Week 4 Final MAC Post - What is Work?

I was recently told, “anything that has to do with work is not your thing.” This comment brought out a few reactions, the first of which was shaking my head in disbelief that this would be a comment aimed toward me. I then started thinking about what people generally perceive what work is and what I do on a regular basis to possibly see why this comment would be made. 

What I love to do is make music. This is my occupation. I perform, write and teach music. When I am not performing, writing or teaching, I spend time listening to music and help support other musicians. When musicians meet each other, one of the first questions is always “what instrument do you play?” When I tell someone I am a musician, the question is “what kind of music do you play?” No one ever asks what instrument I work or what kind of music I work.

Now that I am earning a technology-based degree, I have to think further. I’ve spent the past eleven months on my computer (it seems non-stop at times). I’ve created music, videos, podcasts, images, web sites and interactive lessons (for playing music of course). I have logged time in SecondLife, Tweeted, posted to FaceBook and even spent a month playing games. Putting these activities together with the fact that I am still a musician, I can begin to believe that work is not my thing. 

I have to now wonder if the term work is an appropriate one. The people at www.whywork.org will agree with me on this one. Isn’t life about more of who we are than what we do? What we do builds our character and some of us are lucky enough to be doing what we love to do on a regular basis as a career. This is the path people should strive for. There are great mechanics, engineers, builders, electricians, and plumbers out there (just to name a few occupations). I even know people that do these things for enjoyment; their career is what they love. I would never second guess their motivation. So why is it I put in long hours honing my craft, as well as twelve months improving my knowledge so I can better serve those I support and teach, yet I am told  work is not my thing or I am considered “underemployed”? 

If showing up to a place for forty hours a week just because it is expected is what it takes to be considered successful, even if it’s drudgery, then I would rather fail. If this is what work is then I guess the comment made to me is correct, work is not my thing. However, if work is the effort exerted to complete a task, or reach a goal, even if it’s something that is considered fun by most, then this is what I love. Maybe I just need to send this person a copy of my current transcript along with the things I have accomplished at my place of employment in a short time. I could also send along the 40+ projects I had to complete these past eleven months. I think, I’ll just enjoy what I call success instead, it’s better energy and not as much a waste of my time; I have too much work to do:-)

Week 4 Post - Coming Full Circle

There have been many posts about getting over walls and hurdles while completing the last steps of our Master’s program. Some of my past posts have compared this process to similar challenges I have taken on in the past. During all of these challenges, something always gets in the way of success. The challenge of completing this program is no different. This post is about coming full circle with the process.

I took on this challenge at both an ideal time and probably the worse time in my life. It was ideal as I have begun the personal process of moving on and improving my life. Earning my Master’s degree has been a goal of mine and it is now becoming a goal obtained. The opportunity found me and I tool advantage of it. 

It came at the worse time as there were a few personal life matters that needed to be resolved. My first month coincided with the peak of this difficult time. My hesitation to begin this journey was due to the other aspects in my life I needed to deal with. Through the push of friends, I began the program in spite of everything else I needed to work through and focus my energy on. 

I am happy to announce that both events went rather well. I survived my personal ordeal and my first mont of FSO. I was also gained a group of friends in FSO who stuck together throughout the program. 

Now, I am about to enter the final month and I wonder where the time went. As I pull together all of the pieces from the past year to create a final media project, I find myself where I started. Some of the personal ordeal has resurfaced, at the worse time possible. I am learning how to pull together aspects of a project while still holding down work and family obligations. It will be an adventure entering the next cycle. 

Photo Credit: From en.wiki: Calligraphy by Kanjuro Shibata XX "Enso".

Week 4 - Reading - Be the Board

This week’s reading has been a bit difficult for me to get my head around as it seems to go against some personal philosophies as well as the difficulty I am having with other aspects of my life.  There may also be misunderstandings on my part on how this practice works. 

I often have followed the philosophy that I am responsible for my actions. I realize that I have limited control over what happens to me but I do have total control over how I deal with it. 

Zander (2002) offers the practice to take yourself out of a situation and choose to be the framework of your life. Although I understand taking a step back and looking in, I often keep myself as a player. I not only need to see the situations that are happening in my life, but I need to see myself as a player and how I react to the different situations. Overall, this practice seems similar to some of the practices I use in my life but the terminology is quite a bit different. My possible misunderstandings of this chapter could be me just not getting out of my own way to understand the terms of the practice. 

I often use visualization in my life through difficult situations. I become an observer, rather than a player in my practice. When I put all of the people and situations in front of my, I watch what happens. When I was in a Directing course for theatre, our instructor took us through a practice called center stage. In this practice we would have the actors work out the scenario we needed to work through. There would be a stand-in playing ourselves. As director in this visualization we could move actors to different places on the stage and even change the script. Once happy with the scene, we would take our place on stage where we had a stand-in. Outside of the visualization practice, it is then up to us to objectively assess the circumstances and move on without blame (of others or self) to learn from the different situations that arise in our lives. 

The consideration of being the board is possibly to put all of a situation on yourself to visualize how the game is going to be played. Then put yourself as a player in order to make a difference.

Sources:

Zander, B., & Zander, R. S. (2002). The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life. Boston: Penguin (Non-Classics). (Original work published 1942)

Game Board Art from: http://dir.coolclips.com/

Week 4 - Response to Bianca’s Post - Getting past the wall

This is definitely a feeling everyone has at some point no matter what they are working on. It happens generally in life, in work, and (in our case) grad school thesis projects. I have hit this wall often in the past with various projects. I was in the Monday group to share projects. This was both the dumbest, yet smartest thing I could have done. I pushed for three weeks to complete the paper and get the project started. My project totally turned around from what I had envisioned a month ago but I sprinted to the March 21/22 deadlines. 

The good news is there was success. I managed to meet the goal and hit the breaks a bit so I can tweak the project and work outside of the whole to get the pieces well developed for next month’s presentation. This week has been tough after Monday, as the let down of some of the stress left me a bit unmotivated to do other things (that and life issues got in the way as well). My attitude adjustment was filling out graduation paperwork. We are there. Only one more hurdle to jump over to bring all of our hard work together. As I have been looking forward the past 11 months, I can’t wait to look back and see what I actually did. See you on the other side:-)

Getting past the wall

Posted by Bianca at 10:51 PM Labels: assignment, week 4

*sigh*

I had the worst problem getting started on my media project. Well, to be more specific, I had the worst problem getting started on the media portion of my media project. I'd had my idea, a branching dialogue customer service simulation in Udutu, solidified since our first week. I had the whole idea all mapped out, but when it came to actually creating it in Udutu I had the most terrible time getting started. I hummed and hawed and vaguely poked in its general direction until just finally getting it properly rolling and working today (status update: got a great chunk of it in order and I feel confident about having it more than 75% done by the time I do my presentation).

It's not that I wasn't excited about the media project; in fact, I was kind of elated to be putting my thesis materials into practice finally. It's more that I'm starting to just get TIRED.

I've been pushing myself in both my school and work life for the past 11 months and it turns out pushing myself past exhaustion is finally starting to catch up with me. I just want to crawl into a fetal ball and sleep for a month or so to recover. Alas, there's still 5 more weeks to go, so no recovery hibernation for me just yet.

I thankfully hit a second wind (or, well, maybe eightieth wind to be more accurate) today and getting the project to work finally will definitely get me through this week at the very least (although I'm hoping the delight of finally getting a breakthrough will boost my energy for longer).

I'm hoping this will all work out like the exercise class I took the other week. It was my first yoga/pilates/tai chi-style class in a long time and around the middle I honestly thought I couldn't go any further. Not long after that, though, I caught a second wind and by the end of the class I felt fabulous.

So here's to us ALL catching that second wind, making it through the rest of the program, and coming out the other end feeling amazing and refreshed... or, at least surviving the next 5 weeks. Yes, just surviving would suffice ;)

Week 4 Discussion Topic 2 - Contemplating the Journey to My Dream Job

Topic #2: What stands in between you and your dream job? Why do you deserve to work in a dream job environment? What do you bring to the table? Be specific.

In order to move forward into the future, we should look back at our past. My past has been full of obstacles that stood in the way. I have overcome most of these, but as one obstacle is taken down, more seem to pop up. Sometimes I wonder if it’s just me not getting out of my way, but there are other outside forces that can go against your goals as well. Things that have stood in my way are people who called themselves family, money, a few crazy people with too much power and control, mistakes I have made in my life, and the lack of a Master’s degree. 

The good news is, that despite the obstacles I have faced and continue to face, I have always managed to reach my goals. I will always have to deal with some obstacle along he way but have made valiant efforts to move past them. One ideal job I applied for I was told I had the experience and was the type of person they were looking for but I lacked the degree. I am now eliminating that obstacle, I just need to find the opening.

The job I was looking at was at a music college. The position was to be part of the new online programs they were building at the school. Recently, thanks to Full Sail and programs I have implemented at my current job, I have discovered that online teaching is definitely an aspect of my dream job. 

I bring a lot to the table at any place I work. I offer creativity, drive, a solid work ethic and a laid back demeanor which allows me to handle difficult situations. I deserve my dream job because of the work I put into obtaining the tools I need to work there. I have taken a lot of chances to achieve my goals and worked hard to get where I am in less than ideal circumstances. It’s about time the non-crazy person wins and moves on to success after being help back for so long. 

Please email me directly and I will answer any questions you should have about my work experience and how I overcame obstacles. I have references available and look forward to working with you in the near future. 

Photo from back cover of Journey From the Darkside - Bob Jr & the Martini Gardeners. Artwork from Tarsila Kruse

Week 4 Discussion Topic 1 - My Ideal Teaching Environment

Topic #1: Briefly share what your dream teaching or presentation environment would be like, be specific about what such a place would include (beyond just the tech toys).

My ideal teaching environment need to be a place of respect. All teachers, staff and students need to demonstrate respect for themselves and each other. this respect will generate a positive teaching and learning environment. My ideal environment also includes a drive to achieve goals for both staff and students and work would be done in a collaborative effort. 

The Physical space needs to fit the needs of the classes taught. I would need enough space for the number of students in my class plus their instruments. There should be enough room to move and change the look of the room as needed. 

Every student and teacher should have a laptop (preferably a Mac) and available and working internet. These laptops will be loaded with all of the software needed for courses available in the school and full time tech support will be readily available. 

My space would have a full functioning performance space with stage, lights and sound system that can remain in place and cover a wide variety of ensembles. It would also include a full functioning recording studio, equipped with mics, cables instruments and recording hardware and software. the recording studio would have a control room, a sound proof main room and isolation booth. There would also be sound proof practice rooms available to staff and students throughout the day. 

Lastly, my ideal teaching environment would have an ideal time schedule. The master schedule would make all classes available to students and would have flexible start and end times in order to meet the needs of faculty who are teaching artists. 

Week 3 Reading Response - Get Out of Your Way

This is a theme I encounter all the time as a musician, both in myself at times and with other musicians. Performing in front of an audience is a very vulnerable position. Everything you do is watched, heard and judged. I often encounter students (and even some professionals) who go through phases of stage fright. They shut down in fear and this brings about what they envision, a poor performance. It is often hard to get out of this circumstance. I always ask these performers why they are afraid of the stage. The reactions I get to this question vary, but usually involve an odd look and a thought of “this guy is crazy.” I then ask a routine number of questions about how the stage has treated the performer. Has it ever tripped you? Did it call you names? Did it bite you? Usually by now I have confirmed my insanity. 

Quickly I switch to the music being performed. What is it about? What kind of message do you want to say with your performance. It is usually at this point the performer starts to laugh at the idea of being afraid of the stage and some of the true fears come out. These performers are afraid of the performance; the idea that people will judge them and the ramifications of poor judgements. 

Once these ideas are voiced, I tell the performer to get out of their way. Play out like you mean it. Especially if you think it’s a “wrong note”. If we can let out the meaning of what we want to express, then those mistakes will not sound like mistakes. There really is nothing to lose because all of the people listening are really wishing they were the ones performing. A show of passion and love for what you do will inspire the audience to move forward with what they love to do. This passion we put into our work is infectious and is the energy that connects; it is really up to us if we are going to give a positive energy or settle on a negative one. 

Photos taken by Bob Walker, Jr as a storm was approaching during an outdoor performance Summer 2009

Week 3 Dig Deeper Discussion Post - Video Use In Education

There are many video sources I use n my classroom. Currently, I am teaching a Music Business class. My favorite place for this class is Artists House Music: http://www.artistshousemusic.org/Musicians+Strategy

The videos include conference recordings and interviews covering just about every topic in the music industry. 

Another useful site I discovered in a previous class was the Internet Archive of videos. In particular I found a clip that tells the history of adding sound to film. http://www.archive.org/details/FindingH1929 

The site has searches for a variety of subjects and topics. 

Hulu has come in handy for video clips and shows as well. One I use often is Live from the Artists Den http://www.hulu.com/live-from-the-artists-den

I use the clips for performance critiques and to show how artisits adjust their performance based on the venue they perform. There are also other concert videos and movies in the Music channel I use often. 

In order to give a wide range of style examples, as well as read, hear and watch music news in all genres I bring my students to http://www.npr.org/music/  There is a vast list of concert videos including a link to the podcast for Live Concerts from All Songs Considered. I use these sources in most of the music courses I teach for a variety of lesson plans involving style and performance. 

Week 3 - Response to Jorge's Discussion Topic

I was one of the many who responded to the discussion topic about difficulties starting new programs with the complacency issue. I love your comparison to the cattle grazing out in the fields. I did have success recently initiating a program at my school. Just this past week I began another new program. This one is coming up against the uncertainty of change. 

In presenting the new program to the board, the question posed was, “how do we know this new program is stable?” It was a bit of an uphill battle but we are going to move forward. We are slowly integrating the new program and there are a few pioneers making the leap to be testers in order to have the final say of how things go. 

This all goes back to our reading from last week and allowing people to lead from any chair. 

Wk3-1 Difficulties starting new programs/breaking the norm - Jorge L. Rodriguez

Having been an industrial and manufacturing engineer for close to 30 years, part of my function was to introduce new processes, methodologies and train on innovative skill sets required to having one accomplish ones job.

The resistance to adapt to these learning's came in the form of two distinct characteristics in the mainstream workforce here in the United States. 

The first was 'complacency' where there are those who have been used to doing thing in one fashion and ONLY ONE FASHION felt too comfortable with that environment. And changes to that environment threatened their ability to scathe through life similar to the cattle grazing out in the fields.

The second was lack of confidence in one's self. Too often, our labor force are faced with little to no choices in what their form of employment is to be comprised of. When this exists, it becomes destructive in their physique and perpetuates the feeling of uselessness leading to questioning their own ability to do better.

Week 3 - Final Thesis Draft - A Visual Journey

Today, I uploaded the final draft to my Thesis. Here is the journey:

The Annotated Bibliography : August 2009

Letter to the Program Director: September 2009

The Research Proposal: October 2009    

The Rough Draft: January 2010

The Final Draft: March 2010

The full thesis paper can be read here: http://web.me.com/bobwjr/BobJrs_Thesis/Bobs_Thesis.html

Week 3 - Media Project Link - A Work in Progress

I'm not quite sure why I am posting this before the thesis paper. Maybe it's just to get away from the paper for a while.

I have been working on the pieces to this project for quite some time. It's coming together slowly, but I am looking forward to making it a focus now that the paper is complete.
Here is the link to my work in progress: http://web.me.com/bobwjr/Media_Project/Welcome.html

Check back often for updates and changes as it develops.

Cheers!

Week 3 Discussion Post #2 - Fear of Technology

Topic #2: Why do you think educators are so resistant to change, especially when it comes to technology? How do other institutions, such as business, deal with technological change?

Educators are resistant to change due to fear. Humans in general react to change this way. There is fear and anxiety in the unknown. Especially with technology because some educators see the computers as a distraction rather than the tool they really are. Other factors are comfort level with the technology and possibly cost and time to learn. 

It seems as though other businesses grab ahold of technology sooner for the most part. Take the grocery store for instance. Here is a business where inventory was done by a person counting and cross checking lists, and checkout was done by a single register or by hand. Now both of these tasks are done simultaneously through a scan and consumers can even scan and check out on their own. Cell phones, texting, and conference calls are all a regular occurrence in the work place, yet forbidden in the school. 

PS I tried to add some photos of old tech equipment, but they were too afraid to show up here tonight:-)

Week 3 Discussion Post #1 - Introducing New Programs at Work

Topic #1: Briefly share any experiences you've had when you've had a part in introducing a new program or a new way to do things at your job site. Please share any triumphs or frustrations you've had trying to improve the system or when you've pioneered or piloted some outside the norm.

I’ll go for a triumph in this case. Last school year we had a number of school cancellations due to weather and other unexpected events. This added two weeks of school to the end of the year. This has happened in the past to me and I ran into a lot of scheduling issues with my summer performance schedule. As we sat in out first teacher meetings this year we discussed the calendar and realized that if we have the same amount of cancellations, our last day of school would be July 1. I brainstormed and offered a solution to hold classes online when the building needed to be closed. I hunted for a cost effective program that would fit our budget (free) and began the process of training staff and students to use the platform. We presented the plan to the Department of Education and received the green light. We have had 4 cancellations so far this year but have not had to add any make-up days to the end of our school year. 

Photo from Cocheco Arts and Technology Academy staff training session of WizIq

Week 3 Post - Response to The Rise and Fall of the Music Industry

Joe Bustillos sent me a link to his post with this interview. The link can be found here:
http://web.me.com/edm613/edm613/Tech_%26_Media_History/Entries/2009/6/18_Important_Media_History__the_Rise_and_Fall_of_the_Music_Industry_(NPR__Fresh_Air).html#

This is my first reaction:

Steve Knopper’s book, Appetite for Self-Destruction is now on my must read list after listening to the interview on NPR. There is quite a bit of information on the price increase the record labels put on CDs in order to get more money. Some of this information fell through the cracks with me as a smaller, non-label musician in the early to mid 90s. I may also have to blog about the various topics discussed in other posts as there is quite a bit of information in this discussion. 

I do find it interesting that the title and the focus seem to be aimed toward the Music Industry as a whole, when in reality this is the destruction of the major record labels. Within the history of the recording industry there have been bad negotiations and decisions that have led to mergers and closings of record stores. 

The end of the interview covers the positive side of this new technology. Ultimately, it is about the music and musicians who create. There are now more opportunities for non-major label musicians to be heard. The technology allows for minimal costs of distribution and immediate world-wide releases. This used to be a large undertaking with vinyl, cassettes, and cds. The multi-million dollar records may have dwindled, but the wealth is now spread around where a struggling musician can still get music out there and for sale and manage to make ends meet. This can be done through bypassing the major’s cut and pay minimal costs of distribution. 

I would describe this shift as the small mom and pop businesses taking back the market in recording. I do worry about the hype of focusing the industry in just recordings. The industry covers quite a bit more such as scoring for film, TV, and games. There is also this world of live performance where ticket sales are the money maker for the musicians. Within the touring there is work for a number of skilled people outside the direct lines of the music such as promoters, venues, merchandise, etc. The large live shows also bring people into the towns of venues which continues to drive local economies. This change and direction of the recording industry I see as a positive one. Stay tuned for more. 

Week 2 Discussion Deeper - Podcasts in Education

There are quite a few podcasts, I browse through. The content has given my personal information in my own education and a lot can be passed on to either colleagues or students depending on the lessons. Podcasts are also a great addition to texts and can enhance reading assignments. Here are some of my subscriptions:

Live in Concert from All Songs Considered: http://www.npr.org/templates/rss/podlayer.php?id=1039

Ok, NPR does offer positive programming. If only they would do this in the morning. (refer to my blog about waking to NPR) What a source to add to your music collection as well. Sounds and sights of live performances from a variety of music styles. I use this tool in songwriting courses, music theory and appreciation as it is a free source of music discussed in these classes. 

Instructional Design Network: feed://feeds.feedburner.com/idnetwork

Also found in the iTunes store, this is a great source of things we have learned here at Full Sail. Dr. Deason’s screen flow videos and tutorials are easy to follow and a great qucik reference of how to use the tools we need in the classroom. 

Music and the Brain: http://www.loc.gov/podcasts/musicandthebrain/index.html

I used this as a source for my thesis. I also recommend browsing this site as there are great sources for all subjects and topics in the Library of Congress Podcasts. 

NOLO: http://www.nolocast.com/

I have used topics in NOLO’s podcast for a number of issues. Some in training new officers of my Local to what some of the labor laws are. I have also used them for copyright information and other basic legal information I was looking for. 

Week 2 Response to Jedi Master Cindi

I often forget about the parenting role teachers often take. I think this happens more for those of us that coach or run extra curricular activities. I often call my students, my kids. This idea you bring up resonates with me and is an aspect I often put on the back burner. It relates to Zander’s story of the girl throwing the starfish back. We also have to remember at times that we can’t save them all but should revel in the moments we have. 

Rule #6 has always been with you, even in those trying times with outside forces. It is the realization to put it into practice that is the challenge. So, from now on, quit breaking the rules. 

Cindi Jobe: Week 2 - Contribution, Leading and Rule #6

Coaching Soccer - Leading, Contributing and of course, Rule #6!

How much greatness are we willing to grant? How will I contribute? What will my commitment be to the task at hand? How seriously should I take myself? Can I laugh at myself and can I admit my mistakes? These are a few of the questions that Zander brings up and these are questions that I have asked myself on more than one occasion as an art teacher or coach, but also as a parent. Many times in my life these roles have intertwined and overlapped because kids need parenting whether they are yours or not. 

I do know that things change and meaning is made when we care enough to invest ourselves in the process at hand. When we trust in the people with whom we are working, teaching or coaching, we often gain more than what we invested. I find, like Benjamin Zander that it also helps to put yourself aside sometimes and just concentrate on the task at hand. Don’t try to lead, just try to make the opportunity available, be supportive, and see what happens. Usually, amazing things happen when we least expect them because we aren’t being super-critical, super-sensitive, or hyper-vigilant.

I really like Zander’s Rule #6: Don’t take yourself so goddamn seriously! I wish that I had know about this rule when I was younger and would ride the volleyball referee when I was coaching, or couldn’t let of go of a bad loss when I was a head women’s soccer coach, or when my son, daughter or husband would do something I disliked.

As a woman of over 45, I now “get” this rule, and find myself living within my emotional means more often than being too serious. I always assumed that this “enlightenment” came with age and that the “zen” attitude I had fostered in my midlife was something I had grown into. Now that I think about it, although this observation is somewhat true, I am finding that I have learned Rule #6 from other great people in my life who have modeled it for me. 

Week 2 Reading Reflections - Leading from Any Chair and Rule #6

What a pleasure it is to have this book remind me of the things I have learned as a musician, and band leader. My first full time teaching job was to build a music program. I entered this first year with five students enrolled in the program. This includes band, chorus, and the general music classes. I knew the challenge I had ahead of me, and embraced this challenge. Three yeas into the program I was able to grow a non-existent program into a small, talented one. This third year I was given the challenge of taking the performing groups to a graded festival. A graded festival (for the non-music teachers in the crowd) is where the group performs in front of a panel and the performance is graded based on a variety of standards. I reluctantly caved to the pressure of taking my young groups to this festival but needed to make the best of it. Here are stories I could add to the chapters. 

Story number one comes from the jazz band. As a band leader I would often perform with my students. My philosophy is, and has been, teach by example as often as possible. This also made for a team effort in my jazz band. Every student would take a solo and have say in the overall sound of the group. Since instructors are not permitted to perform in the festivals there were two things that needed to take place. I needed to reassign my instrument parts so the music was covered, and I needed to lead the group in a different way. The reassigning of parts took time, leading was easy. As the leader, I kept the same style as I did when playing with the group. I counted off he start of the song, then got out of the way so the players could be musicians. The first remark given to the jazz band from the adjudicator was, “Thank your director, he gets out of your way and lets you play”. The rest of the comments went to the students and the soloists when they took their turn to lead the group musically. 

The second story is from the same experience except with my concert band. The concert band I had at the time was smaller than an average jazz big band. There were 18 students in my concert band. In order to get the sound out of the band I needed, I spent time arranging parts to the player I had so all of the important aspects of the music were covered. I then had the challenge of balancing the sound. One of my players was a very strong clarinet player. The problem was he would overpower the rest  of the woodwind players as he was the strongest. He approached me looking for ways to help boost confidence in the other players and asked how he could tone down to blend. I moved his spot from the traditional first chair to somewhere in the middle of the band as though he would be a third part section player. The student who was the weaker player then took that first chair part. I also did this with the rest of the band. This physical arrangement put my strongest players right next to my weakest ones and the level of the weaker players rose because of this inner-group leadership. The player who now sat in the traditional  first chair spot became the band leader of sorts in the traditional ways of the group. This led to successes of the group that I did not think were possible. 

Imagine if all leaders would just get out of the way for a moment. Let those who are working under them to let their talents shine through and help the large group succeed. What if the quietest person became the leader of aspects? Moving the leaders to different sections or even changing the leaders and roles will add a whole new dynamic to a group, a class, or a corporate team. 

Those that know me, know I live by Rule #6. A past student of mine, who is now teaching, asked me recently if it was ok to crack up laughing when a student of hers did something really silly that made the class laugh. I asked her how many times we laughed in the classes she took of mine and she came back with lots of stories and remembering things learned in that atmosphere. Yes, things get rough at times. I always go by the case of what is the worse that can happen. Then I just laugh because most of what I stress out about, really isn’t all that important in the larger scheme of things. I’m glad we had the opportunity to be reminded of these things at a stressful time. 

Photos from: http://www.musicgraphicsgalore.net

Week 2 Discussion Post #2 - New CD Technology

The first question for this post is one I really want to answer but really can’t remember the first song that touched me on an emotional level. Maybe there have been, or are too many. 

I do remember when CDs were introduced and the price difference. The story was that CDs were just going to be a fad and not last long. The price dropped slightly, but we really need to take in account inflation to really figure that out in exact numbers. There are a few CDs I have purchased that are the same albums I have on vinyl or cassette. I have not purchased music I own on CD in mp3 format though and have not had to purchase the same song more than once. I actually end up downloading full albums when I have the chance. 

My funny story with the change to digital is with my first original recording experience. My band at the time spent a few months in the studio to release our debut album. At the time, cassettes were what was being made. Once we completed our sessions, spliced tape, and sent it off for duplication, the studio we recorded use the money to buy digital recording equipment. I spent a few days playing with this new technology, then had to listen to my cassettes. At least we don’t have to splice tape anymore. 

Week 2 Wimba - Wimbas are cool, archives are a let down

The topic of group collaboration is what really makes a Wimba Session. Watching the archive is a great way to get the information covered, but it is like watching your friends play outside from your bedroom window while you are in bed sick. I really did miss the chat and banter as I went through the archive and thought about just typing all of my comments and having everyone guess where the conversations were. 

Anyway, I did gain a sense of relief (sort of) through the session. Completing 75% of the media project by Monday the 22nd doesn’t seem so bad. I even scheduled how to get it done. Now I just need to figure out the thesis paper aspect. I really wish our class would get a bit of a break and this paper would be due on the 28th instead. Especially since we missed the month 9 introduction of getting the media project done. At least I can dream. 

One question that came up as I watched was, what are the other 2 things that the review panel looks at? Joe said there were 4 and mentioned the thesis paper and the media project. My guess is one s the content proposal, is the 4th the presentation? I guess we will learn all about it next month. I did like the brief passing statement of blogging v writing a paper, I need to pass this along to a somewhat hesitant English teacher. 

Some of the other things of note took place within the context of the conversations. I really need to get Donna’s eye strain exercises as the strain is an issue for me these past few days. I really appreciate the listing of the proposal due date and find it really funny that a lot of people misread it. “Due the next tomorrow” This is going to be a line I use often. It works well on an A/B schedule. It is sad that the copyright sessions are not happening. I have a lot of experience with the law and still learned quite a bit in the sessions last month. I highly recommend going through the website to my classmates as it is pulled together in plain English and highly organized. 

Just to push the buttons, I often like to with the classmates, I’ll end by saying Joe’s shirt was cool.

Week 2 Project - Content Proposal

I. THESIS ABSTRACT

Abstract

Literacy is a common foundation and goal throughout all subject areas of education; it is also a skill in which most music students are deficient. Sight reading standard musical notation is a skill in which every musician must become proficient should they wish to further their career opportunities. By comparing how students learn language, and how to read that language to learning music and how to read music, music educators can develop ways to help their students become better sight-readers. Along with some traditional practice techniques, music educators can use technologies available to help students work on their rudimentary skills. Ideas educators can explore are the use of networking, social media, and games that can help students develop their skills.

II. Introduction

            The incorporation of music training, from preschool through postsecondary education, is common in most nations because it is considered a fundamental component of human culture and behavior (Yudkin, 2008). Music education develops fine motor skills in students who play instruments, and it also expands cognitive development through recognition and interpretation of musical notation. This education takes place in classes and in individual, life-long learning contexts. Amateur musicians typically take lessons to learn rudiments and skills from a beginning through intermediate level. Professional musicians continue their education in order to keep their knowledge and technique of these rudiments fresh. 

            Many formal and informal methodologies have been developed through time in order to help teach these techniques and rudimentary skills to various levels and ages of students. Each method has its own approach to reach the common goal of instrument technique and basic understanding of the language of music. Recent cuts in funding for music programs in the schools have left most students on their own to learn basic skills. Although the methods and lesson books allow for this type of self-education, music students trying to turn music into a career are struggling in the work field due to the lack of time spent on basic music literacy skills.

Problem Addressed

            Music educators must provide a way for students of all levels and abilities to achieve the goal of literacy. Although each instrument involves unique techniques to acquire sound, each instrument’s sound is represented in the same standard written language. Some of our modern and more popular instruments can be learned through a variation of standard notation. These variations are instrument-specific, and students who only learn under these variations run into difficulty communicating musical ideas with other instruments that cannot function under these variations.

            Educators need to look at ways to motivate students of modern instruments to practice this skill by altering methods traditionally used with other instruments. Incorporating traditional practice techniques with new technologies, music educators can help students develop their skills and keep live music working conditions in the future. This media project will demonstrate lessons using these technologies for one instrument, and offer a template for similar lessons and tools to be used for all instruments.

Target Audience

Students of musical instruments may begin their education at any age; this needs to be considered when teaching and developing programs. A thirty-year-old student may be at the same musical level as a seven-year-old; these two students essentially have the same desire and goal to achieve on their instrument, but their developmental levels also need to be considered. These two students also are learning the same rudiments of music, but there needs to be a variety of ways to present these based on the student’s developmental level.

            This project is designed to offer interactive lessons for music students of all ages and abilities, with the goal of improving their music reading skills. The majority of the lessons offered will be aimed specifically at guitar students, but will offer a template of lessons to be created for other instrumental students as well. The introduction of the tools through this project is aimed toward other educators as an aid in planning ways to reach their students through the use of technology.

Sharing the project

Lessons are created with Udutu, Flash, iMovie, Garage Band, iWeb, and the Ning Social Network. My plan to share the project is to build a web site to either hold or launch the lessons depending on the format created. Each lesson will have its own dedicated page with an explanation of the lesson. Each page will also embed the lesson or have a hyper-link to where the created lesson exists.

III. Goals and Objectives

Instructional Goal

            The goal of this project is to offer a variety of lessons for students to develop basic music skills necessary to become proficient sight-readers of standard notation. Students will build upon their basic skills in rhythm recognition, performance, and composition; instrument-specific techniques; melodic composition and performance; and harmonic composition and performance. Instructors will also be able to use this project to enhance their lessons and build upon the templates demonstrated for other instruments. The focus on standard notation in the lessons given will aide in reducing the deficiency in the skill of sight reading most beginning and intermediate students demonstrate.

Learning Domain

            This instruction fits into the cognitive and psychomotor learning domains. The cognitive aspects of the lessons are the retention of the musical symbols, understanding of the meaning and function of each symbol, knowledge of where notes are located on the instrument, and how to put all of these basic skills together. The dexterity and physical demands of a musical instrument fall under the psychomotor domain. The practice exercises of this project will require a combination of both domains.

Learning Objectives

            As a result of the lessons in this project, students will be able to identify musical symbols written in standard notation. Students will also be able to recall the location of notes on their instrument. Through composition exercises, students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of musical symbols and transcribe them in writing. Through the sharing in the social networks, students will also be able to read and perform the compositions of others. Students will be able to perform basic skills on their instrument as a result of the practice exercises in the lessons. Instructors will be able to include these online tools in their traditional classroom or private teaching studio. Instructors will also be able to expand the lessons within the social networking aspects of the project to fit the needs of their students and adapt the concepts of other lessons to their specific instrument.  

IV. Presentation 

Instructional Approach

            Music instruction naturally follows Constructivist theory. Every skill and lesson in music is based off of the previous skills developed in prior lessons. This theory is applied in this media project through the sequence of lessons. Once a student becomes proficient in one skill set, that knowledge will be used to learn the next set of skills needed. Through the set up of this project, students will have opportunity to review concepts and skills needed in order to move forward. Even though students can also move forward through the lessons to preview the content, it will be difficult for them to use the higher level lessons without having a solid foundation of the information presented in earlier lessons.

            Saxon (2009) boldly states, “Sight reading cannot be taught” (p. 23). If this is the case, how do we solve the issue of deficient readers in the field of music? Although this particular skill may not be taught directly, Saxon and others give strategies to use to enhance all of the skills used for sight reading and encourage the practice of reading for students. The basic tips Saxon gives for students are to keep eyes on the page, count out loud, keep going, read by intervals, do not correct mistakes, and perform an effective visual preview of the music. He also recommends that students use chunking. Jensen (2000) and Levitin (2006) also describe the idea of chunking in their respective writings.             Stauffer’s (2005) tips involve the development of the rudiments and basic elements as the solution to students becoming better readers. Stauffer stresses the need for student musicians to learn the physical responses to music notation before they can become fluent readers.  Richardson (2004) gives the same tips of playing nonstop through a piece and learning the elements of music in order to achieve reading proficiency. Richardson’s (2004) solution to the deficiency in sight reading skills is that music instructors need to teach music as language teachers teach language.

            Any solution to helping students overcome their deficiency in sight reading must be active, relevant to their goals and style, and keep with the notion that they need to build upon the vocabulary of music discussed by Richardson (2004). The platforms used must reach musical, linguistic, bodily-kinesthetic, and spatial intelligences as defined by Gardner (1999). Students are more likely to learn and practice these skills in platforms they enjoy. This would include a wide range of musical styles.

Lesson Structure

            The first page of the website is an introduction to the lessons provided on the following pages. The site will also allows users to navigate to various lessons out of sequence in order to review concepts or pick up where they left off from previous lessons. Since rhythm is the basic foundation to music, the first lesson is rhythm based. The concept of steady beat is explained and demonstrated through a combination of video and sound. Exercises are then given to students to perform a steady beat using Garage Band. The subsequent lessons introduce various note values and follow the same sequence of the steady beat lesson. Students also are given an exercise where they create their own rhythm examples and share them on the site for other students to practice and perform.

             The next lesson is an introductory lesson to the guitar. Students are presented with the parts of the guitar through flash player and will gain an understanding of the working of the instrument. This lesson also includes notes on the neck of the guitar and is presented through a lesson created in Udutu.

            The next series of lessons focuses on the rhythm playing aspect of guitar. Chords, fingerings, and names are introduced as well as basic progressions using these chords. Students are required to identify the chords by sight and demonstrate an understanding of basic progressions. Students will also perform these progressions with a play-along video that includes the written progression. This lesson is expanded to harder levels of chords using the same format. These lessons are all developed with Udutu.

            A web quest is presented for the last part of the lesson. This quest has students explore the history of music in order to write and perform new music. This lesson reinforces student knowledge of notation through the writing, sharing, and performing of original work.  

            The last page of the website includes a trailer of a newly created game made for music students. The focus of the game is a gateway to create music and collaborate with other players in order to achieve the goal of the game. This page also includes a conclusion to the lessons and offers instructors ideas on how and where to create content specific to other instruments.

V. Evaluation

            There are a number of assessments throughout the lessons that measure the learning of students. Each Udutu lesson incorporates assessment quizzes based on the content covered. Instructors can also assess the learning of students through the submission of work of the rhythm exercises and web quest activity. These assessments are also available to the creator of the lessons, so continued development and improvement of the project can take place.

            Instructors who incorporate these online lessons in their classroom or studio will also be able to individually assess student learning through live performance. This assessment would need to take place for the performance aspects of the lessons incorporated into the project.

            In order to get a full evaluation of the lessons incorporated, a student and instructor survey will be attached to the final page of the website. Feedback from users of the project will enable the growth and redesign of the project in order to keep the content up to date and to meet the needs of both students and instructors. This survey will cover the content of the lessons as well as the usability of the platform.

            One way to continue through the evaluation process is to offer a place within the platform for students or instructors to upload videos of the performance aspects of the lesson. Through these performances, the basic skills learned will be demonstrated and can be evaluated by the creator. This offers first-hand insight to which skills are being enhanced and which ones still need work. New or reworked lessons can be developed based on the results of the evaluations of these submissions.

            Once the lessons are developed and assessments meet the needs of the students and instructors, this project can be developed further by creating the same platform for a variety of instruments. By including other instruments into this project, the lessons reach a wider audience. This platform is also open to adding a variety of skills for these instruments.

VI. References

Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed: multiple intelligences for the 21^st century. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Hayward, C., & Gromko, J. (2009, April). Relationships among music sight reading and

technical proficiency, spatial visualization, and aural discrimination. Journal of Research in Music Education, 57(1), 26-36. Retrieved July 31, 2009, from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=37830197&site=ehost-live

Jensen, E. (2000). Music with the brain in mind. San Diego, CA: The Brain Store, Inc.

Leavitt, W. (1969). Melodic rhythms for guitar. Boston, MA: Berklee Press Publications.

Levitin, D. (2006). This is your brain on music: The science of a human obsession. New             York,NY: Plume.

McGann, J. (2009). Tablature vs. standard notation. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from             http://www.johnmcgann.com/tab.html

Richardson, S. (2004, June). Music as language. American Music Teacher, 53(6), 21-25.

Retrieved July 10, 2009, from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&db=aph&AN=13584284&site=ehost-live

Saxon, K. (2009, June/July). The science of sight reading, American Music Teacher,58(6), 22-25, Retrieved, July10,2009 from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=41333516&site=ehost-live

Stauffer, D. (2005, September) Idea bank. Music Educators Journal, 92(1), 21-22.

Retrieved July 10, 2009, from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=1902978&site=ehost-live

Szymczak, M.T. (1982). Reading contemporary guitar rhythms. Boston, MA: Berklee Press Publications.

Yudkin, J. (2008). Understanding music. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.