Reflections on Orff Level III</h1> <article> <h1>Reflections on Orff Level III</h1> <p>urbanmusiceducation.org — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 03:45:53 +0000</p> <p>It’s the end of the “third” week and I am ready to begin the process of reflection on the two weeks prior to this that seemed like a lifetime ago. I took Level III back at UNC this year with the fabulous David Connors and new instructors, Jennifer Donovan(recorder) and Victoria Redfearn Cave(movement). What a joy to have “new blood” in the mix this year. Since I was fresh off taking Level II last summer, most of my classmates were repeats as well, and it was good to see old friends, but many came from previous years as well and it was great to make new friends too. This year’s class was the biggest Level III that UNC has seen topping out at a whopping 17! This made it difficult to get close and I find myself looking at the Level II Facebook posts (who became much closer with only 7 in their class) with a little jealousy. I am saddened that this my be the final professional Orff experience that I have for a while, at least until the kids are a little older. I don’t know if a master class is in the future, but I really want to do it when I have less distractions and can get my whole heart into my work.</p> <p>Speaking of whole-heartedness, I came to the realization, with the help of David and some dear friends, that I need to let go of some strongholds that I have had in my teaching. One: this idea of avoidance when it comes to trying things that “fail” in my classroom. I tend to stay away from conflict and when my urban kids dish out plenty of it in situations that make them uncomfortable, my reaction is to never go there again. This has affected the overall singing instruction in the past five years, and definitely has an impact on movement activities with older children. I simply reject activities where I “know” the kids will push back on me with defiance. I need to work on keeping my nose to the grindstone and doing what is best for kids, not what they will react best to all the time. I think we, as urban educators, tend to overlook the fact that kids who push us to the limit are not in control. We cater to their high needs and try EVERYTHING to get them to succeed, putting our emotions and personalities on the line for them. Mine has been held captive for too long. I was told in this class that I need to get out from under the raincloud that I seem to be under all the time. This will be hard for me, but in the end I think it will benefit me, even if it means that this school and I need to part ways.Physically, if this can’t happen, I know outside of school I can make this happen by letting go of the fact that I can only be musical or an artist at work. I need to make plans to continue my work to scrapbook weekly, to join a dance class, or to do some other creative outlet experiences as much as my family will allow.</p> <p>True artistry is what I was reminded of in this class this summer. I need to understand that it CAN happen with kids and that I need to model it all the time so that they will see it. Strangely, Victoria taught me (subliminally) that it may just be possible to do with a change in wardrobe. I went out and bought some more “movement friendly” pieces that I am hoping will increase my confidence as a movement teacher and also display a no nonsense approach to my teaching style. If I dress the part, they will come, or something like that. I am really looking forward to being comfortable at least, which I am hoping will making my mood more relaxed as I enter into another year chalk full of rough bunches of kids.</p> <p>I was surprisingly challenged by two friends that I made while in Level III. One lost a job that sounded very similar to mine and she was a tremendous help when I had a rough practicum experience. She said she knew exactly how I felt when I expressed my frustrations with teaching in and urban environment vs. teaching a room full of music educators. The other friend had such a calmness about her that I want to emulate. Her routine professionalism and kindness, yet subtle high expectations, matched my personality and we got along well. Both women challenged my recorder playing which was a treat. Finally (after about 15 years!) I was not at the head of the class, bored with lack of good competition! Some advice given to me was to go to a Level 4 class at George Mason University, or to take a Master class to feel this way again. Maybe…. but I think it would also benefit me to take a level 1 again just to have fresh eyes and to experience a different instructor.</p> <p>So there you have it… Overall, I think a lot of things “synced” with me taking this class. I’m not sure if the timing was right, but who’s to question God’s timing! I think that He surely spoke to me and told me truths I had needed to hear for a long time on a personal level. I thankfully got a chance to reflect upon my urban teaching experience and receive advice from a well respected mentor. I will truly be glad that this class will be fully reimbursed by the district and that I will get to spend that money towards our debt-repayment. That will be a great feeling to pair with the huge accomplishment of becoming certified in all three levels of Orff Schulwerk- something I never dreamed possible when I started this journey into elementary music teaching. I think this will be an interesting year!</p> <p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Furbanmusiceducation.org%2Farchives%2F703&linkname=Reflections%20on%20Orff%20Level%20III"></a> </p> </article> <article> <h1>Additional thoughts on the Wiimote Whiteboard</h1> <p>urbanmusiceducation.org — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:55:42 +0000</p> <p>Finally summer time (yay!), and I have time to jot down a few end-of-the-year thoughts on the wiimote whiteboard that I have been using for the past few months. Since<a href="http://urbanmusiceducation.org/archives/669"> my last post on the subject</a>, I had my $25 pen stolen by one of the kids- looked too much like a Sharpie I guess, which is a hot commodity for “artists” around these parts. So I went a few weeks without using the board, and I actually didn’t miss it too much. I was still projecting the charts and ppts up on the wall as usual, but sitting behind my computer to navigate and invite kids up to use the mouse. That worked fine. Then I made a plan and saved up enough to get the IR wand that I saw on <a href="http://penteractive.us/">Penteractive.us</a>. What a difference!! The new wand has about ten times the sensitivity of the old pen and the length is nice, allowing me to reach all the way to the top of the screen. Must be the new AA batteries in it that are better than the 3 little watch batteries powering the former pen. I highly recommend the wand over the pen for use with this system!</p> <p>So as I ventured into the end of the school year, we had fun playing some of the games on <a href="http://musictechteacher.com">MusicTechTeacher.com</a> as well as some of the interactive games at <a href="http://www.themusicinteractive.com/TMI/The_Music_Interactive_-_Welcome.html">TheMusicInteractive</a>. It was a great review and kept the kids active and engaged! As a bonus treat, my new Noteworthy music rug came in just at the last week of school so we set it up, pushed the risers back and watched my favorite music related YouTube vids for our last day celebration. Overall, the wiimote whiteboard has been a good addition ot my room. I even turned down a Mimeo for next year because I don’t want to have to flip my room around again to utlize the regular whiteboard!</p> <p>Here are a few considerations for next year that I am thinking about with this system:</p> <p>*Purchase the longer wand from penteractive to allow younger kids to access the board- $40</p> <p>*Purchase the telescoping ceiling mount for the wiimote so I don’t have to have it in the middle of the room on a stand where kid bump into it and mess up the calibration. Will still have to remember to put it on the charge every night, but it will be out of the way.-$30</p> <p>*Purchase rechargeable batteries! -$20</p> <p>* Considering using budget to buy installation of a ceiling mount for projector. – $100 + $600 district required installation I know this is expensive, but it would allow me more room for movement in the classroom since I wouldn’t need a cart and my docucam could be off to the side.</p> <p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Furbanmusiceducation.org%2Farchives%2F699&linkname=Additional%20thoughts%20on%20the%20Wiimote%20Whiteboard"></a> </p> </article> <article> <h1>New from Tagxedo</h1> <p>urbanmusiceducation.org — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 01:36:41 +0000</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Is <a href="http://www.tagxedo.com">Tagxedo</a> the new <a href="http://www.wordle.net/">Wordle</a>? I tried it out and found the expanded features(arrange your words in shapes, custom colors and themes) exciting and fun to waste time with! Didn’t like having to load another Microsoft plugin onto my computer, but it was worth it for the amount I paid for it (nothing!)<br /> Check out my creation below.<br /> ~S</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://urbanmusiceducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/ume.jpg"></a></p> <p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Furbanmusiceducation.org%2Farchives%2F694&linkname=New%20from%20Tagxedo"></a> </p> </article> <article> <h1>This Blew My Mind!</h1> <p>urbanmusiceducation.org — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 02:59:52 +0000</p> <p><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="src" value="http://www.personalizemedia.com/media/socmedcounter.swf" /><param name="name" value="myMovieName" /></object></p> <p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Furbanmusiceducation.org%2Farchives%2F688&linkname=This%20Blew%20My%20Mind%21"></a> </p> </article> <article> <h1>My Music Classroom</h1> <p>urbanmusiceducation.org — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:21:47 +0000</p> <p>Here’s a short video I made of my classroom for the awesome teachers on the Music K-8 Mailing list and everyone else who cares… The music is a Sample Midi project that I do with 5th/6th graders where they take a “classical” midi file and make it “modern” by mixing it in Garage Band. This one happens to be Bach’s Prelude in E minor.<br /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0UMzQ2QKCp0&hl=en&fs=1" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /></object></p> <p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Furbanmusiceducation.org%2Farchives%2F683&linkname=My%20Music%20Classroom"></a> </p> </article> <article> <h1>Wiimote Whiteboard Pics</h1> <p>urbanmusiceducation.org — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 00:43:39 +0000</p> <p>Here’s a few photos of the two arrangements in my room for the Wiimote Whiteboard(WW). First arrangement, up in the “front” of the room by the real whiteboard. My room is longer than it is wide, so I originally installed my projector screen on the little overhang on the side so I could have the projector cart up front with me and not in the middle where the kids sit. Pros: keep my current room arrangement, wiimote hides by the bulletin board in front and kids don’t mess with it. Cons: Screen moves when touched(swings back and forth) even though you don’t actually need to touch the screen to use WW, small kids cannot reach all parts of the screen(heck I was even having to stand on tiptoe to reach the very top!)</p> <p><a href="http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t61/mrsnunar/?action=view¤t=IMG_0969.jpg" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t61/mrsnunar/?action=view¤t=IMG_0968.jpg" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t61/mrsnunar/?action=view¤t=IMG_0970.jpg" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t61/mrsnunar/?action=view¤t=IMG_0971.jpg" target="_blank"></a></p> <p>Here is arrangement #2, the one I am currently using. I completely flipped the room around and got rid of the music symbols wall in the back so I could have a blank surface. (Side note: Upon removal of sticky back velcro used to attach said symbols I damaged the drywall and it had to be spackled, sanded and repainted before I could project on it..oops!) I moved in the flipform risers and now have the kids sitting arena style facing the back wall.</p> <p>Pros: Projecting on hard surface wall allows for better pen use, kids can go right up to the wall (some are still too short to reach the top, but I’m not having small kids use it anyway), more intimate setting, everyone can see the screen without looking sideways. Cons: Projector cart and wiimote must be right in the center of the room, otherwise the screen is too large for the wall surface, most of my kids can’t handle being on the flipform risers and they don’t all fit, so there are inevitably fights and arguments over who sits where (so I have had to start all over with rules and routines for sitting in music class and have given out twice as many discipline referrals for misbehavior due to the risers), not enough space for movement.</p> <p><a href="http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t61/mrsnunar/?action=view¤t=IMG_0972.jpg" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t61/mrsnunar/?action=view¤t=IMG_0973.jpg" target="_blank"></a></p> <p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Furbanmusiceducation.org%2Farchives%2F669&linkname=Wiimote%20Whiteboard%20Pics"></a> </p> </article> <article> <h1>March Videos and a Podcast</h1> <p>urbanmusiceducation.org — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:53:41 +0000</p> <p><param name="src" value="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid157.photobucket.com/albums/t61/mrsnunar/videos/Movie33.flv" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /></object><br /> <param name="src" value="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid157.photobucket.com/albums/t61/mrsnunar/videos/Movie35.flv" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /></object></p> <p><a href="http://urbanmusiceducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/MarchComesIn.mp3">MarchComesIn</a>- 3rd grade Class 3B, Performance Asessment March 2010</p> <p>I realized this week that I do not post regularly enough on the front of the blog when my students do neat things. Here are a few things we’ve been working on this month that are pretty cool! K/1 learned accompaniment to the popular children’s book, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Cookies Week</span> by Cindy Ward. (Thanks to <a href="http://thomborden.blogspot.com/">Thom Borden</a> for the Ready-to-use-on-Monday workshop idea!!) 3rd grade learned a melody to the poem “March Comes In Like a Lion” and we learned about Rondo form using student composed rhythm patterns for the B and C sections. Tomorrow will be my last day with these classes until next year! I will miss them, but I’m excited to see what the next group will accomplish from now until after spring break!</p> <p>Blessings,</p> <p>~MrsJ</p> <p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Furbanmusiceducation.org%2Farchives%2F661&linkname=March%20Videos%20and%20a%20Podcast"></a> </p> </article> <article> <h1>The (Mis)adventures of WiiMote Whiteboard in the Music Room</h1> <p>urbanmusiceducation.org — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:44:12 +0000</p> <p>Well, folks, I finally have a few minutes to sit and compose a blog post! It’s been a crazy past couple months with a successful performance and lots of state testing going on. Things have returned to “normal” and I can finally make music in the music room again! Lately, though, I’ve been using my new WiiMote Whiteboard for a lot on interactive activities and I thought I’d share a little bit about the perils and successes of this project.<br /> First off, I got the WiiMote Whiteboard stuff out of a need to explore IAW’s (Interactive Whiteboards) as our building has been gathering Promethean Boards and we have lots of training with those. We hope to one day have every classroom outfitted with a Promethean Board, but lo, the days of budget cuts are upon us, and the WiiMote system seemed to be the way to go for now. I went to Amazon.com and bought a used(but new in box) wiimote for $30 and bought a nice infrared pen off of <a href="http://www.penteractive.us">penteractive.us</a> for $25. There are several websites and videos out there showing how to design and make your own pen for no more than $10 worth of Radio Shack parts, but I decided to splurge and let someone else do the work:) I have a nice clip mic stand that I use to mount the wiimote and downloaded the free software for the WiiMote Whiteboard and ActiveInspire from Promethean. They have a trial version and I was lucky enough later on to get a serial number to unlock the full version when our Promethean rep came by recently. You can project the WiiMote Whiteboard system on to any surface and due to lack of space in my room, I originally had it pointing to my projector screen which, due to lack of space in my room, hangs from the ceiling on the side. With the sensitivity of the WiiMote however, I kept losing calibration whenever the screen would move or swing, so I ditched that layout, rearranged my entire space, took down my Signs and Symbols wall, and now project the system on the back wall of my room. I also put up the FlipForm risers so we have a more intimate atmospere for working at the board. Everyone can see, and despite some behavior management problems on the risers, it works for now. With everything running, now I can do so much more than project PowerPoints! My favorite site this week has been <a href="http://www.TheMusicInteractive.com">TheMusicInteractive.com</a> where I found 8-10 FREE interactive games for use on IAW or individual computers. This has been the gem of the week with testing time going on in the room next door (can’t make noise!). I also bought 3 of the $5 apps and am using them as well. Yay!</p> <p>The cons to the WiiMote Whiteboard system are twofold. First, the IR pen works with about 80% sensitivity, so clicking and dragging becomes a tedious process and writing is virtually impossible. The IR pen actually works best when held a few centimeters away from the surface instead of actually touching it and kids have a hard time with this concept. I really don’t have time to let the kids do anything interactive with the board, but it’s fun for me to be up there clicking and watch the kids ooh and ahh over my “magic pen”! The second disadvantage that I’ve noticed is that it takes a lot of patience and time to get the WiiMote calibrated and pointed in just the right angle to “see” all parts of the screen. Most of the time, time is at a premium in my school, so the 5 minutes before a class comes in just isn’t enough to get this thing working, then I will just ditch it and sit behind the laptop and use the mouse. My ideal situation would be to have a giant ACTUAL whiteboard that I could project onto so that I could write over the slides in case my WiiMote wasn’t working. It wouldn’t save, of course, but I would have the capability to use my ActiveInspire software to ‘copy’ the text when we were done.</p> <p>So, more will be said in another article, but for now I’d like to know if and how others are using the WiiMote Whiteboard. If you use it, what are some favorite things you do? Favorite sites? Feel free to share a comment below and thanks for reading!</p> <p>~S</p> <p>PS. images coming soon!</p> <p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Furbanmusiceducation.org%2Farchives%2F652&linkname=The%20%28Mis%29adventures%20of%20WiiMote%20Whiteboard%20in%20the%20Music%20Room"></a> </p> </article> <article> <h1>No more Fliggo :(</h1> <p>urbanmusiceducation.org — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 02:38:47 +0000</p> <p>Sadly, it looks like the days of safe video keeping are over as my Fliggo site has disappeared and has been replaced by Vidly.com. I heard rumors through my Musick8 mailing list that this was about to happen, but it has been months since the supposed turnover was supposed to happen and my videos were still up. Logged on today, and it is all gone:(<br /> So, I’m wondering now what is a music teacher to do? I need a safe way to collect and store my frequently watched videos in my classroom. YouTube has ads that are too risky and unpredictable to show to kids, and TeacherTube is too limited. <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Need to research Vidly some more to see what I can actually do with it. So, any suggestions readers? Now begins the grueling process of finding my “Musical Oddities” videos and re-collecting them somewhere…</span></p> <p>ETA: FOUND A SOLUTION!! VodPod.com has a video collecting service similar to Fliggo and for only $25 per year I can hold up to 20 different video collections! (Perfect for different subject areas!) Check out my first collection at <a href="http://musicaloddities.vodspot.tv/">http://musicaloddities.vodspot.tv/</a> or click on the “Videos” page above and follow the link inside!<br /> Cheers,<br /> Sarah</p> <p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Furbanmusiceducation.org%2Farchives%2F587&linkname=No%20more%20Fliggo%20%3A%28"></a> </p> </article> <article> <h1>A fun little time waster for the holidays- my gift to you!</h1> <p>urbanmusiceducation.org — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:45:56 +0000</p> <p>If you haven’t seen this<a href="http://lab.andre-michelle.com/tonematrix"> little simple flash synthesizer</a> yet, you have to try it out. I was addicted after the first try and have to share this with my students upon return to classes in January! Merry Christmas to everyone reading the blog and I hope 2010 brings health wealth and happiness to all! ~ Sarah</p> <p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Furbanmusiceducation.org%2Farchives%2F583&linkname=A%20fun%20little%20time%20waster%20for%20the%20holidays-%20my%20gift%20to%20you%21"></a> </p> </article> </main></body></html>