Dr. Joseph Pisano Rocks!

Thanks to another student in our Music Technology class at Kent State, I heard about Dr. Joseph Pisano's blog.  I subscribed to it and have been reading his updates.  This post is great because there is a listing a bunch of blogs relative to the music educator.  Many of these I had not heard of or even considered to look for.  I already had a Sound Tree blog, but it was for my PLC Training.  There are Finale, SmartMusic, JWPepper and NPR blogs that are great on this list!

Enjoy!

Thanks Dr. P!


Great Links for your PLN

Uses of the iPhone in Music Education

Through the Music 4 Education Blog, I found this posting from the TI:ME OMEA conference that was held in January of 2011.  One of the sessions  held there was about the various uses of an iPhone in the Music Classroom.  I know at he AzMEA Conference in February, we had a similar session about the iPad in the music classroom.  This link is for his slide presentation and handout.


When is an Phone not a Phone?

Theta Music Trainer

Thanks to Thomas J West Music Blog, I just learned about a new website that will help my students with ear training and other musical skills.  I think this would be a lot of fun to use if a teacher had a smartboard.  It's free to sign up and tends to our students desire for video games in the classroom.  Gotta love games with a learning purpose!

Thomas J. West's Blog - TMT Review

Theta Music Trainer

Education Winners and Losers in the Federal Budget Agreement

When the government threatened a shut down, the members of congress had to make some quick and hasty decisions about programs to cut.  The link below will take you to the winners and losers in the education realm of that budget cut.  Programs such as Arts in Education and the Special Olympics have been eliminated.


Education Winners and Losers in the Federal Budget Agreement

Rhythm board game for young students

From Susan Paradis' Piano Teacher Resources blog, here is a template for a rhythm board game.  It's meant for private piano lessons but easily could be used in a general music or beginning band or orchestra class.  This game could also be modified for more advanced ensembles.  Enjoy!

Rhythm Board Game

Google Rocks!

As we have learned from taking this class, Google is an amazing resource for teachers.  We have already learned about Google Docs, Google Websites, Google Reader, Blogger, and more.  This article outlines 15 items in google that are great for educators and the classroom.  There are a few items in this article that we have not covered.  I know I am in the process of creating a Website that I will be able to use for my private lessons students thanks to Google!

Enjoy!

15 Little Known Ways Google Can Help Teachers and Students

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir with "Sleep"

In continuation from my post last week about Eric Whitacre's virtual choir, here is the completed YouTube video.

Eric Whitacre's Sleep

Follow this link to Thomas J. West's post on this amazing video. 

Thomas J West's Blog Link

10 Stats on the American Teenager

Click here for website used

What Makes a Master Teacher

Here is an article I found in the Edutopia blog about Master Teachers.  The author discusses how to be effective.  This has to do with day to day routines as well as overall goals.  Enjoy!


What Makes a Master Teacher?

Bicycle Built for Two

Here is my version of Bicycle Built for Two.  I really enjoyed using Noteflight.  I actually think I liked it better than Finale.  I think I am going to begin using either Noteflight or MuseScore for my school arrangements from now on.  They are both fully functioning and very easy to use.  I also already have a project planned for my Jr. High Orchestra to use this program to write out their 12 major scales and for transcribing simple melodies.

Eric Whitacre: A Virtual Choir 2,000 voices

This is an AMAZING and awe-inspiring video from TED.com. Well-known composer, Eric Whitacre, is actually doing what we discussed in Week 1 during our virtual Field Trip.  On this video he discusses how he got the idea to do this and the process it took.  The video is absolutely breath taking.  The second video is just the piece with the virtual choir if you don't have time to watch the whole thing.  The last video is a multi-track video for the next Virtul Choir that Whitacre is discussing in his TED.com talk.  Please look at all three.  They're fantastic and will absolutely move you.