Confessions of a Band Director

Last week, I had the absolute pleasure of attending my first-ever International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference in Philadelphia. Since I was a newbie, I attempted to gather as much information before arrival as possible. I read up on all the advice the “veterans” had posted on the Conference Ning and the ISTE Young Educators Network Ning, and the awesome Newbie Lounge put together by @BethStill. As I was gathering all of this information, I thought, “Hey, here is a good opportunity for me to really use Evernote!” I had been wanting to use it for some time, but had never really found myself in a situation where I needed to keep all kinds of information in one spot. So I started clipping and bookmarking all of the online resources I found and put them in Evernote. I added websites for information on social gatherings, Google Docs that people were sharing, websites for landmarks that we wanted to see, tweets from others going to the conference, my own packing list, and maps of places I wanted to see. Then, while at the conference, I used Evernote to take notes in sessions, add websites from presenters, add photos of things I liked, and keep everything in one place. It was pretty awesome, not to mention that it synched flawlessly between my iPhone and iPad, no matter which device I used.

As for the conference, I was amazed at just how large it was and how many people were there. I knew it was going to be big from what I’d read, but I was truly amazed by the size of the conference center, including the vendor exhibits. I did attend some sessions, and I was careful to make sure that I didn’t over-plan my days, as was suggested by many. I did make a mistake though. While I did see some excellent presentations, I wish that I had attended more sessions that were out of my “comfort zone.” I found that many of the presentations that I went to did not offer me any new insight or really that many new ideas (although I got some great ones from @DoReMiGirl and @michellek107), mainly because they were about things I already knew. Next time, I will attend sessions that include topics that I don’t really know anything about.

My really big takeaway from the conference was getting to meet so many great people face-to-face. Some of these folks I had literally been waiting years to meet, and it was awesome! Social media (and Twitter in particular) has been a huge life-changer for me in that it has allowed me to become far less shy than I used to be. I wrote about this some time back here. In years past at a conference like this, I probably would have kept to myself and not talked to many people, but at #iste11, I was more than eager to walk up to anyone that I recognized and say hello! The absolute best part of the conference for me was getting to meet these people and the great conversations that we engaged in. There were even many folks who recognized me!  This was totally unexpected, and I am completely flattered that anyone would even remember seeing little old me on twitter. There is something truly special about meeting people in person that you have only ever known virtually. I don’t think I can eloquently put it into words. I even got to meet many people for the first time that I did not know before! It was an awesome experience, and I even felt a little sad at the end of the conference, knowing that I probably wouldn’t see many of those folks again in at least a year, or maybe even more! But, what’s great is that we are able to continue those conversations through our favorite social media outlets after the conference is over.

It was an awesome conference and I highly recommend it to anyone, if you are able to go! I hope to see many of you again at the next one!

Below are my tweets from the ISTE Convention in Philadelphia using the #ISTE11 hashtag. Enjoy!

After finally getting my own iPad this Spring, I have found that I am using it almost daily in some of the classes that I’m teaching. At my school, I’m still using a chalkboard, so I have no Interactive White Board. But, I have found some great apps in the last few months that give me some of the functionality of an IWB.

I should preface this post by mentioning that I have an original iPad, so no mirroring is possible to a projector or external display without jailbreaking the device. I’m not quite ready to take that step yet, so these apps will do all of this without having to jailbreak your device.

First, I went to the local Best Buy and picked up the Apple Dock-to-VGA adapter for $30. I knew that YouTube videos and videos that I had installed locally on the iPad would play through the VGA adapter to a projector, so that was my first plan. Then I started thinking about ways to project documents and/or websites from my iPad.

The first app I found was called AirSketch by Qrayon, LLC. As the description in the iTunes Store states, “Turn your iPad into a wireless whiteboard! Annotate PDF documents and images live.” There are several apps available that will do this, but what is unique about AirSketch is that it will do it wirelessly! All you need is a laptop or desktop connected to a projector on the same network as the iPad. All you need to do is type the server address given to you by the app in your browser address bar on the computer connected to the projector.

At my school, I don’t have a laptop or desktop connected to my projector so this wasn’t too useful for me. I also wished that I could mirror my iPad more and at least project web pages and maybe even word documents. That’s when I found 2Screens by Edwin Lam. I am really loving this app right now! It has the ability to project webpages (as it has its own built-in browser) and virtually any kind of documents. You can annotate them in real time, and even save screen shots from those annotations (which you could email to your students later). You can even annotate on web pages! And, one of my favorite features is the ability to import documents from your dropbox account easily. The app also includes the ability to turn the projection on or off at your choosing and a “laser pointer” to use for highlighting.

One final app to mention is Penultimate by Cocoa Box Design, LLC. It is essentially a free-hand note-taking app, but it will also do VGA output in real time. This is a great app for projecting notes that you might be taking in class.

One final thought…When using these apps, I have found that my handwriting is much more legible with the use of a stylus. While I don’t ever use one while using my iPad normally, I find it really helpful for these.

So, if you aren’t luck enough to have an Interactive White Board in your classroom, but you have an iPad, here are some ideas for you. If you have any other great apps, please mention them in the comments!

If you can’t make it to the PMEA Conference in person this year (like me), you are in luck!  Undergraduate students from Grove City College will be live-blogging many of the sessions presented at the  Conference next week. The students will be using Twitter and Cover It Live among other sources to live blog the event. Check out Joe Pisano’s post over at MusTech.net for all of the details!! A big thanks to Joe for doing this!

A Very Web 2.0 PMEA Music Conference At Hershey

Today, I had a chance opportunity to play some clarinet duets with one of my students. We had a great time, and I was reminded of how much playing duets with friends in college improved my playing individually. This experience also reminded me that giving students the opportunity to perform in chamber ensembles can greatly improve their musicianship.

So, I started thinking about what kinds of chamber ensembles I could have – Brass Ensemble, Flute Choir, Clarinet Choir, Saxophone Quartet, Percussion Ensemble, etc. But then came the next obvious question – How do I incorporate all of these groups into my already busy schedule? I could ask for them to be added as classes, but I am aware that students have a tough time scheduling everything they want to take as it is. We already have marching band, jazz band, and pep band after school.

So, I’m looking for ideas from you all – Do you incorporate small ensembles, and how do you do it? I’m looking forward to hearing what you have to say!

This morning the SHS Symphonic Band had an outstanding rehearsal with Mr. Andrew Erb, Director of Bands at Thiel College. The Band is preparing for the annual Large Ensemble Music Performance Assessment here in PA, and I asked my dear friend Mr. Erb if he would come in and work with the band for an extended rehearsal time. My building administration and teachers graciously allowed the band students to come to band rehearsal for a double period so that he would be able to work with the students for a decent length of time. (I wish to give the administration and faculty my sincerest thanks for allowing this to happen!)

Andy and I talked before rehearsal and he asked if there was anything specific that we had been working on that I wanted him to address. I told him that I purposely didn’t want to tell him, because I wanted his fresh ears and fresh ideas. I have known Andy for many years and he is an outstanding musician, and I knew he would pick out the things that he was hearing and work on them. Plus, this clinic was as much for me as it was for the students…it allowed me to hear some new perspectives on pieces that I had been rehearsing for several weeks now.

To my absolute joy, Andy presented many great musical thoughts, ideas, and techniques to the group…each one completely different that anything I had told them. This was great for the students because while he of course reinforced many of the things I had been working on, he also had some new ideas that made the band sound great! Andy has spent many years in the HS band setting and was able to relate to the students immediately…they responded great and even laughed at his corny band director jokes!

Then it donned on me – I should do this much more often. I think that I am going to try to have someone come and work with the students at least once per semester and maybe even once per nine weeks. Even if it’s just a director from a neighboring school, I think the fresh ears and ideas can only help the band improve!

If this is something you have never done before, I highly recommend it! I can tell you with a certainty that my group is playing better than they were an hour and a half ago before working with the guest clinician…and I will be a better conductor/teacher too! So, call some friends and have them come and work with your band – it can only make them better!

This is a cross post I wrote for The Discovery Education Blog Network today. Enjoy!

With the arrival of President’s Day Weekend, many of us are looking to discuss our U.S. Presidents in class. Yesterday, on the official blog, Google announced the ability to Explore our US Presidents on a Map. The map is in Google Earth and shows the Presidents’ birthplaces as well as some information about their terms in office. The tour is posted in the Google Earth Showcase, but you can also download it for your local machine using Google Earth. From the Showcase:

• Explore all of the US presidents on the Google Earth map. View their birthplace and click on the number icon to learn more.
• See a progression of the states that voted during each president’s election (shaded in red).
• Download a Google Earth file (.kmz) to easily see a map of all the US presidents.

In addition, you can view a 3D model of the White House and other landmarks in Washington, D.C. Happy President’s Day weekend, and have fun using these in your classes!

Emergency Flute Repair, originally uploaded by dougbutchy.

Ever seen a flute repaired with a safety pin? I am a genius! Emergency fix for the concert tonight! Haha!

Below is my most recent post to the Discovery Education PA Blog. Enjoy!

For many years now, I have been an avid user of as much Google as possible. Google Maps, Images, Gmail, Places, Docs…I think I’ve tried just about everything. I recently gave a presentation to my school staff about using Google Docs in the classroom, and I shared the following links with them:

Google for educators – An overview of how Google Docs can be used in the classroom http://www.google.com/educators/p_docs.html

The Google Classroom – Site created by an educator showing the many uses of lots of Google products in the classroom.
http://sites.google.com/site/googclass/Home

GoogleFest 2010 – A prezi that shows visually some of the many uses of Google products, including Docs.
http://prezi.com/qgj_dzqthc9l/googlefest-2010/

GoogleDoc Wikispaces  - Wikispaces created by another school for their staff to use. Includes a few videos on Google Docs and links to other resources.
http://seymourhigh.wikispaces.com/googledoc

Google Docs & Spreadsheets in the Classroom – PDF file with a few ideas and resources for using Google Docs.
http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/www.google.com/en/us/educators/activities/pdfs_GTA/CribSheet.Docs3.pdf

31 Interesting Ways to Use Google Docs in the Classroom – A Google Presentation that you can save to your Google Docs and edit!
https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhn2vcv5_8323t58h3ft

I thought that I knew just about everything there was to do with Google and the classroom, and then I found this post from edudemic.com, shared on Twitter by @web20classroom. Special thanks goes out to Steven for posting the link! The post shares great ideas for using Google in the classroom that I did not even know about…enjoy!

15 Little-Known Ways Google Can Help Teachers and Students

As we go through our daily rehearsal routines with our groups, it is easy to become complacent with our critical listening skills. I think that both directors and the students in the ensemble become used to our daily sounds, and sometimes we don’t always listen with the most critical ear, especially when we are “in the moment” of cueing the right section, or playing the correct notes.

Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

I have been recording my rehearsals off and on for a few years now,  and have found that it is extremely helpful not only to me but to my students as well. I used cassette tape recorders in past years, but now with digital audio recorders, the process has gotten even better. The quality of the recording is quite good, even with a small hand held device. I personally use a Zoom H2. There are a lot of memory-card based recorders like this one available, and we could discuss all of their merits in an entirely different post. Here are my observations of one of our most recent recording sessions.

1. Recording should be done on a regular basis. I think it’s important for students to have this regular feedback about what they really sound like. I don’t do this often enough, and I think for it to really be effective, you should constantly evaluate what you are doing.

2. Record and listen right away. During class, we listen to our recordings immediately, while the students’ performance is still fresh in their minds. Usually, I find that they students think they sound better than they actually do.

3. Focus the students’ listening. When listening to the recording, have the students make a list (either physically or mentally) about what the group is doing well, and what they are not doing so well. I also remind them that we are interested in things that we are doing as a group, so that no one is “attacking” any one person’s abilities (or lack thereof). As I tell the students, they should address their individual weaknesses at home on their own time…the purpose of our rehearsal is to take what they’ve worked on individually and to see how they fit together as a group.

4. Think about keeping past recordings. Sometimes, near the upcoming performance, I will play a recording of an early rehearsal of a piece. It gives the students great perspective, because they can hear how far they have come during the rehearsal process. This has definitely been a positive technique, as the students are able to see the fruits of their labors. This is especially helpful if we might be having a rough rehearsal, when we just can’t get seem to get something right.

Another observation – The recorder does not lie! It’s brutally honest, and sometimes students need to hear that! It also can really drive home some of the concepts that I have been repeatedly telling the students. Often, once the students can actually hear what I have been hearing and telling them, they finally understand what they need to do.

Finally, I have found that while listening to our rehearsal recordings, it makes me more aware of what I am doing in the classroom. Sometimes I think, “Wow, we wasted a lot of time on that!” Many times, I will even hear things on the recording that I never heard in the rehearsal room! Recording our rehearsals has not only improved the students’ awareness of their performance, but has also helped me to be a better and more effective teacher!

I encourage you to give it a try and share your experiences!