Week 5 – Instructional Design and Technology

The reading this week was informative and interesting.  But what got me excited were the chapter notes on pages 192 – 193 as well as the book’s companion website (http://digitalmusicking.com).  There is a wealth of information available about assessment and instructional design.  At the end of this week, I am only partway through the information!  Four topics that I have started to investigate are portfolios, 21^st century skills, Understanding by Design, and Universal Design for Learning.

I have always thought that an eportfolio would be a great assessment tool for the string program in my school district.  A website I found through the companion site is Electronic Portfolios | Dr. Helen Barrett.  It is packed with any information you could possibly want or need concerning eportfolios.  The site has online video and podcasts, refereed online publication, conference proceedings, conference presentations, online workshops, and online teacher development courses.  (Sound familiar?).  Luckily for me, eportfolio work will happen this summer, so I have time to process some of this information.  I say some of the information, because there is page upon page of information.  Great site!

Understanding by Design (UbD) or backwards design is one way of designing curriculum that I would like to learn more about.  I found Understanding by Design® framework - Videos, Articles, Resources, Experts in chapter 7 especially helpful.  The information is organized by Overview, Books, Articles, DVDs, Online Learning, Events, Experts, and More.  UbD information will be quite useful as I undertake designing a webquest, which is designed with an essential question as the basis for the webquest.

Everyone is talking about 21^st century skills, but what are they and how can I incorporate them in my music classes?  Two notes from chapter seven helped me answer that question.  The first, http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/P21_arts_map_final.pdf , is a skills map that explains 21^st century themes within the arts classroom.  Scott C. Schuler, MENC former national president worked on this document, so you know that the music learning will be top notch!  The second site, http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-s-2007-student-profiles-en.pdf?sfvrsn=4, has a document of “Profiles for Technology (ICT) Literate Students”.  The profiles are organized by grade bands, and within each profile are examples of learning activities.  These learning activities are related to one or more of the following standards;

                              1. Creativity and Innovation

                              2. Communication and Collaboration

                              3. Research and Information Fluency

                              4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

                              5. Digital Citizenship

                              6. Technology Operations and Concepts

Just today, I was meeting with a college student, the college supervisor, and my department chair about a pre-practicum placement for the fall.  The student is required by the state to use a lesson planning guide that neither my department chair nor I had ever used before, Universal Design for Learning (UDL).  An UDL website is the first one listed on the companion website!  The national office for UDL is about 40 miles from my home in my own state.  I will be able to research this set of principles for curriculum development before I host the pre-practicum student so I will be able to guide the student.

Bauer, W. (2014). Digital Musicking. Retrieved April 15, 2015, from http://wibauer.fatcow.com/digitalmusicking/chapters/chapter-6.html

Bauer, W. (2014). Digital Musicking. Retrieved April 15, 2015, from http://wibauer.fatcow.com/digitalmusicking/chapters/chapter-7.html

Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. New York, NY: Oxford Univ. Press.