Technology-Assisted Music Learning Reflections

Organization is one of my favorite parts of being a teacher. I love creating plans, systems, and communications quickly and efficiently. Throughout the pandemic, I became well-versed in productivity apps and programs due to the online and remote nature of our profession at the time. Our district suddenly put a majority of its resources into training teachers in Google applications. We switched from using eSchool, TAC (Teacher Access Center), and teacher websites through the GLSD.org site to manage communications and assessments to Google applications. Within the first month of the pandemic, all of the teachers in our district received training on Google Classroom, Google Meet, Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Sheets, Google Forms, and Google Sites to cover every possible need that online learning may present. These programs are helpful because they are all housed in Google Drive and can be used to collaborate with others and shared when complete. Because of this extensive training an...

This week, I reflected on how I can use technology to assist in planning enriching lessons, units, and curricula and applied the knowledge I gathered from the Bauer (2020) chapter to create an outline for an engaging WebQuest. There are many factors to consider when using any technology for instructional purposes. For example, when planning my WebQuest and including videos, articles, websites, and assessment pieces, I contemplated what I wanted my students to gain from the experience, the accessibility of each piece for the specific students that will complete this WebQuest, and the prior knowledge students will have when they complete the assignment. In addition, if I were to publish, share, or sell my WebQuest on Teachers Pay Teachers, I would need to be mindful of copyright laws, using materials in the public domain and pictures from a creative commons site.  Because WebQuests are at the Redefinition level of the SAMR Model of Technology Integration, and the task I set for the s...