Journal #5

A 1. Over the entire semester I have learned new things, I have better knowledge of things I already knew, and some stuff I already knew. Some of the aspects that I learned are how to write a lesson plan, how to teach a lesson plan, and how to get children to interact in the classroom. Aspects that I already knew but gained greater knowledge on were notes names, note counts, and musical definitions. Some aspects that I already knew were how to play the recorder. One of the easier parts of this class, but I enjoyed learning different songs to plan on it.
2. In this class, we learned these things by participating in class, such as doing different dances to the songs, exercises, playing the recorders or other instruments, and taking notes. Taking notes to remember what we learn and to emphasize and make sure we understand the information we are taught. Also, it helped a lot when these lessons were demonstrated to us. Visually seeing how the lesson is done helps further and better my understanding and expectations of the assignment.
3. It is important for me to learn these skills and lessons because as a teacher, we need to learn how to transport the information to the kids, not just from text books but in other alternatives, such as music. Many children learn by visually seeing or doing the activity, and it is fun for them. If teachers can make learning fun, children are going to want to become more involved, and understand what they are learning at a better rate. Music can help in many different situations not just teaching children. It can help with steady beats so time, and able to read notes which can help with comprehension. Also, knowing how to write a lesson plan is very important when becoming a teacher. We need to know how to express our information that we are learning, and if we forget the purpose or unclear of what we were supposed to do, we can look back at it as a guide. Also, it needs to be readable and understandable by other people such as substitutes so they can teach your class the way you want them to when your not there.
4. I believe it is important for children to learn these different ways of retrieving information because when they get older they need to find the best way to learn. I can learn better with visuals, it helps me understand the concept much more efficiently. Not only that, but if you teach concepts in a different way, the students will have more fun and will see that learning can be fun. Also, learning the recorder is important for children because it gives them a chance to play an instrument, but also read music, and work on hand eye coordination and participate in the classroom. Recorders were so much fun when I was younger, and just the ability to try and learn something and when you got the song down, you couldn’t stop playing it. Children at a young age get excited very easily about the littlest things they’ve done.
Overall, I have learned more than I thought after writing this journal, and I’m glad I took this class because I see how to incorporate not just music, but other subjects to help gain knowledge.
B1. 5 things that are really cool to have assignments posted on our blogs:
-no need for paper; it’s very earth friendly and internet is a faster way to receive information and better organized.
-a lot faster; no need to hurt my hand writing down a page of journals. All I have to do is type up the information which is a lot faster for me then writing.
-other people can read my information; I can get feedback on my lessons or ideas and become a better student.
-new to me; never really had a blog to post homework. And it’s the most ive done on the internet as for homework. It’s new and I enjoy because I like using different ways to turn in or do homework. It doesn’t get so boring all the time.
-post videos; with these assignments you can post videos of anything you would like. So if we wanted to show you how to do something sing, recorder or anything other then what were supposed to do we can. It gives us an advantage to express more who we are in a unique way, and in our own environment.
5 things that is problematic about posting on assignments on our blog:
-confidentiality; if we aren’t careful just about anyone can read our information; and I feel that it is very disrespectful and not confidential.
-communication; it’s sometimes a lot harder to communicate with you back and forth about your expectations for the assignment because you may not be close to the internet or we may not understand what you what and it is a complete hassle
-internet problems; there can always be complications either with the internet or computer and if something isn’t working right it can be us in a bind, Especially if we have to print something, or write something on our blog. It puts a load not just on you but us as well, because we might have something that’s due the next day and now have to wait to post this homework the next day as well.
-misinterpretations; I know that all assignments are non verbal but if they are on the blog I feel that there more likely to be misread. Its hard to contact a person to come and read or familiarize the teacher about the assignment because they don’t have the copy and it just becomes a complication. Also, blogs are a freely talking environment and yes you can get feedback from people but people who don’t know you or think do can misinterpret you as well, not just a teacher.
-loss of connection between student/teacher; when assignments due online, you are unable to put a face to the assignment besides a picture online (if) a person decided to post one. I feel when handing in an assignment you have a connection with the teacher or you can ask questions about certain things.

First of all, I’m not quite sure what the question is being asked, but I’ll answer it in a way I think it is asking. Over rall, this assignment is basically a closure or an end to this semester. It is basically a reflective assignment on what we thought of the class overall and what we learned and to use different techniques of assignments. This part of the assignment isn’t very hard, its all opinion which is easy to write about rather than finding information in a book and having to rephrase it and put it down on the computer. However, I like giving feedback so this part of the assignment is fun for me, because I like expressing my own opinion or point of view.