Annette+Fritzsche's+Portfolio

=E2T2 Portfolio Page for //Annette Fritzsche//=

Lesson Narrative:
The 6th grade Beginning Band members used VoiceThread as a means to upload, evaluate, and share an 8-measure playing test from a segment of music. 8-measure playing tests occur 3-8 times during a trimester. Students were shown previously recorded VoiceThread recordings, and we discussed how a recorded playing test differed from live playing tests. Similar rubrics were used for both tests. Obstacles occurred with VoiceThread when the recorded videos were too large to upload. But with the ability to shrink files in iMovie, students were able to then upload successfully. VoiceThread is an awesome tool that provides a safe place for student work and collaboration.

Unit Narrative:

Shared Lessons, Units, and Resources

 * ~ Daily Lessons ||~ Instructional Units ||~ Other Related Resources ||
 * //VoiceThread Lessons:// || SmartMusic Unit Evaluation ||  ||
 * [[file:A Fritzsche Lesson Plan VoiceThread Beginning Band.docx]] || [[file:A Fritzsche Lesson Plan Smart Music.docx]] ||  ||
 * [[file:A Fritzsche Intro Voicethread Presentation.ppt]] ||  ||   ||
 * [[file:A Fritzsche Voicethread Downloading Resizing and Evaluating Others.doc]] ||  ||   ||

Blog Entries
rss url="http://theteachingfritzsche.blogspot.com/" link="true" number="10"

Student Work Samples

 * SmartMusic printed samples || SmartMusic Audio Sample ||
 * [[file:SmartMusic Trumpet II.pdf]] || media type="file" key="Michelle.mp3" width="240" height="20" ||
 * [[file:SmartMusic Trumpet.pdf]] || media type="file" key="Chris.mp3" width="240" height="20" ||
 * [[file:SmartMusic Clarinet.pdf]] || media type="file" key="Abbie.mp3" width="240" height="20" ||
 * [[file:SmartMusic Alto Sax .pdf]] || media type="file" key="Erick.mp3" width="240" height="20" ||


 * VoiceThread Videos ||
 * media type="file" key="VID00001.MP4" width="108" height="108" ||
 * media type="file" key="VID00002.MP4" width="92" height="92" ||
 * [[file:VID00001.AVI]] ||

Summative Narrative
I enjoyed being a part of the E2T2 cohort. The 6 ½-day trainings were valuable. Each session offered a different perspective or taught me about a different tool that was available to use in the classroom. The instruction was very much geared at used technology to enhance our teaching. It was not attempting to change or add unnecessary burdens to our teaching. All of trainings gave us time to experiment with, plan for, and use the new technology tools and ideas that were being taught. I appreciated the time for this, but often times needed more direction as to how I was going to use the tool (because it did not necessarily fit with the music curriculum), or the time was just not beneficial for my working mentality, as I work better alone and with short spurts of time over many days. My students have benefited from the use of VoiceThread and SmartMusic (2 technology tools that I have applied to my classroom). Though VoiceThread was difficult to get started, and for students to easily access, I am pleased with the work that has been recorded on the program, and look forward to it improving our sight and sound as an ensemble and individual performers because of it. My 8th grade students who used SmartMusic were instantly impressed and very eager to use the program! I can’t wait to introduce this program to all of my students in the Fall. As a teacher, I have improved in my use of and knowledge of technology for educators. I only wish there were more means to use it all on a daily basis (ie, more computer access, more recording devices, more time in the day). Can all of my students have a computer to record to? Can we have more time to reflect and respond to uploaded performances? I plan to continue using VoiceThread and SmartMusic as part of my teaching. I love the collaboration and sharing ability that both programs uniquely offer. Both programs also allow for so much individual adaption to fit the needs and desires of each user.

Literature Review
// Reinventing Project-Based Learning // was a fast read for me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about using technology and collaborative working and sharing to create ideal workplaces to achieve student accomplishment and growth. I loved hearing about the fresh and forward-thinking ideas that are being practiced in various locations of education. Ideas such as “start simply, then elaborate” (pg. 88), and “teach fundamentals first” (pg. 100) are worthwhile and needed when teaching at the middle school level. I am often baffled at the lack of familiarity and comfortability that many of my middle school students have toward new technology programs. I have found myself getting frustrated when trying to incorporate programs such as iMovie and VoiceThread into my classroom because of the reactions that have come from my students. I appreciated this realistic support. I have begun to cling to this statement, and not be upset of things flop. Going from little technology in the music classroom to everyday use is a big deal. For the past 3 years I have had various technology related ideas that I have wanted to add to my classroom. Though many of these dreams have yet to occur, I am hopeful that will be added slowly and consistently still in the future. This book has stocked me with new ideas and real life examples of successful project-based learning that is taking place today. I believe that music education, and particularly band, is headed in a very different direction than where most music educators are prepared to go. City orchestras are going into bankruptcy or shutting down. Community bands and orchestras do not have the personnel that they did 20-40 years ago. Technology, social networking, and global collaboration have transformed the music industry and music use. I want to be prepared to shift with these changes, and properly equip my students to be thriving performers and consumers of music for a lifetime. I became discouraged at times while reading this book. As a public school teacher who sees the financial cuts and time burdens that are constantly being placed upon the school systems, the book was often times idealistic and quite unrealistic from my vantage point. I do not have a classroom of 60 students who I share with 3 other educators (pg. 25). Nor am I a part of a 1:1 laptop initiative (pg. 25). I do work late and come in early. But I feel like that time is so often spent returning emails, making phones calls, going to meetings, grading, and just keeping things running smoothly. I don’t feel like there is enough time to dream, explore, and implement, as examples in this book show. Content from this book and E2T2 have helped to increase my students’ achievement, growth, and success this year. Sometimes I get focused on creating music concert to concert, and lose track of content that cannot be learned from concert music. There is such a wide range of music and resources in my curriculum that I need to utilize more. E2T2 has helped expand my mind to that.

Boss, S, & Krauss, J. (2007). //Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age.// Washington, D.C.: International Society for Technology in Education.