Learning Violin Online: The Final Installment

It has been quite the process: learning Disney’s Let It Go for violin using only online tools. As someone who has only recently picked up the violin I was admittedly overwhelmed at the onset of this project. I was also very surprised by the number of resources available and how often they are updated or added to!

The two major sources I used were a YouTube video by Ben Chan, this taught me the song, and a Violin Forum, which I read through to work on basics like holding the violin and technique.

One might ask the purpose of such a lesson in a college master’s program on Education. I know that I did. This project has introduced me to the plethora of decent, usable information available online. It taught me that there is more to the internet than blogs and social media and over-used memes about cats. There is a world of professionals and learners online working toward a productive goal. And as teachers aren’t we trying to grow professionals and life-long learners who work towards a productive goal?

The point of this project slowly evolved from “Look at all the resources your students have access to” into “Wouldn’t it be great if your students could be participants in resources like this?” For example, on the Violin forum, someone would post a question, say they couldn’t reach a note. Within minutes there are multiple responses filled with advice and positive reassurance that the questioner will be successful eventually. Working with my students in an online program, I would LOVE to create a community in which they talked and questioned and learned in the way I have seen of others these past four weeks. I am working to build more community in my classroom and you can read about that in my previous post. I know you’ve all been impatiently awaiting the final video of my first true attempt at violin.

This video begins with where I acquired my information and ends with what I’ve learned. I still have a long way to go in learning violin and in learning this song. I leave this project with a greater awareness of how much information is available online, an excitement to incorporate the professional manner I have witnessed into my own teaching practices (see previous blog), and a better appreciation for those creating video and branching out into the “how to” community.

 

Teaching with Technology: Haiku Learning and a Lesson Plan

Many students freak out when I tell them to google search something. “This is school! We can’t look things up, we must have everything memorized.” This always amazes me. This is the 21st century and the age of technology. Almost every individual in the United States has access to online sources and content and will be asked to use that content in future jobs. Shouldn’t we as educators be helping students to develop these skills?

This week in CEP810 we were tasked with creating a lesson plan that uses technology in a meaningful way. In my exploration of available technologies I stumbled upon Haiku Learning. A tool that will greatly help me this upcoming school year.

I teach math and science at an Alternative High School. Students work through online programs at their own pace. Teachers work with students individually or in small groups. I feel like this individualized setting can hinder a sense of community. One of my goals is to find a way to bring students together via discussions and projects while leaving them with that “work-at-your-own-pace” feel. I want to create a space for students to complete work that is more interactive than the textbook-based online courses they use now. Therefore I am creating a supplementary space for my students where students can interact with each other and work through math problems and concepts in a collaborative style.

This first lesson plan is Algebra I, Variables. Click here for the link. Students will be asked to research using two sources from me and one of their own to find the definition and uses of variables. Then they will collaborate together to create a Wiki-project about their findings.   Great things about this lesson:

1. I do not have to gather or create extensive new materials. Students will be compiling the data they  use.

2. Students can  work on the page or comment without being in the same room. They can work at their own pace or from home.

3. Students will have continued access to the completed space to reference the definition and uses of variables.

4. This can be done as a whole class or small group project.

A quote from this week’s lesson is from Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown (2011), “In the new culture, the classroom as a model is replaced by learning environments in which digital media provides access to a rich source of information and play, and the processes that occur within those environments are integral to the results” (p. 37-38).” My lesson plan allows students to see that it is not only okay to research something, but that Google is a good source to start looking for information. They will find ways to use the internet to learn and collaborate in a friendly and productive way.

Below is a sample video, a how-to of Wiki-projects

And here is the link again to my lesson plan if you missed it the first time.

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Reference: Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, Ky

Learning Violin: The Online Experience – Part 2

Hello All!

I am sure you are wondering why I haven’t talked about that online learning project in which we have to learn a new skill using only YouTube and help forums recently. Well, here is an update 🙂

Recall: I am going to learn to play Disney’s Let It Go on the violin. I know the song can seem overdone, but my nephews are very excited to hear the final outcome, as I am sure you are.

My focus has currently been on hitting the correct notes. I am not sure if you know this…

This is my violin! A beautiful instrument of German make. Notice there are no markers for notes. This is leading to my biggest struggle thus far.

most violins don’t have the notes marked on the strings. I have been really flat or really sharp in most of my work. I have been using my fiance’s tuner while playing to make sure I am hitting the correct notes. This was very inefficient. Therefore, I went to the forums. 

My favorite forum so far is The Violin Forum. Another one I like is Fiddle Talk. Between the two, someone else has already asked the things I’ve thought of and often the things I haven’t thought of. One of the biggest things I was struggling with was posture. I had not realized its importance until I read the forum and tried it out. HUGE DIFFERENCE! I had not realized how many nuances there are to learning violin. There are 8 minute videos on just holding the violin! As I progress through this activity I am having to research shortcuts. I can’t do vibrato – a higher level technique that allows violinists to create a tremor in longer notes. Therefore, my song will sound a little dry at times. However, I am progressing. I did find the sheet music. After watching that youtube video by Ben Chan – the one I am primarily using – upwards of 20 times per week I can now even read through most of the sheet music without referencing any guides for notes! A very exciting improvement.

Another improvement I have made is in holding the bow. Below are before and after shots of how I held/hold the bow.

Before I started this project I held the bow in a very tensed way. Tense is not good.

After watching videos and reading through some forums I have worked my way to this. A much more relaxed bow hold. This allows better maneuverability and my hand doesn’t cramp. All good things.

Anyway, I will not be posting any lengthy videos of me playing until the end. 1. I want you all to be surprised (pleasantly, I hope) and 2. I am a little self conscious about the squeaks and missed notes I am still running into. Know this: I am amazed at how many people are learning in the same way I am or are using forums and YouTube to help improve their practice habits. Can’t wait to show the results next week!

I made it to the end!!!

Getting Things Done with Trello

The assignment this week in CEP810 was to find a new way to use technology to become more efficient. The idea of the “Getting Things Done” mentality, given by David Allen, is to create an outlet for all of the tasks on our minds. Once we have them stored securely we can free up brain “bandwidth” and focus on the here and now. In his TED talk, Allen discusses the importance of being organized. He talks about time management not being about needing more time, but using your time wisely and focusing on what’s important: the current task. 

Trello is the tool I chose to work with. It is not as well known as other tools such as google docs or as educationally focused as edmodo. I felt that I needed something to help organize all my extra thoughts so I could stop worrying about all the things I have to do in the future and focus on what I am working on in the present. 

What is Trello? According to the Trello help site, “Trello is a collaboration tool that organizes your projects into boards. In one glance, Trello tells you what’s being worked on, who’s working on what, and where something is in a process.” It does require the internet, but with the widgets it has for smartphones I almost always have access to my Trello lists.

Here is what my phone looks like:

Trello is great because it transfers all of my lists into one location and organizes cards based on due date. I also have a “quick add” widget that allows me to update on the go. 

Here is what Trello looks like online:

My homepage with different boards based on category (I want to make these classes once school starts).

This is an example of a single board. The nice things about boards, you can assign projects to other people and they can post/discuss things right in that board. I am looking forward to monitoring group projects through this feature.

This last picture is a card within the board. It lists comments and gives a checklist that helps organize “next steps” of projects.

Trello has really helped my stress levels this past week. I haven’t had to worry about checking my calendar or organizing thoughts gathered from multiple venues. I also think it will have use in my alternative classroom – where most of the classes are offered online. Because all of my students work with the internet and my goal is to create more of a community in such an individualized program, Trello could be a good option in getting students to collaborate together and show their progress in a productive and professional way.

Digital Sharing as a Lifestyle

I often take for granted the level to which I use technology. I confess, I check twitter and Facebook at least five times a day…on work days. I check them more on weekends. I have a YouTube account that I use not to publish video, but to be able to follow new videos that other’s publish (mostly my favorite gamers in StarCraft II). I take for granted the access I have to all of this media and the connection I have created with all of my followers and the people I follow. Sure, most of them don’t know me personally, but I interact with them on a near daily basis – more often than I interact with some of my closest friends.

Many of the colleagues I work with daily do not have a twitter account. For those that do, we have established a less formal way to communicate mostly professional ideas. It is a quick way to share links, thoughts, or just have a conversation. Colleagues that I do not see everyday, like former college classmates, former co-workers, and teachers from other schools, often post things regarding their experiences or comment on things that I post. Education can be a very solitary field. Even though we work with hundreds of students daily we are often left on our own by our peers. digital sharing via twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. enables this connectivity.

The largest way, professionally, that digital sharing has impacted my life is its availability. The discussions are great, don’t get me wrong. However, the fact that I am able to have these discussions, at any time, with people all over the world, who are facing the exact same issues that I am dealing with or seeing the exact same results I am celebrating have supported me and continue to motivate me as I work through my first years in a classroom.

Professional Learning Network

It is interesting to realize just how many resources we have. This week our CEP810 assignment was to create a Popplet (See image below) depicting the professional network we have access to. Mine includes social media, websites, my peers and colleagues – past and present, and professional developments within the district and through the ISD. 

 

I had not realized how many sources I was already connected to. Especially as a new teacher, sometimes one can feel all alone as the single authority in a classroom setting. Already, though, I can see that I have an entire support system working towards the same goals. I am excited to see this network grow through the use of technology introduced throughout this course.

Learning Violin: The Online Experience

For CEP810 we have been asked to learn a new skill using only YouTube and online forums. Over the course of the next four weeks I have chosen to learn to play “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen on the violin. Note: I can read music, but can’t apply it to violin.

The purpose of this project is to see what resources are available online and how easy it is to research, extract, and connect the information we find in order to learn something new. It is a way for us to see what our students have access to.

Istarted by looking up YouTube videos explaining how to play this song. I found one that showed which finger to push on the string as the song progressed, guitar hero style. While I felt I could eventually master this, the notes and music weren’t listed and it was a 40 second clip of the song. I wanted to actually learn to play the notes and figure out what I was doing.

I started looking for basic tutorials on violin and found the Piano and Violin Tutor on YouTube. Then I started looking for the song.

I found this sheet music and started to figure out the fingering by ear. I recorded myself playing the first few lines on my phone. When I listened to it, the pitch was too high. I continued looking through different YouTube videos, following successive “You would also enjoy…” links at the end of each video, until I found a version of the song I wanted.

Practice Tutorial: Let It Go

Because this video has a person playing with the sheet music I can check that I am playing the right note by sound and by looking at where his hand is on the violin.  I realized the song was in a different key – different finger positions – than what I had learned previously. So I started searching for where all the notes are on the violin with Google Images.

 

This chart displays the position of all the notes on the violin.

This was a 3 hour process that left me mentally and physically sore (who knew how much pressing little strings could dig into one’s finger pads!) All of this from YouTube! I decided to call it a day.

Learning and Conceptual Change

The use of technology in classrooms can seem daunting. As an educator, it can be terrifying to not be the expert in the room. For many of us, technology is something we avoid at all cost. While it is true that one can be a good teacher without incorporating technology, it is also true that we do our students a disservice by not including something that is so fundamental outside of the school room. It is our role as educators to help prepare students for the trials they may face once they exit the building. Only teaching them to memorize specific content or produce better scores on individual, standardized tests will not truly help them in the long run. A. Anything we have a student memorized can be found online which any person with a cell phone can access and b. most work and cultural environments require groups to cohesively work together on projects. An individualized score, while useful for data, does not show a student’s true ability to be a productive member of society. 

In my attempt to create a more tech-oriented classroom designed to promote successful young adults I am taking a masters course through Michigan State University called CEP 810: Teaching for Understanding with Technology. Before we can jump into the use of specific tools we must first build a baseline of what exactly learning and understanding are. This week’s reading was Bransford, Brown, & Cocking’s (2000) How People Learn. We read the first three chapters as a requirement but I found it very interesting and recommend it to any teacher looking to improve student understanding of their subject. My essay on the first three chapters as they relate to learning and conceptual change can be found here: Learning, Understanding, and Conceptual Change Essay. It looks at the meaning of learning, memorization verses understanding, and how technology can play a role in this. Enjoy 🙂