When I think about music education and technology, I get excited. I’ve seen how technology in the music room can be very effective for learning, composing, and being creative. According to the textbook, I am a digital immigrant, but the later half of this group. Basically, I went the first 10 years of my life without mainstream technology. Even when technology started becoming more prevalent, I was not with the trend. It wasn’t until my second year of teaching that I really started utilizing technology. The high school I taught at was among the first in the Chicago area to have 1:1 iPads. This innovation “forced” me to become compatible with teaching and technology.
As the book mentioned, there was and still is a technology gap in the classroom. I think this has much to do with teachers not understanding how to use technology, lack of patience in learning programs and apps, and general resistance to change. At my last school, we were very fortunate to have a cart of 30 iPads, along with teacher iPads, and Apple TVs. I took full advantage of these technologies, utilizing the AppleTV everyday and iPads when appropriate for learning. Unfortunately, other teachers in the building admittedly used iPads to get a “break” from the kids.
As Bauer breaks down TPACK, the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge Model, I must admit my greatest struggle is integrating all the facets together into a streamlined, effortless lesson. For me, the weakest link is technology because it is constantly changing. Yet, it is also the most exciting for that exact reason. In my experience, I’ve found that simply taking a course on say MIDI uses, is just not enough. Having a hands on approach, learning as you go, seems to be the most effective way. Yet, we are the teachers so we should already know, right? Here lies the issue with teaching and technology. Can’t educators “practice” on each other? ( Bauer, 2014, pp. 12-16).
This is where my interests lie. How can I incorporate the latest technologies in my class to 1. relate to my students 2. use technology and programs/apps they are likely familiar with 3. give them creative outlets and stimulate their musical interests. I am hopeful this class will give me insight into these questions.
I agree with you that many teachers use technology as a way to "get a break from the kids." I think this is partially a result of the lack of training in strategies to incorporate technology and content. There is also inadequate time given to teachers to learn and practice new technologies that could be incorporated into the classroom. With so many things to do already, learning new technology is often at the bottom of a teacher's to-do list especially when they have been effective without it in the past. However, if teachers are given the opportunity to see and hear about other teachers using technology in specific ways, they can become motivated to use similar strategies in their own teaching.
ReplyDeleteYou are completely correct that there are many teachers that are unwilling to change. Within my own school district, there is a music teacher that still has music posters in her classroom from the 1980's, and refuses to use modern technology. The connection, or rather the lack of connection, between her and her students accurately reflects how not using modern technology in the classroom is a major negative for music teachers in todays technological world. I don't think this is a problem caused by a lack of opportunity, but rather a lack of interest. Teachers need to be willing to change, not only with technology, but even as the music world changes as a whole. I am currently teaching repertoire that I personally never would take interest in, but because it interests my students, I am performing/teaching it. The same goes for technology - we need to be willing to use it because it sparks the interest of our students.
ReplyDeleteI agree, there is even one teacher at my school who has said to another teacher "if you do this right you won't have to do anything". I think this is the wrong mindset to have towards technology in the classroom. I know I need to integrate more technology in my classroom lessons but I don't always have resources to do so with my class sizes. I really want to do more technology with my general music students but I need the resources available and the time for me to learn the programs before I integrate them into my classrooms. Which is one of the issues you mentioned. I am also and digital immigrant but with how quickly technology changes I do consider myself a "Luddite" and usually am asking my husband to help, more because I'm afraid I'm going to mess something up horribly or irreversibly. So I'm hoping to grow more confident through this course and learn about programs I can implement in my own classroom when I have the resources.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI truly enjoyed reading your post. The way you discussed your connection and experience with technology really humanizes the topic and makes it seems less abstract. I'd like to take to the opportunity to comment on your post and also offer some food for thought.
I would tend to agree with you that there can be a significant gap for teachers today when it comes to technology in the classroom. However, I would argue that the gap we experience is only as large as we allow it to be. You said it yourself," Yet, we are the teachers so we should already know, right?" The answer to the question is yes. If we as educators plan to implement a technology then we must take the time to learn it well before we can expect students to do the same. As our lesson stated, tutorials are available at every turn, but the first step is the hardest. I would wager that after becoming comfortable you do an awesome job of integrating Bauers TPACK in the classroom.
It appears to be very clear that the trickiest part of this TPACK is integrating it all with simultaneity. I think the hardest part is recognizing the effects that technology has on the lesson and its implications on the learners. Once this is grasped understanding the technologies' demands weighed against its outcomes is very important.
I hope that as this course continues I too can become more confident in my use of technology in the classroom. Thank you for a great post and have a wonderful weekend.
Best,
Emilio J. Jarufe