students to use on a daily basis, but I am a realist in the situation that I work in and I strive to make my students the best they can be within our present circumstances.
I appreciate that you wrote about the lack of training that teachers receive on using the technology in their classrooms. I like to use the technology I have in my classroom, such as the smart board but I know I am not using it to its full potential and I simply do not have the time to figure it all out. I think it is great that you get to have three computers in you room for students to use. Having more in there for more students to use simultaneously would be ideal. Currently, we do not have computers in our rooms for students to use, only a small computer lab in the library of the school.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that some of us have trouble getting the administration to "buy in" to the needs of professional development in technology. Maybe you could offer to host a training on the SmartMusic program for other music teachers in your school district that are interested in the program? I know you said that the cost outweighed the benefit of the software but maybe if the district sees that teachers are being proactive with learning about these new technologies, more support will be supplied for the teachers to use these programs.
We never seem to have enough time to fully understand the the programs that we have at our disposal. If administration would offer adequate training and professional development, then perhaps we can use programs effective the reap the benefits of them. This way, we can avoid the problem of the cost outweighing the benefit.