Final Paper for EDU 370

.docx

School

Montana State University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

370

Subject

English

Date

Jan 9, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by MinisterSardine3803

G ARAGE B AND AND THE A FTER S CHOOL M USIC C LUB EDU 370 Final Paper By: Natalie Eastham

Contextual Factors I am an intern for the after school program at a small rural school in northeastern Montana. Our school building serves students grades kindergarten through eighth for the entire community and its surrounding area. There is also a recently built high school next to our school that serves grades ninth through twelfth, which is the only high school for the entire community and its surrounding area. The community places a high value on education, and is therefore very supportive of the students, faculty, and the many programs a small rural school can offer. For my part in the after school program, I work at the after school music club with mainly younger aged students (k-5) where we listen, discuss, and work with musical instruments and associated technology that influences/enhances the creation of music. There is usually little to no middle school aged students that attend the after school music club and the age range of my students vary week to week. Although most of my students know each other, I hope to bring my students closer together through the use of digital music and the activities I plan throughout my internship. Since I will be having my students create music using the Garage Band application, music and the associated arts will be the focus of the lesson. Since the class is composed of students aged kindergarten through fifth grade, they will all be at a different skill level when using the Garage Band application. This activity will focus on the creation of music, so students of any age can participate. If a student is in need of attention, I would encourage that student to work on the project on his/her own instead of with their assigned group for the activity. In doing so, it will allow that student to work at their own pace and it will give them the flexibility and encouragement they need to complete the activity without feeling stressed or left behind. Music can be a very personal subject and some students may feel the need to complete the activity on their own and that is perfectly okay. This activity will include the use of the mobile Mac laptops (and perhaps the Mac computer lab) because Garage Band has been downloaded and installed on both the school’s Mac laptops and computers. Background Research Rekha S. Rajan, in his article “Tapping into Technology: Experiencing Music in a Child’s Digital World” discusses just how technologically advanced the children born into and after the 21 st century are. He talks about how technology must be integrated to help students better understand music and many other subjects taught in the classroom. Rajan focuses on how technology can be integrated to teach students musical literacy through a digital context. He starts his article by discussing just how different this new generation of students are. He starts by writing, “In our growing digital age, young children are inevitably exposed to a variety of technology and media devices. We see 2-year olds taking "selfies" on their parents' phones, iPads and e-readers filled with children's books and games, and thousands of songs stored on iPods for children to listen to and sing along. The ways in which young children experience music has drastically changed during the past few years.” (Rajan 1) He goes on to talk about how Garage Band and the use of other music making applications are an excellent way to teach students how to create digital music in the classroom. “One particular, and largely popular, genre of apps are those allowing individuals to play instruments. If one types the keywords "playing instruments" during a search, nearly 400 applications appear for playing a variety of music instruments. Some apps are more realistic in how they replicate the sounds and patterns found on actual instruments, such as drums, guitars, or the keyboard.” (Rajan 1). Through participating in this activity, students will replicate real

musical sound through the use of digital instruments and will gain musical knowledge about the many different sounds an instrument can create on a computer and in real life as well. Jennifer Demski, in her article “How Music Teachers Got Their Groove Back: Music Instruction Goes Digital,” Demski explains how making music through Garage Band and other musical applications is a complicated process made fun and easy in a classroom setting. Demski cites two teachers understanding of digital learning and uses their beliefs in her article. Demski writes about two teachers named Carol Broos and Barbara Freedman, who primarily focus on the importance of teaching digital literacy in the classroom. The author goes on to talk about how Broos and Freedman are determined to transform traditional music classes into musical classrooms that use digital tools, like Garage Band and many others. Demski writes, “Technology allows us the opportunity to teach students with very little musical background by having them create music and compose music," Freedman says. “It allows us to take them through the process of understanding music and what goes into creating music--things that students would typically learn in a performance class--like harmony, melody, and rhythm.” (Demski 1) The two educators and the author support the use of digital tools to promote a student’s understanding of musical concepts like harmony and rhythm. Through participating in this activity students will better understand musical concepts and how instruments create a rhythm, melody, etc. Students will be given the opportunity to work on their creativity and communication skills by working in groups during this activity. (Demski 1-2) Activity Plan Content Standards: Grade 2 -MT Art Standard 1.2 The student will use a variety of materials and sources to experiment with an art form -MT Art Standard 1.3 Students will perform/exhibit their work to the class -MT Arts Standard 1.4 Students will collaborate with others using the creative process (group work) -MT Arts Standard 2.1 Students will be able to apply the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre/tone color, and form in a musical process. -MT Technology Standard 3.1 The student will apply digital tools and skills with creativity and innovation to express his/herself -ISTE Student Standard 1b Students will demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology by creating original works as a means of personal or group expression Learning Objectives: 1. Students will be able to create music through the use of digital tools (Garage Band, etc.) 2. Students will be able to distinguish between the various types of digital instruments provided by Garage Band in order to create their desired sound 3. Students will compare and contrast the use of certain digital instruments and their associated sounds to achieve their desired sound 4. Students will identify with their own desired form of music 5. Students will be able to identify their groups desired form of music and collaborate/agree on the type of music they will create together Evidence of Learning: To start off this lesson, the teacher will ask the students a series of questions before beginning the super fun activity. Some of the questions the teacher will ask the students are: What is digital music? Have you created digital music before? If so, what applications or websites have you used to create digital music before? What real life instruments do you know of? The teacher will only call on students who are sitting quietly with their hands raised. After discussing the four Preassessment questions and the students have created their music using Garage Band on the Mac Laptops the teacher will call the students back to their individual desks for a formative discussion regarding the activity. The final

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help