I was fortunate in my teaching career to experience some amazing opportunities. For example, I got to work with R. Murray Schafer! I encouraged myself to search for unique, special projects. I always felt that these activities would lead to other avenues of creativity, learning, and expansion. I tried to take advantage of new initiatives and projects. I would read bulletin board posters which described events and conferences. These events helped to move my interests in so many directions that would ignite my thinking; would challenge my knowledge; and would introduce me to the movers and shakers in education and music.
I explored so many wonderful projects which in turn helped me as a performing artist, and helped the music programs I was involved with, to grow. These experiences also enhanced the learning for my students. My career advanced faster; I met more people, which led to additional opportunities. It was exciting; it was current; it was challenging; it was interesting.
What I was really doing was creating options for myself. I did not simply teach students during the day. I had an appetite for more, because it would make life more interesting and exciting. In conversation, my ears, mind, and eyes were open to making connections. I was excited about the myriad of possibilities; the additional potential for new discoveries.
For example. I attended a conference where interesting sessions were offered in the arts. I of course participated in the music session. Simply fantastic in so many ways. In addition to sessions offered, there were tables in the lobby area of other related organizations, with representatives pitching their ideas about future initiatives. Of course, I approached one of these tables and the representative greeted me and the exchange of information began. Following this encounter, I returned to school to sell the idea to the school administration. It worked! What followed for the next three years was a partnership with the Elmer Iseler Singers, concerts, and amazing opportunities for our school and students. It was a lot of work, but so enjoyable, and rewarding.
Another example. I attend the Music Industry Show at a huge conference centre. This particular show, I have been to for many years. It occurred on an annual basis. Not every experience yields opportunity, but this particular year, it did. I walked the maze of exhibitors for hours, until the accordion exhibitor caught my attention, of course. It was Roland, and for the next 5-6 years, this experience grew into something that changed my accordion experience quite a bit. It’s about networking! It’s about making connections.
Sunday, 26 April 2020
Sunday, 19 April 2020
On line / remote learning, continued thoughts
Early reports concerning the on-line, virtual, remote learning project for all Ontario students is indicating that some parents, those that have shared their feelings, do not like it at all. My niece, working from home, finds that she must dedicate a lot of time to support her daughter’s experience. Other family members are now reversing their past comments about the value of teachers. These parents have a different view on how important a job a teacher performed on a daily basis; they have a different appreciation for teachers. This on line learning is placing some responsibility on the parents, in order for it to be successful. But, as I think of it, parents, were they not always an expected partner in all of this anyway? We all agree that the education system did provide a supervised day in the lives of many students; and, if some learning took place, wow, even better.
Educators need to be careful, though; if they get too create and develop excellent methods of delivery of curriculum, they may lead the government to believe that this on-line stuff can really work. This particular suggestion of introducing on-line learning was one of the issues in the past contract talks in late 2019 and early 2020. Teachers will succeed in making this work; that’s what teachers do best, they find ways to improve student learning, and develop creative solutions, and inspire, motivate and care. Of course, there are probably many teachers out there that are resisting this because they are a bit uncomfortable with the technology. Before Covid-19, some older teachers were entering the classroom simply doing the same old stuff they had been doing for years. Now, these same teachers have to learn new applications, develop strategies, arrange lessons delivering material in different ways. I really feel for all those teachers that avoided staying current with the new technology. These teachers will be very frustrated with what is now expected of them. The younger teachers will probably excel. I wonder how many students do not have a computer, or access to WIFI. I think the school boards will be required to provide some training and direction. I think there will be more pressure on the student to become an independent learner; more responsibility for learning, exploring, the internet. I think most students are more comfortable with the technology than the educators.
This new challenge for students, parents, teachers, school boards, government will certainly test everyone in many ways. Let’s face it, what jobs are educators expected to train these young students for? How do you inspire some learning, when this learning can probably only take place in a classroom?
I was expecting these big changes in education, even years ago; I think some of us did realize this. It costs too much to run things the way we were running things in education. I just do not think we were ready for this, now. Do we have the expertise in place to be able handle this huge undertaking? For example, I was thinking about the impact of AI, space exploration, robotics, climate control, world problems to solve, as the current time with Covid -19, a global issue that has impacted everything. We need to train our students with skills and thinking that apply to today. But, not all students have an interest in medicine, science, math, physics . . . There are a variety of interests that still capture our curiosity.
Above, I mentioned that many people now have a different appreciation for teachers; I want to mention that we now have a different appreciation for nurses, doctors, grocery store workers, farmers, drivers, in short, the essential workers, who risk their lives daily so that we can be safe.
The remote learning can be very challenging for teachers who now have to communicate with students and parents on line. Government, school boards, teachers, parents and students need to be very cautious about proper use of the internet, where safety for everyone must be protected.
Educators need to be careful, though; if they get too create and develop excellent methods of delivery of curriculum, they may lead the government to believe that this on-line stuff can really work. This particular suggestion of introducing on-line learning was one of the issues in the past contract talks in late 2019 and early 2020. Teachers will succeed in making this work; that’s what teachers do best, they find ways to improve student learning, and develop creative solutions, and inspire, motivate and care. Of course, there are probably many teachers out there that are resisting this because they are a bit uncomfortable with the technology. Before Covid-19, some older teachers were entering the classroom simply doing the same old stuff they had been doing for years. Now, these same teachers have to learn new applications, develop strategies, arrange lessons delivering material in different ways. I really feel for all those teachers that avoided staying current with the new technology. These teachers will be very frustrated with what is now expected of them. The younger teachers will probably excel. I wonder how many students do not have a computer, or access to WIFI. I think the school boards will be required to provide some training and direction. I think there will be more pressure on the student to become an independent learner; more responsibility for learning, exploring, the internet. I think most students are more comfortable with the technology than the educators.
This new challenge for students, parents, teachers, school boards, government will certainly test everyone in many ways. Let’s face it, what jobs are educators expected to train these young students for? How do you inspire some learning, when this learning can probably only take place in a classroom?
I was expecting these big changes in education, even years ago; I think some of us did realize this. It costs too much to run things the way we were running things in education. I just do not think we were ready for this, now. Do we have the expertise in place to be able handle this huge undertaking? For example, I was thinking about the impact of AI, space exploration, robotics, climate control, world problems to solve, as the current time with Covid -19, a global issue that has impacted everything. We need to train our students with skills and thinking that apply to today. But, not all students have an interest in medicine, science, math, physics . . . There are a variety of interests that still capture our curiosity.
Above, I mentioned that many people now have a different appreciation for teachers; I want to mention that we now have a different appreciation for nurses, doctors, grocery store workers, farmers, drivers, in short, the essential workers, who risk their lives daily so that we can be safe.
The remote learning can be very challenging for teachers who now have to communicate with students and parents on line. Government, school boards, teachers, parents and students need to be very cautious about proper use of the internet, where safety for everyone must be protected.
Sunday, 12 April 2020
On line learning, virtual learning, remote learning
Call it whatever you want. Our Provincial Government has been advocating changes to the Ontario Education System by insisting that four on-line courses would be completed by our secondary school students - this was the original plan proposed way back in 2019 when negotiations began for a new central contract. Then, the number was reduced to 2 on-line courses. Now, with the Covid-19 situation, all students are experiencing on-line learning from home. Teachers are scrambling to learn and develop learning activities.
I have always viewed new technology as a way to enhance curriculum delivery, and not replace the classroom experience. I have been a strong supporter of including new technology in my teaching. I can remember using new technology way back in the mid-1980’s when I was teaching at St. Joseph CHS, in Barrie Ontario. I remember purchasing a midi sound card to place in a slot on an Apple 2E computer, which allowed me to record midi sequences to a 4-track program available. At the time, I had a keyboard synthesizer. It allowed me to play up to 6 note polyphony. I was so impressed with the possibilities. I used this technology in my first year of teaching! I was exposed to this technology at Teachers’ College. At St. Joseph CHS, I would record the midi information to play the accompaniment while I conducted the choir at school liturgies. I had to purchase the sound card using personal money funds, and I brought my own keyboard synthesizer and stereo system speakers to teach in a portable and perform the music. As teachers, we would often invest our money to support our ideas, and deliver educational activities that we truly believed in. I spend two years at St. Joseph CHS and managed to convenience the school administration to invest in a portable sound system for the gymnasium, with Bose speakers and microphones, and power mixer, and cordless microphone! I remember using the computer technology and keyboards to accompaniments and sound effects for the musical presentation shows we created at the end of the year. This experience with technology and music applications helped me to obtain my next teaching assignment at Father Bressani CHS, Woodbridge Ontario.
I continued to explore technology applications at Father Bressani CHS. I remember on my interview day, where I was invited to one of the music classrooms to meet another music teacher, whom I knew, to answer a question about the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer and MIDI messages (send and receive) on all 16 channels. At the time, I was a bit familiar with this keyboard, a real important standard keyboard in the performing industry at the time. Every keyboard player played the DX7 because of the main few sounds it produced, of a high level of standard. At the time, I could not solve the problem that these two music teachers were experiencing. Basically, the DX7 was incapable of transmitting and receiving MIDI messages on all 16 channels. You had to use channel 1.
The Roland JX8P keyboard synthesizer I purchased could transmit and receive on all 16 channels, which made it a good master keyboard. The Yamaha was a digital synthesizer; the Roland was an analog synthesizer. The two together would make for a great keyboard player in a wedding band.
At any rate, Father Bressani was looking for a music teacher that would be interested in helping the school develop a Music & Computers program, offering additional musical experience course offerings, expanding on the traditional concert band and choir offerings already available at the school. So, I was considered a good investment. So, I got the job and did help to develop a really good lab of ten computers and keyboards, with the support of the music department head, and school administration. My work in technology continued year after year. I continued to advance my skills and knowledge in this area. I remember being one of the first to get a modem at the school in the early 1990’s and sharing original MIDI compositions with York University (a pilot project). I remember getting involved with school board new initiatives, that helped me to learn about HyperCard, and creating multimedia projects, combining music with screen images. I was doing presentations for the school board and beyond, exposing my students to cutting-edge stuff available in music / technology. But, I always saw this as an enhancement to the band / choral programs, and not to replace the traditional classroom experience. In fact, I still expected my students to compose melodies on music manuscript paper, using a pencil - right up to my last days of teaching! I believe in the effects of writing as being fundamental to brain development. I remember a colleague sharing a story with me about how the brain works differently when watching a film presented on an old projector, displaying the images on a white screen versus viewing the same film presented on a computer screen. The Brain interprets differently and the learning experience is different!
I carried with me, this interest and experience, and wisdom in technology to my continued teaching career when I moved from Father Bressani to Saint Elizabeth CHS, in Thornhill Ontario. In my last few years of teaching, I was exposing my students to on line learning with SoundTrap. And, just a few days ago, I was speaking to a friend about the expectations on teachers now under this new directive to teach on-line due to the Covid-19, and he is using a few different applications, including SoundTrap!
If I was teaching today, under the current situation, I do not think I would be as effective a teacher as I was when I was in the classroom. My charm came with my use of space, and delivery of lessons in the classroom. The magic took place in the classroom, where we gathered in this space, and appreciated the opportunity to experience the transformative power of learning together; sharing ideas, together; witnessing the unexpected energy that came from listening, observing, thinking, creating and manipulating, together; having an impact in the moment that peaked our curiosity and challenged everyone to become something more than we could become, only in the classroom - and I believe that this something “special” cannot be created with on-line learning.
I remember watching an episode of: Everybody Loves Raymond”. This particular episode concerned Raymond replacing all his father’s old LP records with CD recordings. The father didn’t like the sound of the CD’s and wanted all his records back. Raymond tried to convince the father, throughout the episode, that the old recordings had scratches and the sound was old fashioned; the CD’s were way better sound quality, in his view. Raymond kept trying, and kept trying to change his father’s thinking; to enter the new technology offered, and accept the future! By the end of the episode, the father had his old records back, and was listening to a recording. The father’s ear was used to the fullness of sound available in the old technology. Put simply, the new CD technology could not create the same, full experience of sound; the same fullness of experience that the old, scratched LP’s could. I think some new technology simply cannot effectively replace some old traditional ways. Will AI ever be able to express a phrase of music, with a subtle nuance that is so powerful, that it moves the listener to tears?
I have always viewed new technology as a way to enhance curriculum delivery, and not replace the classroom experience. I have been a strong supporter of including new technology in my teaching. I can remember using new technology way back in the mid-1980’s when I was teaching at St. Joseph CHS, in Barrie Ontario. I remember purchasing a midi sound card to place in a slot on an Apple 2E computer, which allowed me to record midi sequences to a 4-track program available. At the time, I had a keyboard synthesizer. It allowed me to play up to 6 note polyphony. I was so impressed with the possibilities. I used this technology in my first year of teaching! I was exposed to this technology at Teachers’ College. At St. Joseph CHS, I would record the midi information to play the accompaniment while I conducted the choir at school liturgies. I had to purchase the sound card using personal money funds, and I brought my own keyboard synthesizer and stereo system speakers to teach in a portable and perform the music. As teachers, we would often invest our money to support our ideas, and deliver educational activities that we truly believed in. I spend two years at St. Joseph CHS and managed to convenience the school administration to invest in a portable sound system for the gymnasium, with Bose speakers and microphones, and power mixer, and cordless microphone! I remember using the computer technology and keyboards to accompaniments and sound effects for the musical presentation shows we created at the end of the year. This experience with technology and music applications helped me to obtain my next teaching assignment at Father Bressani CHS, Woodbridge Ontario.
I continued to explore technology applications at Father Bressani CHS. I remember on my interview day, where I was invited to one of the music classrooms to meet another music teacher, whom I knew, to answer a question about the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer and MIDI messages (send and receive) on all 16 channels. At the time, I was a bit familiar with this keyboard, a real important standard keyboard in the performing industry at the time. Every keyboard player played the DX7 because of the main few sounds it produced, of a high level of standard. At the time, I could not solve the problem that these two music teachers were experiencing. Basically, the DX7 was incapable of transmitting and receiving MIDI messages on all 16 channels. You had to use channel 1.
The Roland JX8P keyboard synthesizer I purchased could transmit and receive on all 16 channels, which made it a good master keyboard. The Yamaha was a digital synthesizer; the Roland was an analog synthesizer. The two together would make for a great keyboard player in a wedding band.
At any rate, Father Bressani was looking for a music teacher that would be interested in helping the school develop a Music & Computers program, offering additional musical experience course offerings, expanding on the traditional concert band and choir offerings already available at the school. So, I was considered a good investment. So, I got the job and did help to develop a really good lab of ten computers and keyboards, with the support of the music department head, and school administration. My work in technology continued year after year. I continued to advance my skills and knowledge in this area. I remember being one of the first to get a modem at the school in the early 1990’s and sharing original MIDI compositions with York University (a pilot project). I remember getting involved with school board new initiatives, that helped me to learn about HyperCard, and creating multimedia projects, combining music with screen images. I was doing presentations for the school board and beyond, exposing my students to cutting-edge stuff available in music / technology. But, I always saw this as an enhancement to the band / choral programs, and not to replace the traditional classroom experience. In fact, I still expected my students to compose melodies on music manuscript paper, using a pencil - right up to my last days of teaching! I believe in the effects of writing as being fundamental to brain development. I remember a colleague sharing a story with me about how the brain works differently when watching a film presented on an old projector, displaying the images on a white screen versus viewing the same film presented on a computer screen. The Brain interprets differently and the learning experience is different!
I carried with me, this interest and experience, and wisdom in technology to my continued teaching career when I moved from Father Bressani to Saint Elizabeth CHS, in Thornhill Ontario. In my last few years of teaching, I was exposing my students to on line learning with SoundTrap. And, just a few days ago, I was speaking to a friend about the expectations on teachers now under this new directive to teach on-line due to the Covid-19, and he is using a few different applications, including SoundTrap!
If I was teaching today, under the current situation, I do not think I would be as effective a teacher as I was when I was in the classroom. My charm came with my use of space, and delivery of lessons in the classroom. The magic took place in the classroom, where we gathered in this space, and appreciated the opportunity to experience the transformative power of learning together; sharing ideas, together; witnessing the unexpected energy that came from listening, observing, thinking, creating and manipulating, together; having an impact in the moment that peaked our curiosity and challenged everyone to become something more than we could become, only in the classroom - and I believe that this something “special” cannot be created with on-line learning.
I remember watching an episode of: Everybody Loves Raymond”. This particular episode concerned Raymond replacing all his father’s old LP records with CD recordings. The father didn’t like the sound of the CD’s and wanted all his records back. Raymond tried to convince the father, throughout the episode, that the old recordings had scratches and the sound was old fashioned; the CD’s were way better sound quality, in his view. Raymond kept trying, and kept trying to change his father’s thinking; to enter the new technology offered, and accept the future! By the end of the episode, the father had his old records back, and was listening to a recording. The father’s ear was used to the fullness of sound available in the old technology. Put simply, the new CD technology could not create the same, full experience of sound; the same fullness of experience that the old, scratched LP’s could. I think some new technology simply cannot effectively replace some old traditional ways. Will AI ever be able to express a phrase of music, with a subtle nuance that is so powerful, that it moves the listener to tears?
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