Self-Portrait

     This is a portrait of myself I made with Picassohead.
Green is my favorite color, which is why my skin and hand are that color. I play four mallet keyboard percussion, which is what the black things in my hand are. I have blue eyes and blond hair. I didn't have really any issues with this project, except what I wanted the picture to look like. Here's a link to my portrait on the site itself.

    This is a great way for students to express themselves using the tools on the website. They can create a self portrait of themselves doing whatever they want, like I am doing here holding mallets. Some students might want more artistic parts added to the portrait because that's what they feel like, others might not. A good music lesson can be taught, using Picasso's cubism art, because of the music that came out of this time having many of the same ideas of this artist's ideas.

     This activity follows well with standard 2a. "Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that
incorporate digital tools and resources to promote
student learning and creativity" because it allows students to be creative and learn about how to work with this program and add their pictures to a gallery.

Snipping Tool + Total Revamp of my Resume!

     I pretty much spent my entire day working on my new resume. My first version was so bad that RezScore immediately gave it an 'F', it didn't even think my file was an actual resume. Well, I showed them, I used several sources (a Google Docs resume template and the A+ Resume Example at RezScore) As inspiration for my new resume. RezScore gave me a 'B' on my new resume, and I feel much better about it. It mentioned that I need to sell myself more persuasively which I will be able to do, once I get more experiences to add to it. It also said the resume was strong in the way of education and non-profit, which is perfect, as I am going to be a teacher.
Here is a snip of one of the charts on my new resume score:

Courtesy of RezScore.

     My old resume was made using a Google Docs template. I liked it at first, but after seeing RezScore score me an 'F,' I didn't like it anymore. So, I created my own on Microsoft Word. The new one, actually has some more decor on it, but that did not transfer through to Google Docs. Anyway, as you can see from the graph, my resume had very little specific aspects, and many more general aspects, and about equal in the extremities of aspects in demand or out of demand.
     These projects work well together, same with any of these projects, with the snipping tool. Since its is much easier to just snip a page rather than worrying about downloading pictures, it makes things move a little smoother, as well as gives me a chance to edit the snip I took. As for the RezScore assignment, it was a life saver, as I had decided my first resume would be my official one. Obviously, that was a bad idea, but my new one is very sleek and I am excited to use it.
     I would use the snipping tool in many ways in classes. I would have students work on a music game like Carnegie Hall's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra Game, and have them snip me the final page the game brings them to so I know they completed it, or some thing like that. I would have them do some sort of project, and have them use the snipping tool to add good pictures into the document.
     As for the RezScore project, I could continue from my resume project with the different scenarios for each student and have them rate their resumes and revise them.

     The RezScore projects follows Standard 1c. "Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes." because it helps the students look back on what they created and it evaluates automatically, so they can clarify their resumes. It also goes well with standard 1b. "Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources," because this was a problem I had even, so having students learn from their mistakes using an automated program can only help.

     The Snipping Tool project follows Standard 2a., 'Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.' This is because the students can use the snipping tool to create some sort of walkthrough in a computer program by snipping a page, then editing arrows, or directions into the picture.

Michael

Google Doc

Music Education Resume- Michael Robinson

     With this activity, I learned how to use a template on Google Docs. I established a template and filled in the blanks with my own information for my resume. I made the document public and shared the link. I will also add my resume to my links box.
     One way I can use an activity similar to this is that I can create several real-life situations for students. They can be music related or not, but if it were music related, I could give the different students a slip of paper that includes degree information, ensembles played in, and other information. They could read and use that information to create fake resumes as practice, but they would use Google Docs templates.
     This activity goes under NETS-T Standard 1b, because it uses real world situations that students use a digital tool (Google Docs). Standard 3b also matches, because it helps the students get a start with their own futures with their resumes, especially if given a homework assignment to start their own resume.

How "Millennial" am I?

     On a scale of 1 to 100, 100 being the most like a "Millennial," I scored a 63 on Pew Research Center's Millennial quiz. This is in between a "Generation X" and "Millennial." Basically, I do pose many of the qualities of a Millennial, but I would not be quite defined as a "Millennial," even though, chronologically, I am. My mother also took the quiz, and since she is a baby boomer, she received a lower score than me, a 43. Although she is still quite ahead of what I expected her to be.
     I feel, in the field of education, that this number means almost nothing. I say this because, yes students are going to show more "Millennial" characteristics the further in time I am, but I will continually grow, mature, and my score will move around the chart. Do I have a tattoo right now? Of course not, that doesn't mean I won't get one in the future. Do I read the newspaper every day right now? No, but as I grow and become more concerned with the world's daily happenings, I most likely will. All of these things and more will change my score as time goes by. So, at this stage in the game, is this score relevant? I would say no. As I grow I will learn to be more like the new generations just form experiences and going out of my way to keep up with styles.

     Frand's ten characteristics of the information-age mindset are "Computers aren't technology," "Internet better than TV," "Reality no longer real," "Doing rather than knowing," "Nintendo over logic," "Multitasking way of life," "Typing rather than handwriting," "Staying connected," "Zero tolerance for delays," and "Consumer/ Creator Blurring."
     In the computers aren't technology argument, I am to rational to not consider computers technology, the article even considers computers a technical form of technology, because technically, that's what it is. In the information-age mind set, though, people don't consider computers themselves a form of technology, but a requirement of it. I consider anything that is considered to be technology, technology. In the Internet better than TV argument, I am in it, because interacting and learning on the internet makes more sense than passively watching TV. With the reality is no longer real argument, I agree with it, and the article basically explains it in the best way, because no one can trust anyone on the internet. Doing rather than knowing, again, I agree with this, people are going out and doing things, not knowing what the consequences will be, sort of like risky decisions. Nintendo over logic explains that people live in a trial-error mindset and that the old way of experimentation is out the door. I believe many people live this way, even though I try to avoid it, I find this to be true for me as well.
     In a multitasking way of life, I feel that this is very common as well, because everyone is trying to do so many things at once, but only halfway. Typing rather than handwriting is again, true even to me, I much prefer typing, since I am a slow, sloppy writer.Staying connected is true for most everyone these days, just in different degrees. Zero tolerance for delays, I hate having to wait on things. Why? I don't know, but I hate when a plan doesn't come together and delays tend to do that. Finally, consumer/ creator blurring, these days the creators need the consumers input on products to grow into a better product and become more successful, and with so many ways to do that, it is all around us.

     What does all of this mean? For the most part, I would say I am in an information-age mindset, and that I follow along with most of the thinking in today's youth. Does not having the mindset spell doom for an educator? No, of course not, many people go through it every day. As the world grows though, and many old-fashioned teachers begin retiring and newer teachers with the mindset start in the workforce, then it will begin to spell doom. But until then, there is a mixed bag of old and new teachers doing both old and new things in their classrooms, and that is all right.

Voki Self Intro - Michael Robinson

 Original Google Document
 Original Voki page

   This is something new, I never knew something like this existed, or that people were even using this sort of program in the classrooms. I like it, the flexibility of using your own voice or text-to-speech, even the use of different characters, from toons, to actual sort-of-similar looking avatars of teachers.
     I created this using Voki which is an avatar/ audio generator, as well as Google docs (now Google Drive), and Microsoft word.  The process consisted of typing out what I wanted the avatar to say, and then creating and inputting my paragraph into the Voki program.
     I explored some of the lesson plans on the Voki website pertaining to music, many include having students create a Voki that talks about different composers or types of music. I like these, because it gets the kids writing something for more of a purpose. To the students, they know that the information they found out will be articulated using a neat avatar that they customized themselves. It takes the fear of presentations out of the equation and puts it into an easy to use, free application that is also fun for young people. I would personally use this in a classroom by recording the whole class singing a song. Each student would then create a Voki and learn how to upload their recording into the program to see their unique avatar singing the song they just sang back to them.

     The ISTE NET-T standard 1c. "Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes," would work well, as it can be a substitute to individual presentations that I would be able to grade, that the students can feel comfortable about. Standard 1a, "Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness," is also a standard that is covered, as this program is innovative.

Introductory Post

Welcome!

This will be my first official blog that I intend on actually keeping up with. I have blogged before, but that was in middle school, and it was just to complain about how terrible middle school life was.

    A little background information, I am enrolled at Fairmont State University for music education. I am a percussionist, which includes a wide array of instruments, including snare drum, drum set, timpani, marimba, and marching percussion instruments. I teach South Middle School's drum line in Morgantown, I perform in many on-campus ensembles. It has been a long experience here at Fairmont State, and so, I plan to audition for several graduate schools once I finish up my degree here, for a Masters in Percussion Performance.
   
     As far as technology goes, I have always been on a PC. My father works at the local power company and has always been great at fixing electronics, so I have had a lot of exposure to many experiences with the use of computers. I would never say I am great at working with computers, of course. I can not fix them, or troubleshoot by any stretch of the word, but I have had chances to explore a variety of programs from Photoshop to music editing software, as well as word processing and the like. I have taken a required course for my major: Intro to Music Technology, and I have learned about a variety of software and hardware that I can bring into my teaching.
     Like I said before, I have tried to blog in the past (outside of my middle school rants): mrobinson13.xanga.com/. I created this my freshman year of college and intended on blogging at least weekly. Obviously, that was to no avail (there is only 1 true post). So, I will have to really push myself to get into a rhythm of posting serious blogs for this class. I am excited, because maybe I'll be able to continue with my xanga blogs, or create a new blogger.

     Cheers to a new semester, and a new kind of class!

Michael