Music technology in the classroom

...and the Groundhog saw his shadow...

February 2, was Groundhog day here. Folk tradition states that if the Groundhog comes out of his nest in the ground and see's his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. It was quite sunny here.

I'm not at all sure about the six weeks of winter...in fact, in Texas terms, that does not mean much at all...we have yet to even have a hard freeze here, and we are not that far from spring. What I do know is that the EVO class is about half over with....where'd it go?

Another week has come and there is all sorts of new stuff to think about. The notes from Week Three are finally up...lots of information about what kinds of electronic tools exist that can be used in the classroom to add music. No, there are no real plans about how or what to incorporate into your curriculuum, just lots of devices to help you decide to do it. Planning your agenda for your class, is your business, and though I have set up some forums and groups so that you can discuss that, I would rather stick to my original plan, which was to show you the how of bringing music into the classroom. In that regard, we still have much to cover.

Saturday, we had a terrific webcast from Dr. James Frankel. It was not really well attended but it was archived and is now available for your listening pleasure at Lee's MusicBridges Drupal. The webcast itself had some glitches that morning....you can hear some of them on the recording, but the materials discussed were terrific. We already have several more webcasts lined up that I think you are going to enjoy. If there is a way to increase attendance to these, please feel free to let me know...but be aware, that my first allegiance will be the speaker. I want to get them to talk at the most comfortable time I can. Sometimes that will not be the most acceptable time for you ....but again, bear with us, and we will get the recording up as soon as possible, and though you might not be there live, they are well worth the time needed to listen to them. The next one will be with Jim Plamondon, who has invented a new instrument called the "Thummer" (you can see it in use in last weeks "Tools" page from the ElderUniversity "I Got Rhythm: Music in the Classroom" course or you can just click here and scroll down toward the bottom of the page. I am now also negotiating with the folks from the MIT Music Lab to come and talk to us about the amazing "Hyperscore" software, and the folks at "Reactable", who have also created an astonishing new piece of musical hardware. Stay tuned for more free webcast (See the calendar by clicking on the Calendar tab above.

There will be additional information coming all week regarding the creation of music in the classroom, so keep reading the blog here and pay attention to Lee's MusicBridges Drupal. There are also some really good forums in the ElderUniversity "I Got Rhythm: Music in the Classroom" course, that you are free to respond to.

I've also started a new forum here on the Ning Network for anyone who wants to continue to discuss copyright issues. I will try to get something up this week about electronic music for those that wish to explore that approach.

There are still two additional groups here that you might want to sign up for. One is for those of you who wish to organize yourselves for the purpose of discussing HOW to use music in the ESL/EFL classroom. The other is for those who want to put together a list of "Podsafe" sites from which you can safely borrow content to use in your classroom.

Finally, today, I will be sending out an announcement about a contest for the best use of music content in a classroom. The winner will receive a CD of Lee and her band. Keep your eye on any of the resources for that announcement.

Have a great week.