Visiting Lecturer: Fitchburg State University

I am happy to announce that I will be teaching a new graduate course titled "Technology Integration for the 21st Century Classroom." I consider myself a technology guru when it comes to integrating technology into the curriculum. I will not lie, I have no idea and no interest in what makes a computer or internet work. What I do care about is going through the vast educational technology that is out there right now and weeding out the good from the bad. I have much experience working with other subject areas and have received a lot of technology training from Apple and from my years teaching for Virtual High School. While at Pentucket, I served on the District-Wide Technology Committee. As a result of all these experiences, I want to give teachers a hands-on opportunity to embrace technology and feel comfortable making lesson plans using technology.

Here is the course description:
This course is aimed at giving educators hands-on training of the latest tools for creating a 21^st century classroom enriched with meaningful technology. Each class will feature project-based guidance on a specific type of technology followed by a discussion of implementation into all content areas. Candidates will incorporate what they learned into a Weebly website for future use.

Comments

Band Room: A New Design

Just in case we ever get a new or renovated high school (I might be dreaming), I wanted to be prepared for helping input the best design possible for a new band and chorus room. I ended up attending a clinic by the Wenger group. Wenger is the company that made the acoustic shells on our high school auditorium stage along with the two "soundproof" practice rooms that were installed back in the 1960's. The company is now the standard company used in the United States for music room design. I learned many things at this clinic. Firstly, I learned that most bands and choruses have their own rehearsal rooms, practice rooms, and offices. We spent a long time focusing on where sound goes after it leaves the instrument. Our music room has a ceiling that needs to be at least four feet higher. Additionally all the equipment in the room cuts down on reverberation. It is suggested that any closets or storage areas in a band room have open grilled doors so that air and sound c...

Let’s Create a Composition Revolution in Massachusetts

Young Composers and Improvisers Workshop www.yciw.net Teaching composition is no easy task as the majority of pedagogical resources available lack the understanding of the typical classroom anatomy. Many teachers feel uncomfortable teaching this subject as we were not taught such concepts in our college pedagogy courses and may have never really delved into composition in our own role of music maker. This really puts us out of our comfort zone, and yet the benefits of a successful composition curriculum can become a catalyst for increased meaningful music making for our students . A music teacher in New York by the name of Matt McLean set out to debunk the common misconceptions we sometimes envision in classroom music composition. Matt created the non-profit organization and curriculum called the Young Composers and Improvisers Workshop (YCIW). He notes that “as a music educator I've seen my students develop their strongest connection to music when...

Mr. B's Blog

Search This Blog