Blog 5

While using Diigo I found that I am able to retain or at least partially remember details better than I have been bale to in the past. Being able to annotate over the page and ALSO being able to go back to the same page and review your personal annotations. I don't like that it has to be digital; although I know were learning about technology in the classroom I prefer to annotate paper and take notes manually. (I get head aches pretty easily)

I enjoy the fact that blogging is an easy way to create a thought and let the teacher grade/assess my work, but overall I really don't care for blogging. I am not a very public person and I don't feel like I need to promote my mundane thoughts into the world. I do, however, enjoy the fact I can see my classmates thoughts! So while there are pros and cons, I don't think I will continue to utilize blogging.

A couple web 2.0 tools that I plan on using in my classroom include Tenuto and Quizlet! A major part of music are the basic vocabulary and use of those in every piece. To fully understand and perform the music the students must understand the skeleton that creates the body of work. Quizlet would be helpful learning and memorizing dynamic and musical markings while Tenuto would be an interactive way to show their knowledge and ability to perform their knowledge.

https://www.musictheory.net/products/tenuto

-Doesn't require wifi
-Exercises are personalized
-All ends of the musical spectrum are addressed and assessed

Blog 4

Until this class I never had a twitter or personally interacted with twitter. I did enjoy reading some famous and trending tweets, however I never felt inclined to make one. Now that I have one, I follow only FSU and political pages; therefor my experiences are limited, but I enjoy it that way. While twitter is sometimes fascinating, I enjoy the other social media platforms more. As far as my future career I truly don't think this platform could help my classroom in the ways I need in regards to music.

The digital divide is still very apparent in schools today. However, I feel as though by the time I enter the classroom, that divide will be very small in comparison. Those becoming parents now have had a much more hands on growing experience than many parents and teachers now. The generational gap is the main difference when it comes to the digital divide. If I experience a digital divide between myself and my students, I will do my best to educate myself. If I experience a digital divide between a student and their parents I will try to educate them as well! I remember having a very sweet, but older in age, teacher in middle school who struggled very much with the technology side of lessons. She retired the very next year.

I cannot wait to use Tenuto with my students! It is a digital website and app that helps teach and implement music basics to students. You can adjust the level of difficulty for each student and each subject; this is not only personalized, but is very helpful for every day music encounters. Depending on the age group I end up teaching, I may utilize other programs like Garage Band or Magix Music Producer to assist students in creating their own music! If I end up with younger students I will have to research more fundamental and fun programs for their developing minds.

Blog 3

As far as the ELA standards go, at face value I could attempt to be confident and influence students in all areas, but as far as ones that I can delve into and properly demonstrate, they would include:

• Building Strong Content Knowledge- I believe I am good at researching and obtaining knowledge about a topic and I feel as though I could pass this along to students through teaching and demonstration
• They Value Evidence- I am a very skeptical person; I do not take a single fact or study as final or the "all-say". Through this skepticism I feel like my students will learn to value evidence not only in the classroom, but out in the world as well
• Comprehend and Critique- listening vs. understanding and then constructive criticism- all of these concepts will be utilized daily in my classroom. Through music they will learn to listen to it, repeat it, commit it to memory and then demonstrate that understanding through performing; then critiquing themselves as well as taking the critiques of others. 

ELA standards that I would need further practice/guidance with:

• Demonstrating Independence- Although I am an independent person in my day-to-day life, when it comes to technology I need (and still utilize) lots of help. Therefor I believe I would struggle to teach independence in a topic I am not confident in
• Using Technology and Digital Media Strategically and Capably- Through this class I feel as though I will obtain these characteristics, but as of right now I am not fluent with technology or digital media

CPALMS Educator Toolkit is an AWESOME tool that I truly plan on using in my classroom. There are standards and lesson plans grouped by grade and subject area. As a future music educator I loved that they included music standards because they are often left out!!! They included 47 standards that are easily applied daily, yet seeing them written out and explained gives a more concrete and straight forward approach to a atypical topic.

My first attempt at the Newsletter Design was a flop. However, through fixing it I learned how to add a border, add a date, add a table and how to include a header. Out of these new tools I think I will only use the header and under special circumstances, the table. The date was pretty simple and an unnecessary tool for those who know the date and the border seemed a little extra for my taste. Now that I have utilized these options, I will be able to execute their use more seamlessly next time.