Elementary Digital Music For the past few weeks, I have enjoyed looking forward to my 'Music with Computers' after-school class on Wednesdays, for 2nd through 6th grade students. It's a ten week course. During the first five weeks, I introduced various creation tools. The second half is for exploration, experimentation, composition, and creation. The availability of intuitive, expressive, professional, free sound creation tools is exploding. Synthesizer SiON SoundObject Quartet is an awesome Flash-based synthesizer and mini-sequencer and was the first tool I introduced. I was lucky to study electronic music with classic analog synthesizers and can confidently say that SiON SoundObject is the next best thing, and significantly easier to use. Drum Machine Drum Machines have become the backbone of popular music. Virtual Studio Soundation is a virtual studio, sequencer, and social network, all in one. Play Anywhere Connectivity
10 Benefits of Rising Early, and How to Do It “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” – Ben Franklin, famously “Put no trust in the benefits to accrue from early rising, as set forth by the infatuated Franklin …” – Mark Twain By Leo Babauta Recently, reader Rob asked me about my habit of waking at 4:30 a.m. each day, and asked me to write about the health benefits of rising early, which I thought was an excellent question. Unfortunately, there are none, that I know of. However, there are a ton of other great benefits. Now, let me first say that if you are a night owl, and that works for you, I think that’s great. Greet the day. How to Become an Early Riser Don’t make drastic changes.
How do inquiry teachers….teach? When I first became fascinated in inquiry-based approaches (too many years ago to say!), the focus for many of my conversations and indeed, my early research, was on how to plan. Back then, learning about inquiry helped me shift my thinking from planning thematically – or even in a more genuinely integrated way, to planning with a learning process in mind. Understanding inquiry helped me think more carefully about learning. Planning was no longer focused on making clever curriculum connections – it was about designing a process that would scaffold thinking from the known to the unknown, from shallow to deep and that would place the learner at the heart of all we did. This emergent approach to planning is central to the inquiry teacher’s repertoire and remains a significant part of the work I do…but over the last few years in particular, I find myself thinking so much more about what happens when this plan gets put into action. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Just wondering….
Arts Integration: Resource Roundup Facebook Edutopia on Facebook Twitter Edutopia on Twitter Google+ Pinterest Edutopia on Pinterest WHAT WORKS IN EDUCATION The George Lucas Educational Foundation Linking Arts and Core Curriculum 10-Minute Plays: Performing Arts in the History Classroom by Laura Davis (2015) By distilling research, writing, and acting into ten-minute plays for an authentic audience, students turn a U.S. history unit into a personally relevant experience. Back to Top Arts as Enrichment Design Thinking, Making, and Learning From the Heart by Emily Block and Lisa Yokana (2015) By reflecting on their learning and engaging their senses and empathy, students designed and built models of what they felt would be meaningful WWI memorials. 7 Leadership Skills Fostered in Arts Education by Stacey Goodman (2015) In addition to teaching skills such as organizing and public speaking, arts education encourages students to take risks and helps prepare them for becoming courageous leaders. Making, Art, and Technology
71 Weight Loss Tips and Secrets Updated: January 22, 2014Author: Rod Ferris B.A., CPT (ACE, YMCA), CPAFLA To lose weight you need to go about it the same way you would achieve anything. Set realistic goals, expectations and fill yourself with the most up-to-date knowledge out there. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 90 10 rule The 90% to 10% rule implies that you eat right 90% of the time and eat 'ok' the other 10% of the time. 14. 15. 16.Weigh yourself daily I'm not saying to go crazy but just be aware of your gains and loses, it will help keep you on the track to improvement. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. melting, muscle pumping muscle? 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. Check out our TOP 30 Tips to change your Body.
Putting Art On the Map - A Google Maps and Earth Activity When I conduct workshops on Google Maps and Google Earth I always point out that the uses for those tools extend beyond the realm of geography and history. I was reminded of that point by reading a recent post on Maps Mania. That post featured maps of art galleries around the world. A variation on that theme would have students creating maps of art and artists around the world. Students can map the locations of where a piece of art is housed, where it was created, where the artist lived, and the places that inspired the artist. Each placemark on a student's map could include a picture of the artwork, a picture of the artist, and or a video about the art and artist. This project can be accomplished by using either Google's My Maps (formerly Maps Engine Lite), Google Earth Tour Builder, or Google Earth.
13 must Have Chrome Apps for Music Teachers March 24, 2015 Here is a list we have curated specifically for music teachers. This list features a collection of popular Chrome apps ideal for teaching and learning about music. From apps to help you improve your music sheet reading skills to apps to assist you in your guitar and piano playing, the apps in this selection are definitely a must have for music teachers. 1- Music Notation Training “Notation Training is simple tool that helps you to improve your music sheet reading skills. 2- UJAM: Make Your Music “If you've got a tune in your head, start your session by singing, whistling, humming, or playing an instrument to record your idea. 3- AudioSauna “Full-featured audio workstation for making music online. 4- Audiotool “Audiotool is a powerful online music production studio right in your browser…Audiotool lets you create your own sounds by wiring more than fourteen different effects together with one of our three drum machines or synthesizers. 5- Beatlab Piano Apps 7- Player Piano
How Integrating Physical Art Into Digital Creations Expands Creativity Students in Cathy Hunt’s art classes are constantly blurring the lines between physically created art and digital creations. In one project, students created fish out of clay using old pinch-potting techniques. But the project didn’t stop there. They then took photos of their creations and used digital tools to paint on the photos, adding color and design without fear that an unknown glaze would ruin their vision. Once they designed their fish, they developed a storyline featuring their creations for a stop motion animation created by the whole group. “The look on teachers’ faces when they see the work of our students is really powerful,” said Hunt, a visual arts teacher at St. The fish project exemplifies the way Hunt encourages her students to delve deeply into visual art techniques, while giving them multiple points of entry into creativity. “Schools that do not have arts programs are absolutely missing opportunities for student growth,” Hunt said.