The Brock Art Conference - ART MATTERS

When I was beginning to think about my genius hour question I had heard about the art conference from my visual art teacher at the time. I knew that this signing up would be a perfect opportunity to help me answer my question. I am so happy that I signed up and went, even though it was on a Saturday at 8am it was so worth it. I learned at this wonderful conference that incorporating music in the class is not just singing, playing instruments and musical theory but it is also dance, drama and art. Music is integrated into all of these amazing art forms. I am so excited that I one day get to teach and submerge my students into these subjects. I learned that dance isn't about being a professional ballerina but it is about expressing, answering and interpreting things through the movement of your body, moving to certain music such as native sounds can express your understanding of the struggle they may have gone through in terms of residential schooling. Music can fill the room with live and it can create words in a scene with no lines, it can evoke emotion in a single scene. Music allows students to go beyond traditional pen and paper, it helps students who may not be good at answering questions on a test to find their strengths. It gives them a chance to express themselves and answer questions in a new way. Music can be used in so many wonderful ways, and I would be very surprised if incorporating what I learned in the art conference doesn't work in a classroom to inspire students.

STOMP

These past couple of days I have been really trying to think of a grand assignment that would really allow every student to have fun with music. I began to think of a presentation i saw my brother do in class when he was in grade 4, it was called stomp. Stomp didn't require you to be a musician, all you needed to have were objects around you to make music of some sort. This music could consist of the stomping of brooms, or the clanging of garbage cans. I would love to do something like this in my class, because it shows students that music is everywhere and can be made from the most unusual things. However, I would slightly change this assignment by actually composing a song, with lyrics and notations. It would be done entirely collaboratively, which fosters team work, collaboration and communication. I honestly cannot wait to try this out one day. Here is a video of what a tradition stomp performance looks like.

PINTEREST ... great resource

I have been exploring pinterest and could not be more excited about what I have found!! There are so many cool art activities which intergrades music, language, social studies, art and drama! Music creates so many opportunities for cross curricular integration! I am so excited!!!! Here are some pictures/ links of things that I would want to do in my classroom to inspire students! http://midnightmusic.com.au/2015/08/namerap/

what now?

This week I have learned that there are just not enough hours in the day sometimes. I have been really busy with school work that I have not been practicing guitar or researching inspiring music lessons as much as I should. However, I know that I need to get used to this as a future teacher. Teachers are constantly balancing a million things at once, lesson plans, unit plans, classroom management, engaging students and so much more therefore i know that this is all a learning experience. Though I have been slacking on researching and practicing my genius hour questions, I know that a new fresh week is around the conner and its not to late to push forward. On a brighter note I have also been thinking about brushing up on my piano skills in order to incorporate more music into my future classroom. I think right now i just need to schedule what i have to do this week in order to make time for genius hour and practicing! No matter how busy I get I must say that music has always been my outlet. Even listening to a certain song can completely relax me. This is something I would share in my classroom. Maybe even playing music during a work period to engage students, calm them down or even to reward them for good behaviour. I could even let them bring in there own playlists (as long as they are appropriate) !!

What I have learned so far....

So far I have learned that everything worth doing takes planning. I have googled a lot of worksheets as to how I can make music interesting in the classroom. I have also found some of my old music projects from grade 9-12 that I have really enjoyed such as a project done on my favourite musician! This was done on a powerpoint with many visual and auditory examples. I have also learned that learning the guitar is a lot more difficult than I had thought, keeping up with my practice schedule is a lot more overwhelming than I thought it would be (especially when trying to balance school work too).One really difficult thing I am facing with guitar is finger placement, but the only way to fix this struggle is by PRACTICING. However, I am really enjoying learning how to play and I am so excited to one day bring the guitar into classroom. I think it would really get kids excited to perform and sing and maybe even play an instrument one day too. I have also discovered that Pinterest has SOOO many good ideas as to how to incorporate music into the classroom that would really inspire students. The more research I do the more excited I become ! yay music :)

What I learned

Today I have learned that genius hour and developing a question you would like to succeed in takes time. Nothing is easy but if you truly want to accomplish something you will. One of my favourite quotes that aligns with my proposal is "those who wish to song always find a song", this doesn't necessarily apply to those who are musically inclined but it can apply to anyone. If you want something bad enough you will find a way to do it or accomplish it. I also learned that when given the proper resources (example, technology and the world wide web) almost anything is possible. Even the children in India were able to figure out how the internet worked and taught one another. Therefore I have no doubt in my mind that I will be able to attain the resources (via the internet) that I need in order to successfully answer my genius hour question! Yay!

Genius Hour

My Genius hour question question is: How can I teach my future students music and inspire them with music? I am very passionate about music and singing, and I know as a future teacher I want to incorporate this into my classroom.  My goal for this project is to get students to understand basic music curriculum while also allowing them to discover a certain element of music that inspires them or that they feel passionate about. I know that every child is different, therefore not every student is going to love to sing or be able to grasp music theory, which is why I want them to figure out what they love. For instance through music exploration (which will be done in class) they may realize they love to make rhythms with drums, or that they enjoy writing songs, or maybe that they love sharing songs with the class that inspire them on a daily basis. I would develop lesson plans that cover all these elements of music, including reflective practices like music appreciation where students can "show and tell" what kind of music they like and why they like it, as well as what artists inspire them.

I would measure my progress based on the feedback and reflection of my future students. At the end of each class I would want them to write what they enjoyed about the lesson and what they disliked. I would then modify my next lesson based on the responses. I would also measure my progress by the reaction of my students, if they are excited for the music lesson I will know that they are enjoying it. I would also ensure that I am still enjoying myself while teaching music, and by showing them my passion and why I love it so much (probably by singing with them). Something that I can do for myself to ensure that I success is to learn how to play the guitar so I can bring it into the classroom. If I can remain enthusiastic or notice that my enthusiasm is increasing while I am teaching music then I'll know that I am progressing well!

Copy Right

IMG Stocks. (2015, June 27).  Pink Flower [Online Image] http://imgstocks.com/pink-flower-copyright-friendly-image-in-gallery-flowers-is-in-public.html

San Jose Library (2008, August 9).  Children using library computers {online image} https://www.flickr.com/photos/sanjoselibrary/2839927173/in/photolist-99XZry-b2Y1vX-5jXnpB-9PWnh-4hZkPw-a91qfY-5jWU3i-5guc28-6VvuFx-4TyqWE-6wo5vG-5guaYp-5gywLA-4m5ojv-5gywcb-7LRPcs-e3Zz1-99EyQN-duvjjF-99FWTY-99CQgX-pyrM81-kpwdE-4m9qPy-5bwe6M-4DEf6B-5jXeU6-wH4BPL-ehBnRE-9es4mr-5JUU5s-q3K1zE-99XWwh-99DbaH-99CMGB-4cPmgA-62Y6XP-8XHKbe-4xBfB5-qpA85n-dkYFci-4E2zcQ-4unjj-99DNn5-99GKB5-5ugLFE-hT9xeh-6wnx18-f7Nth-2RYxn

Before I explored the digizen badge I thought of copy rights as a part of academic integrity, in which you should never copy another persons work because it is against the law. I was not aware of creative commons, in which you can extend the rights of your work. Anything you create can have copy right laws attached to it, but this can often restrict people from using it which can lead to your work no longer being shared or appreciated. If you want your creativity and hard work to be known than it is beneficial for you to get a creative commons license in which you can refine copy right laws and choose which parts of your work other people can use freely.

I would teach my students that copy rights are very serious, and breaking copy right laws by means of plagiarism is a serious offence. This would lead into the importance of proper citation,  in order to give the author of the works you are using the recognition they deserve. I would also teach them about creative commons, so that if they would like to create a piece of work such as an online story, blog or website they can get a license that refines the laws of copy right. This way they are able to share there work with others and be recognized for their expression, opinions and hard work while still being protected by certain copy right laws.

Welcome! ... Genius Hour

My name is Nancy Formusa and I have just begun my first week of teachers college at Brock university as a concurrent education student! I am very happy to be on this journey with my fellow teacher candidates, its really nice to see familiar faces in all my classrooms (and its wonderful knowing that we are the last bunch to only have one year of teachers college). Meeting all the professors this week has been a great new experience, I never thought I would meet so many passionate and kind teachers all in one place, it is such a breath of fresh air!

In 8Y24 we are being introduced to Genius hour, which we briefly learned about last year in Michael Savages class (my fellow concurrent education classmates know exactly what I am talking about). I do not know too much about genius hour currently but I am open to new experiences and the opportunity to widened my knowledge on this subject. I do know that genius hour is an opportunity for students to express their creativity and what they are currently learning in class using technology, for example blog posts and tweets during class time. I think it is great that students are being praised for using technology during class rather than reprimanded for it! Who would have thought that texting during class would get us a higher grade!

Anyway I am looking forward to the next few months here at Brock university Hamilton Campus, and I am hoping that this class will make me more tech savvy !!


Nancy Formusa :)