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Module 1

Technology is part of the fabric of our modern-day lives. It allows people to connect with one another globally to share knowledge, experiences, and relationships, provides tools to add convenience to everyday tasks, and serves as a source of entertainment for people of all ages. Our students are often described as digital natives who grew up in our modern world of apps, streaming, and browsing. However, Bauer (2020) reminds us that while our students are fluent in the technology they use daily to play and communicate, they still need help navigating technology used for educational purposes. As teachers who recognize the prevalence of technology in our society, we must carefully evaluate the technological tools we decide to employ in our classrooms. We must ensure they support our students' specific needs in our unique school communities within the guidelines set by our curricula. Because of the individual needs of each classroom, teachers must be adaptable and creative when exploring a new technological tool and be open to the possibilities it may bring for students to learn, process, and reinforce content knowledge.


Bauer (2020) categorizes his book as a helpful tool for teachers to generate ideas for implementing their music curriculum effectively, with technology serving as a "primary supporting pedagogical tool" (p. x). Technology should support, not replace, a good music curriculum. For example, my district currently uses a web-based music curriculum called "Quaver" for its elementary general music classes. Quaver is meant to be used in each lesson from beginning to end, following specific prompts and utilizing each song and activity. It plans the entire year for teachers from August to May. However, I have found it to be rigid and inflexible, the exact opposite qualities of an effective teacher. Teachers should be adaptable and flexible in every class as they become familiarized with the nuances of their unique school communities. Therefore, I combed through all of Quaver's resources, utilizing only those that support and enhance my students' understanding of musical concepts. In other words, I am making an effort to use technology intentionally, which is the goal of Bauer's text.


My use of Quaver is one example of Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge in music education. I attempt to understand a given technological resource and apply its abilities to enhance a lesson intended for my specific context of elementary general music at Baggaley Elementary School. Our use of Incredibox this week at UF is another example of TPACK in music education. We explored a website that enables simple music composition and brainstormed methods for using it effectively to introduce or reinforce musical concepts. My Incredibox composition plays with various textures and experiments with creating a clear beginning, middle, and end.


Finally, this week, I began establishing a digital Personal Learning Network on Twitter. I never thought to use Twitter to further my professional development and network of resources. Through my PLN, I already learned of one new website that I implemented with my students this week to assess their sense of steady beat.

Through just one week of this course, I am already inspired and full of ideas to improve the way my use of technology supplements my teaching. 


Reference:
Bauer, W. I. (2020). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.


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