Prior to learning about digital diagrams, I had seen and utilized diagrams but not through this program. I believe the diagrams I have seen utilized for classes were constructed simply in Microsoft word or PowerPoint. These programs do not have a multitude of graphic, text and resource options.
The program we used for this project, which will be reviewed below is very simple to navigate and create graphics for lesson plans.
Before actually creating our diagram on the software "Inspiration," we created our story board, basically serving as a draft on paper to what we were going to create for our lesson plan. Like I said above, most of the diagrams I have seen were very simple and didn't virtually "tell a story" like I am capable of creating with Inspiration. My lesson for the 4th grade music class was titles "Classical Composes" and I was able to create simple facts and add notes in the bubbles so that the diagram was not overly busy. I was able to change colors for each sub-topic to make for easy navigating if the students were observing form their seats. In addition, you can essentially type in any name or word, and the graphic resources will search for animated pictures to add to the diagram. Kids love pictures! These really added to my diagram. I used small graphics for each sub-topic like a bright purple "?" for the "fun fact" and a treble clef symbol for "musical works." For each composer I included a picture by their name.
These diagrams would be a fast, simple, way to enhance lesson activities. Although it is not interactive, it is much more interesting than handing out a worksheet or reading from a textbook.
I have definitely improved with navigating the ActivInspire software. It was confusing to learn all the controls only because there are so many to use! I am continually working on using pull tabs, containers, charts, etc. By the time I am in my own music classroom, I hope to be able to fully utilize all the resources, templates, and features on the Promethean board.
I am thoroughly enjoying creating my own flip chart for a lesson plan. Music is such a fun topic to utilize the resources on the IWB. I was first confused with the actions while creating the flip chart, ie. being in "author mode," "design mode," or "presentation." But once I got the hang of the container feature, it was really easy to match music symbols to the vocabulary terms. I know that when I am
more comfortable with using the software, I will be able to
create interactive and fun activities for the students.
Whether it is teaching students about music history (composers, musical eras, etc.), or music theory, there will be resources I can use that will benefit my students learning by ACTIVELY engaging. Students can virtually place music notes on the staff (on the IWB) or match dynamics to sound tools or videos. In addition, ActivInspire is a wonderful resource because of how simple it is to share flip charts. It is import friendly and there is "Send as email"access. I think I will have to be careful with overusing interactive white boards in the future!
Let me start with saying that Interactive White Boards are exactly what they are entitled. However, before my experience with IWB, I knew of such things like SmartBoard but was not familiar in the least. There was no such thing when I was in grade school. The article about about IWB gave me insight to what is going on in today's classrooms with technology.
I was shocked to see the percentages in test scores and success rates of the interactive white board. This is GREAT news because not only are they becoming readily available, they are so fun for the students. The stats obviously showed that picture and sound engaged the students and participation was much greater. Unfortunately, as I read, some teachers still aren't familiar with the IWB even if they have the privilege of having them in their own classrooms! This is unfortunate as it could be a part of weekly lesson plans for teachers to encourage student participation and a constructive approach in the classroom. If teachers know what they are doing and make their lesson plans fun and engaging, students will WANT to learn which has proven to improve test scores.
The IWB like I mentioned before is very interactive, exactly what it is called. I have been simply amazed with the interaction I have had in the past few classes with just seeing the activities and commands on my computer screen! Once I can fully understand how to utilize and navigate the system, I will undoubtedly use this technology in my music classroom. Students can draw musical notes on the staff, insert music vocab terms to match symbols and respond to listening sample through the system. This can incorporate half if not more of the National Standards for Music Education. How cool! I can't wait to get started and create my own flipchart.
