After missing last week due to work, I came in this week hoping I wasn't too far behind. Turns out I was able to jump right in(pardon the pun). I have been using gmail for years but never went into any of the other features of google other than google earth, which I use extensively for my job, and google translate, which I use for my vocal work. I can see the use of having a google calender to post assignments for students online. It allows them easy access to assignments should they forget or copy them down wrong. Google Docs is an excellent took for posting class notes for students who miss class due to illness. It is much easier than trying to get individual groups of notes out to every sick student. I am still in the "absorption" phase of all the apps we were introduced too so I am anticipating that in the weeks to come I will find uses for each one of them once I digest them.
Sometimes I am still amazed Finale is still in business because I have never found their products to be user friendly at all. I am hoping this semester will change that with formal instruction. It was unfortunate none of the computers in the lab were prepared for student use of finale, given the trial version and the fact many of them were not even showing normal notation. This was what I mentioned in my Digital Native/Immigrant response regarding technology actually making things harder. It can be a massive help and when it works it can't be beat. However, unless it is prepared, checked, and ready, it can actually hinder learning. I spent much of my time trying to simply get the software to use normal notation and missed many of the excellent tips Terry was mentioning and got none of the in class project done. I could have hand drawn it and run off 17 copies for the class faster. However, I am optimistic that in the next few weeks things will even out as the quirks get worked out of the system and I learn how to operate it better.
For my fellow grad students who are already teaching, here is a musical way to settle down an out of control ensemble or class:
I can definitely agree with you about finale still being in business. I think if another company was able to make something more user friendly that would easily become the standard protocol for music notation software. I really like your idea about posting class notes on google docs. The application is certainly more than capable of doing that, the trick is is finding teachers who are not lazy and willing to do that. Most teacher I've had say, "if you miss class it's your responsibility to get the notes".
ReplyDeleteI too was amazed at all the features which Google has to offer. I never thought of using Google docs as a way to communicate with students who are out sick - very clever! Students would really have no excuse to make sure their assignments were completed! Finale can be annoying at times, but it's definitely a great tool, and I'm excited to learn about all the features that I'm not aware of yet. The laptop feature we learned in class last week was pretty awesome!
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