Online Teaching Experiences

Tai Kimmerly

Melissa Jane White

CEP 811- Adapting Innovative Technologies to Education

08/07/2011

Online Teaching Experiences

            As I read through the table at the end of the document, I was becoming a bit discouraged reading through the online experiences. Many of them seem not applicable or not time efficient enough to use with classes I see twice per week. When it comes down to it, I know it takes extra time to incorporate technology. Sometimes it is worth it, but sometimes it is not. However, there are several that could be very beneficial in the music classroom. One of which is “Interactive Discussions with Experts.”

            Although I am considered the music expert in my building, there are many things that I am not an expert on regarding music. For instance, I know very little when it comes to playing a guitar. Since I don’t have a guitar group, it is not that big of an issue. However, if I am teaching a song from another country, I can do one of several things. I can do my best through research to give students the background information of the song and help them with pronunciations. The whole thing might be much more meaningful coming from someone from that country, or an expert on that country and it’s language. Setting up a video conference with an expert on a specific topic would be a great way to engage and inform the students. We could even perform for our guest and receive feedback on the spot.

            Identifying pedagogy is a bit difficult in this situation. It would be a classroom discussion, but it could lead in an infinite number of directions. The guest could use a lecture or a more interactive approach. The guest may need guidance from me on how to approach the topic. He/she may have it already worked out in a way I cannot fathom. I will probably act as facilitator in this situation more than anything. I will need to make sure all of the right questions get answered without stepping on any toes or getting in the way of something great.

            As I stated before, many of the activities would be difficult to use in a music classroom. For instance, wikis are great education tools for classroom use, but probably not in my classroom. We often do group projects that require a lot of collaboration. The great thing is that the students are actually in my room working together on the projects. Separating them simply to require collaboration seems like a step backward to me. Often times, our collaborative activities are not discussion based, but composition based. It is very difficult to compose music in a wiki. I will keep my eye out for authentic and meaningful ways to use one that still fits the needs of my classroom.