Resource Wiki

The resource wiki activity asked us to group ourselves into pairs and research a topic.  While researching a specific topic, we also had to complete a worksheet with various questions related to understanding the topic.  After the research and worksheet was complete, we had to compile our information into a wiki that could be edited simultaneously.

This would be a useful activity in the music classroom as well, as students need to be familiar with important composers and pieces of music.  With a resource wiki, they could research individual composers or pieces of music, then compile the information in a collaborative workspace to present to the rest of the class.

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Picasa and Google Presentation

We used these two tools to complete our scavenger hunt assignment.  Though I found them a little difficult to work with--Picasa is too intertwined with G+, and Google Presentation is almost overly simplistic--both are viable options for having students both share and present pictures and other information.

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Scavenger Hunt

For this assignment, we were tasked with taking pictures of various colors around campus.  Once we had our photographs, we resized and uploaded them to Picasa where they were named and tagged.  These tagged photos were assembled into a powerpoint presentation to showcase our work.

I could see myself using a similar activity to have students present different elements of a piece of music to the class.

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IBA

Inquiry Based Activities are similar to WebQuests, but are much shorter in length and more broad in scope.  Below is a link to an IBA I did on a few prominent jazz musicians.

https://sites.google.com/site/robertjayshowalter/technology-projects/iba

I could see myself using Inquiry Based Activities much more frequently than WebQuests due to the instructional time required in the music classroom.  An IBA is well suited for inviting the students to dig a bit deeper into relevant material without asking them to devote weeks or a semester's worth of time.

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WebQuests

WebQuests are a useful tool in the classroom for allowing students to explore topics with a web-based set of activities.  Here's an example WebQuest:

http://questgarden.com/61/99/5/080306154328/

This webquest is designed to expose students to the history and tradition of American music.  Slaves brought to this country in the 18th and 19th centuries brought their musical traditions with them, helping to develop and enrich a truly American genre of music.  While working through this webquest, students will learn about American music, as well as historical events and their significance to our music.

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Wikis

The wiki activity was a great way to explore the possibility of using cloud-based collaboration tools in the classroom.  I could see myself using a wiki as part of my band classroom so that students can construct and maintain the classroom policies and procedures, and make updates when needed.

 - B

Website Evaluation

This assignment helped me understand some key areas to look at when reviewing a site for its academic merit.  Using web technology in the classroom can be a powerful tool and ally, but incorrect or poorly presented information can hinder and discredit its use.

As a web developer I am always critiquing the design of every website I come across, but this assignment helped me be aware of other things for scholastic purposes that I may have overlooked from this tech point of view.

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Hello world!

Hello world!

My name is Robert Showalter.  I'm from Greeneville, TN.  I enjoy teaching music because I love helping people learn more about the world around them, as well as helping them discover and develop their abilities. Music and the arts allow us to understand more about ourselves and each other.

I have been teaching seriously in some capacity since my freshman year in high school, and decided my sophomore year that Music Education was what I wanted to do with my life. Outside of teaching in a school environment, I have spent many years working church or sports camps with children of all ages. I spent the majority of my afternoons in high school leading sectionals, small and full ensemble rehearsals, and teaching private lessons at either the middle school or the high school. My passion for teaching comes from these first experiences, where I saw early and often how much of an impact I could have when I shared knowledge and understanding with someone. During my years at UT, I have had the incredible opportunity to teach multiple high school ensemble rehearsals, as well as lead and be responsible for the Pride of the Southland trombone section.

I have been using technology for my entire life, and have been heavily involved in web design and development since my junior year in high school.  While I don't expect to learn too much about technologies in TPTE, I am glad that I will be learning how these technologies are applied in the educational field.  I am currently learning a programming language and accompanying web framework so that I may build a web app to help music educators better manage their band programs, and seeing how schools and teachers apply technology will help me fine-tune my software to suit their needs.

When I'm not in school, you can find me playing my trombone, tweaking/critiquing websites, or reading anything I can find.

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