End of Semester stuff...

Again, this is the last post for this class. Here is a link to a few questions regarding my views of education. This class has been a blast and I have learned a lot!

I hope you enjoy!

Voki - Let your voice be heard!

Today is our last day in class. For one of our class projects we were to create an avatar using the program Voki. What you will hear by clicking the play link on my avatar is a brief description of my philosophy in education.


Get a Voki now!


I hope you enjoy!

Good Form...yet again!

The class was experimenting with some new uses of google forms. The quiz has been updated.

Take it now ---> Clicky Clicky!

Google Forms

today in class we learned how to use and apply google forms. This is a program that you can use for many things (i.e. evaluations, grades, tests, etc...). This program is very user friendly and can be used in a matter of minutes.

Try it for yourself ---> Google documents

Take my test ---> Clicky Clicky

Results ---> check it!

I hope you enjoy!

Free Multimedia Tools!

Issuu is an web based program that allows you to create Adobe Acrobat Reader files.

Prezi is a very good program that allows you to create presentations online, save them online as well as on your own desktop, which  allows you to view them while being offline, and it takes Microsoft Powerpoint to the next level! I highly recommend you trying it yourself!

Here is a sample of what Prezi can do for you!

Sample on Prezi

Intel

Today in class we talked about programs from Intel that are FREE!!! we focused on the Visual Ranking tool and our teacher set up an assignment based on using this tool.

Power Point

In the last few classes we have been exploring Microsoft Powerpoint and learning little tip & tricks that can be of use when using this program. We also learned how to imply these tips & tricks into your school curriculum.

Ever had a problem with a CSO in the education system? You might find the following of some interest. For our class project we were to choose a content standard in our content area that could be seen as problematic. Below you will find my presentation for said problem. I have uploaded my presentation to web using slideshare.

Problematic content standards in Music

View more presentations from solomarimbist31.

Instructional Tech. Class Map

This is our class map that displays all the locations that our students call home. Iw as not aware that such an application could be made and shared, but one would say that many new and innovative teaching methods could come from this! I hope you will find BatchGeo as interesting as I have!

My Personal Resume

Having previously created a resume on Microsoft Word, I decided to update it and upload it to Google Docs. This way I could have access to it anytime I wanted, especially at the spur of the moment. Feel free to take a look at my resume and get ideas or just...whatever... : )  Enjoy!

Resume

My Professional Organization

Being a music educator I am a member of Music Educators National Conference (MENC). This is a national association for music educators. You can find out more about MENC by clicking here.

The next event taking place for MENC is the Urband Music Leadership Conference (UMLC). The UMLC meets October 21–23 in Norfolk, Virginia. The Norfolk Public Schools serve as host school system and student performances will take place throughout the conference. Visits to local school music programs also are planned.

Symposium topics include mentoring, developing district-wide music in an urban setting, visibility for music programs and working with arts partners.

The National Urban Music Leadership Conference is composed of large urban school district music administrators, supervisors, curriculum managers of the fine arts, music teachers and others who are interested in improving the teaching, learning process and management of arts programs in large urban districts.

Excel Grade Assignment

Today in class we continued our exploration with Microsoft Excel. A pre-designed spreadsheet was made that contained student names, class grades and test  scores, and a project score. Our assignment was to determine the following information:
1. Minimum and Maximum grade for each assignment/test.
2. The range of each assignment/test.
3. The average score for each assignment/test.
4. The average grade per student.
5. The letter grade for each student.

Using certain formulas, the above information was easy to figure out. The class also learned what a "handle" was and how to use it. This made acquiring all the above mentioned information extremely easy and quick! Apart from just simply figuring these figures out, the class had to convert averages into letter grades for each student. Again, using the handle, this was very easy to do. Please feel free to take a look at the finished project by clicking   --------> Grades

Performance Based Assessment

In class today we took a Performance Based Assessment to determine not only our own awareness for Microsoft Excel, but to find some data that was needed. I found that the assessment itself was rather easy and along with the in-class training using Excel, which I had none, it made it more enjoyable to take the assessment and use formulas to gain information and collect data.

Pat of the assignment was to upload our project into Google Docs. This was again an easy process, but I did find out that some problems did occur. Upon uploading the spreadsheet I noticed that some of my information had gone missing. I'm assuming this is just a fault of a free web based program.

Excel-lent!

In the past few classes the students have been addressing how to use Microsoft Excel and the features it contains. The class has created a spreadsheet based on premade figures and are currently working on inserting the data into a Microsoft Word document using the APA format.

Some of the data that has been collected are as follows:
1. Number of males
2. Number of females
3. Number of traditional students
4. Number of non-traditional students

These are just a few examples of the data that has been collected over the past few classes.

Using PhotoStory

Here is a sample video that I downloaded from the internet and have made some additions to it using PhotoStory.



Try Photostory yourself!

Where???



     This is where all of my stuff is! I can locate and find all of my documents, pictures, videos, and audio clips on a virtual server or from a physicals server. I have unlimited access to them throughout the world! I can use everything from flash drives, programs such as Jing, Google Blogger, and much more!

     The only down side would be that if I have no access to the internet or if the internet goes down then I have no access to my files. If I use a physical server, such as a flash drive, I can take my files with me anywhere I go and it does not require and web server to use recall them.

Bridgeport High School Drumline Cadence 08-09

2008 Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps. drum break

Jing Video

You can make "how to" videos using Jing. Here is a sample. In the video I will show you how to get to the Alderson-Broaddus College Music Dept. website and then will show you how to get to my personal profile.



All you have to do is type in the web address (www.ab.edu/music) and follow the cursor. I hope you find this helpful.

Art?

This is what I might look like if Pablo Picasso got ahold of me...

I don't know about that.....hmmmm.....
Picasso Head

Jing-le Bells!!!!!

I've been messing around with this program called Jing. It is a very cool program that allows you to do many things such as capture photos, annotate images, and create videos. Below is just a small sample of what you can do. I have taken a picture and have added some text to the top of it:

I hope you find this tool as useful as I have!

Talk to you all later...

The Snipping Tool

Today we learned that Windows Vista includes a handy tool called "snipping tool" that allows you to cut and save selected images from the web. If you have Vista simply search for "snipping tool" then begin to highlight you area that you would like to save.

Here is an example of things you can cut and paste:

4 Temperament Results

     After taking the test, it turns out that I am a "Guardian" not an "Artisan". I was fairly close with my guess, but are the tests always right?

     One thing I found interesting was what the test tells about the Guardian. "Guardians have a natural talent in managing goods and services - from supervision to maintenance and supply - and they use their skills to keep things running smoothly in their families, communities, schools, churches, hospitals, and businesses."

     I am the music director at my church and I teach percussion classes and lessons, so it is ironic that this test has identified with that aspect of my life.

Hope you found this interesting...

4 Personality Temperaments

     I don't really have any pros or cons when it comes to attribute tests such the personality test. I honestly think that it is just plain, innocent, good fun and shouldn't be taken seriously. I have met people who plan their whole life around different tests. How does a computer know how you are feeling? Sure you answer questions to help determine things, but it can't read your mind and I have read studies that prove that a fair share of people lie on said tests.

     I believe that my test will result in the following order: Artisan, Idealist, Guardian, and Rational. I'm a musically inclined person which would justify the Artisan and I'm not anywhere close to being a Rationalist. I guess in this case, only the test will tell...

Try it yourself... Personality Test

     Results to follow...

First Blog

Hey everyone! My name is Josh and I am the Percussion Instructor at Alderson-Broaddus College in Philippi, WV. I hold a B.A. in Musical Arts with an emphasis in percussion performance from Alderson-Broaddus College and am currently pursuing my B.A. in Music Education from Fairmont State University.

Along side this, I am also the Percussion Instructor at Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, WV. I have been the instructor there since 1999.

More posts to come!