Category: Technology Competencies

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate’s Life for Me!

On November 26, 2019

In Audio Editing, edci306a, Free Inquiry, Social Media, Tech Tools, Uncategorised, Video Editing

Well, the time has finally come where I must showcase all of my surmounting skills in one video. It has been such an enjoyable journey learning to read music by learning how to play the violin, and I intend to continue practicing and improving my playing so that I may use it in my teaching practice and add to my musical repertoire. I’d like to use this post to summarize the skills I have learned in my path up to this point, what I’ve taken away from my musical growth experience, and my thoughts surrounding my goal. Before September, I had never picked up a violin in my life. I had played guitar and drums recreationally when growing up, but a classical and technical approach was never my forte (just ask my friends). Learning to play music from the ground up on a technical instrument such as the violin hasn’t been easy for me, but it has given me new skills that I am very proud of. The journey itself came with lessons too, not just pertaining to reading and playing music but to how I respond to new challenges and cope with failure. As I reflect, I notice my idealistic goals, and how they may have been slightly lofty. I didn’t actually know everything it would take to learn such a complex piece as a novice violinist, but I couldn’t have really known this until I began the process of learning how to play. I had to learn how to properly hold the violin on my shoulder to keep a healthy posture, and how to hold the bow correctly. I had to understand the complex technique of staying relaxed through the limbs, and where and how to place my fingers on the neck to play certain notes. The amount of knowledge I have gained is quite substantial, and my playing has improved impressively. Now don’t get me wrong, I am still, by all means, a beginner, but a competent beginner. An amateur if you will. The video I post will reflect my beginner status in a few ways: I still find it difficult to accurately finger notes on the neck, and I am not yet able to switch bowing from string to string flawlessly. Despite these important constructive points, I believe that I have, for the most part, reached my goal of learning how to play and interpret the music to “He’s a Pirate” on the violin. My goal was not to play this song at its exact tempo, or without flaws, but to gain the skills to be able to learn it through reading the music and playing it smoothly and recognizably.

In my video, I play my rendition of “He’s a Pirate”, originally by Hans Zimmer.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn a new instrument and to bring more joy into the lives of myself and others.

Dynamics and the high 2nd finger

by dkaras

On November 19, 2019

In Assessment, Complexity, edci306a, EdTech, Growth Mindset, Learning Design, Tech Tools, Uncategorised

Overall, my experience of learning how to play the violin has been a pleasure. The immediate gratification that I’ve received from playing my first few tunes has been strong and has kept me motivated to learn more. In chapter 10 and 11 of “Violinworks” by Ros Stephen, I have learned how to read and integrate dynamics into my violin playing. Such things as crescendos and diminuendos are more complex to execute on a bowed instrument compared to a drum or guitar. For example to play quietly on a drum, one simply uses less force when striking the skin of the drum, whereas to play loudly one uses more force. This relationship between force and volume is present when playing the violin as well; the more pressure that is placed on the strings by the bow produces a louder sound, and less pressure makes a quieter sound. However, it is not as simple as that, because the speed with which the bow slides across the strings also controls the volume level. This is just one example of how to articulate dynamics on a violin, but it works to show how complex it is to play this instrument.

Chapter 11 introduces using the “high 2nd finger” which eludes to there also being a “low 2nd finger”. This was BIG NEWS to me, as I had been working ahead of the book and using all of my fingers to play by just sounding things out on my own such as “come on Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners. I thought that instead of frets, there were 4 consecutive notes that corresponded to where the fingers naturally fell on the violin’ neck. What I’d forgotten about were sharps and flats! I can’t say I still completely understand it all yet, but I do know that on the top ‘G’ string on the violin, when the second finger presses down in low position (closer to the scroll), it produces a Bm note, whereas when it presses down in the high position it produces a B. In the book it only teaches to use the high position with the second finger. I may have to research another source to understand all of this better and figure out how to read these notes on a staff.

*I’ve realized that there is not much time left until I am supposed to have reached my learning goal of reading and playing the song “He’s a pirate”. Therefore, I have found the sheet music and begun to learn how to read it. Nervously, I decided to make my goal slightly easier by choosing not to learn “He’s a Pirate” and to learn to read and play two simpler songs, but I am having a hard time taking the easy way out. Let’s see if I can make it happen! If anyone knows where I can get 5 extra hours to add to my day, please let me know. Thanks!

Photo by Kenny Luo on Unsplash

Minecraft!

by dkaras

On November 4, 2019

In Augmented Reality, Coding, Collaboration, Communication, Complexity, EdTech, Educational Competencies, Gaming, Growth Mindset, Intellectual Property, Learning Design, Multimedia Learning Theory, Open Pedagogy, Pedagogical Practices, Personal Learning Networks, Technology Competencies, Working Collaboratively

Today in our EDCI336 class we were visited by a teacher and group of students from Colquitz Elementary and Spectrum High school. These bright young people helped teach our entire class how to play Minecraft– a dynamic video game that allows players to mine resources and use them to build all sorts of structures and tools. I had originally learned about the game from my younger brother who began playing it on X-box a number of years ago, and since its origination Minecraft has expanded greatly, becoming a valued classroom tool for teaching many different subjects. For those new to Minecraft, you choose a character and are set into a pixelated world of opportunity. On one hand, this limitless world of blocks can seem daunting, but on the other, it is exciting, for as you gain the knowledge and familiarity of how to play the game, Minecraft becomes an essential platform for creativity and construction. It can be used in the classroom to teach teamwork (by playing on the same server) and problem-solving, mathematics (especially in regards to patterns), art (a good alternative to a diorama), and many other things. It can even act as a platform for teaching how to code! As a pre-service teacher, this tool seems like it should be a staple in the classroom for its benefits towards pedagogy, and how it allows students to connect in a constructive way. With little instruction from educators, students are able to complete their own independent projects or shared class assignments. For example, making checklists of tasks for students to complete can be a great way of utilizing Minecraft to teach across an array of subjects all in one lesson, but one of the most effective parts is the reflection that students complete afterward. This allows students to connect what they’ve learned in the game to real life, whether that relates to environmental or mathematical lessons, or simply strategy and problem-solving. Another great feature in Minecraft is the crafting table, where players must put together certain combinations of resources to create new tools or materials. Allowing students the opportunity to figure these combinations out for themselves is greatly beneficial, as they are more likely to develop a deeper understanding than if they were told how to do it. They will also be more eager to teach the information to their friends, helping them to root these lessons deep into their memory.

When it comes to teachers using Minecraft, not only can they control a character in the same server as their students, but they monitor their students using their unique facilitator account and adjust or limit certain abilities for each student. This allows them to keep students on task when using Minecraft to teach a particular lesson.

Apart from its pedagogical benefits, Minecraft can also act as a tool for students to connect over. For those students that are more comfortable playing a cerebral game rather than competing in physical activity, Minecraft can offer a safe place for friends to socialize with friends, making it a very inclusive tool. Needless to say, my brother is going to be quite happy when I tell him how I plan to incorporate Minecraft in my classroom!

What the heck is a semi-tone?

by dkaras

On October 26, 2019

In edci306a, Free Inquiry, Growth Mindset, Image Editing, Technology Competencies, Uncategorised, Video Editing

Chapter 7- Intro to the left hand

While moving along through my instruction book (http://violin-works.com), a key point I’ve learned is how to hold my left hand on the neck of the violin; straight from the elbow to the hand, and relaxed, with points of contact on the thumb and the base knuckle of the index finger.

I also read that fret markers are not recommended because the violin is primarily an auditory instrument, where the player should not rely on their vision but their ear to determine if they are playing the right note. I agree with this point and think that it will be better for learning music as a whole if I have to sound things out, so I peeled off my fret marker. Singing the note I am trying to play will help my music sense anyway, rather than taking a more mechanical approach. This chapter also introduced me to tones and semi-tones, as well as intervals, sharps, and flats, but are covered more extensively in chapter 8 and 9.

In Chapter 8 I learned how to swing the left elbow forward and backward under the neck in order to help fingers reach the

and E strings.

I also learned that the 3rd finger notes on each string are all an interval of an octave above the neighboring lower string. Understanding this relationship gives context to how the notes are laid out along the neck. The beginning of ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’ is a good example of playing the same note in a different octave. Watch and listen!

In chapter 9, Stephen further explains tones, semi-tones and minor thirds (Something I still don’t quite understand). I can see now how to read music and interpret where my fingers go on each string. For example, if I were to play an open D string, putting my first finger down on the string would give me an E note. Therefore, if I read an E (on the bottom line of the staff), then I know I’ll need to put my first finger down in the D string. When using my fingers to stop the string on the neck, I am to make sure that I stay relaxed and use only as much pressure as necessary. It is also important to keep all of my fingers just above the string when not in use, and when stopping a string, use the pad of the tip of my finger for accuracy.

Explaining the theory as I learn it gives you a good idea of my progression in a sense, but it doesn’t really tell you about my playing. Therefore I intend to take a little video or sound clip for each new post to track my playing, skill progression and sound. Sometimes I may just play an exercise, and other times I will play songs, but for each, I will explain what I’ve accomplished, and what I may still be struggling with. As of now, keeping my hands relaxed that is a struggle, as they tend to clench up, stiffening my grip on the bow causing it to bounce across the strings. I am going to focus on staying relaxed and slowing things down.

The next chapters involve many new exercises using the fingers of the left hand in the high position and low position (whatever that means). I’m looking forward to learning about what is to come! Until next time!

Musical Growth Video (Mid-term)

by dkaras

On October 23, 2019

In edci306a, EdTech, Free Inquiry, Growth Mindset, Technology Competencies, Uncategorised, Video Editing

Hello Anita!

If all you want is to see me play twinkle twinkle little star, fast forward to 5 minutes. I also play “Come on Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners afterward.

Video Editing!

by dkaras

On October 19, 2019

In Audio Editing, EdTech, Educational Competencies, Image Editing, Multimedia Learning Theory, Personal and Professional Preparation, Professional Learning Networks, Screen Capture, Tech Tools, Technology Competencies, Uncategorised, Video Editing

We’ve reached the part in the course where I’ve learned how to edit video and audio! I have never learned how to do this before, so I’m very pleased to add this skill to my repertoire, not just for teaching but also for personal interest. Learning this skill included multiple steps, such as how to locate and upload an existing video/audio file, and how to trim, split, transition crop and export digital media. Learning how to use a green screen was also really fun! I now know how to overlay one video onto another, and add separate audio files onto videos. I am looking forward to structuring lessons that incorporate my skills and creating personal projects that I never could before.

A big thank you to Rich Mccue for visiting our class and sharing his valuable expertise! If you would like to learn from Rich, you can visit his website by clicking the link below.

www.Richmccue.com

Jesse Miller’s Visit

by dkaras

On October 14, 2019

In EdTech, Privacy & Safety, Social Media, Uncategorised

Having grown up through the ’90s, the social media I had access to is quite different than what is available to kids today. I remember my dad telling me to be careful when using MSN messenger, not to input personal information like birthday, but now we face a world where personal information is more readily available than ever, and privacy can be hard to come by. After hearing Jesse Miller speak about digital identity, rights, and literacy, I realize just how different the world is compared to how I grew up, and how careful we must be with our social media and internet usage. Our personal information is worth a lot to companies because they can use it to generate stats and algorithms pertaining to marketing and advertising. Some of these companies may not even be in our own country, so it’s important for us to be aware. Even without social media, iPhones and other devices are constantly listening to our conversations and tracking our locations. Jesse Miller shared that if we are connected to a wifi signal, the provider can get access to our screen. It’s a little unsettling to talk about all of this, at least it was for me. However, as digital technology is now built into our culture, we must move forward and learn to be conscious of our usage.

Aa a teacher, this information is important because we must protect the digital identity of our students. We must be sure not to share any pictures or personal information of our students online. We must also model proper etiquette when using social media, which I believe is especially important. Informing students of the dangers of relying on social media to fill an emotional need is also something I would like to address to my classes. But with all this gloom, there is, of course, great benefits to being so connected, especially in the world of education.