Week 8 Reading Reflections

Technology continues to create amazing opportunities for innovating teaching practices in the music classroom. While some teachers choose to embrace it while others continue to shy away from it, as music educators, we are extremely fortunate that such music software is making teaching students more effective and fun - and the best part is that no teacher needs to be highly experienced to utilize this technology.

Known as Computer-Aided Instruction (CIA), this selected software is designed to build knowledge and skills specially for music teaching and learning. It is a vital resource for many music educators and includes programs that can be characterized as drill and practice, flexible practice, guided instruction, games, exploratory/creative, teacher resource, and internet-based.

Additionally, one of the newest forms of incorporating Computer Aided Instruction is through the use of the Smart Board, which has opened the door to diversified instruction and has made various connections to the technology that many students have become accustomed to at home. A Smart Board is an interactive white board with the power of a computer. The touch sensitive display connects to a computer and digital projector to show the computer image, allowing you to then control computer applications directly from the display. Students can use a Smart Board with music notation software programs like Finale to compose music in front of the class and then play it with the option of creating MIDI arrangements as well. Educationally, the Smart Board helps with music literacy and increasing student engagement and learning, as well as meet the needs of learners in the music classroom through differentiated instruction and enhaces lessons with visual and auditory stimulation to help all learning styles.

Consequently, another example of Computer Aided Instruction is software-generated automatic accompaniments, which are vastly superior to the traditional metronome and offer recording and style option with instant feedback. For example, middle and high school jazz band programs can benefit immensely from these because students can accomplish soloing practicing along with accompaniments of jazz band charts, listening to and analyzing solos, transposing, and creating loops to practice chord progressions. Also, Smartmusic allows students of all ages and skill levels can play or sing with professional accompaniments, making practice both rewarding and fun. However, it also helps by providing reference pitches to help intonation and looping practice where students can pinpoint particular measures, beats, or phrases to practice at any tempo. I was impressed to fine that it even has a metronome feature that plays subdivisions and multi-meters to help teach certain beat patterns to students.

Overall, students respond quickly to this kind of technology because not only are they used to usingit at home, but practicing can be more fun and rewarding because of it. Keeping students motivated and excited to learn while getting them engaged in and outside of the classroom is a recipe for success that technology plays a significant role in in today's world of music education.