Automatic Accompaniment/White Boards/Teaching With Computers

I loved the article on automatic accompaniment, and I think that this technology is brilliant and has a bright future. I, myself, have utilized this technology before, and I have seen others use it as well. When you're a struggling college student looking for piano accompaniment, this is the best way to go. Not only is it cheap, but the technology is very effective. It is inspiring and awesome to think that the software behind this technology is so "intelligent." It will follow you just like a real piano player, and you don't have to frustrate your pianist with rehearsing difficult sections. Has anyone ever had an experience with an accompanist who did not show up or could not stay for long periods of time? These problems are things of the past with this new technology. Also impressive are the quantity of pieces you can choose to perform. I was working with some advanced saxophone students at the University of Missouri, and they were playing some pretty obscure classical saxophone literature. You should have seen the look on my face when I saw them practicing with a microphone and a computer that acted as the pianist! Very interesting and exciting stuff here!

I always love the idea of "interactive education," where students can take an active role in learning. Far too much time is spent (even in music) learning ideas, concepts, and even their own instruments passively. "Whtie Boards" and "Smart Boards" are fantastic ideas for any classroom situation, and I believe that one day most schools will be fully equipped with this technology. I was always someone who learned by "doing," by touching, feeling, smelling, observing, and then completing the task myself. It always looked easy, for example, when my chemistry teacher wrote formulas on the chalk board. But if I never had the experience of figuring the formulas out on my own, I never learned them, or the significance behind them. I think interaction with kids of all ages is usually a great idea, and fosters inspiration and motivation, not to mention creativity. As mentioned in the article, the number one hurdle most teachers and educators will face when wanting to acquire this technology is the issue of money. And while this technology may not be successfully obtained in the first two to three years of teaching, some school districts will reward teachers down the line if they are persistent and successful with the materials they already own.

While I love most of the ideas and thoughts presented in our readings this week, one thing I'm not the hugest fan of is engaging an entire classroom through the use of a solitary computer. This may stem from my own personal bad experiences in middle school and high school, but I don't think that I ever really liked the idea for a multitude of reasons. First of all, it completely takes away the human element. No matter how much teachers incorporate technology into the classroom, there will never be a substitute for a human teacher (although one may have a substitute human teacher from time to time). The warmth of the human voice, the encouragement that comes from meditated feedback, the very presense of the teacher doing his or her job - teaching - is something that is irreplacable. Secondly, I was not very convinced in the article that students would find this at all exciting and entertaining. It may be a good idea in theory to move the students around like "a spoke on a bicycle," but they will become increasingly agitated and frustrated with the teaching plan. I'll admit that when I was in elementry or middle school, I would have hated this type of excercise. I would have taken advantage of all the "moving around," and start to become much more interested in my friends than in the lesson. Having said all this, I am by no means anti-technology. In fact, I consider myself to be very progressive when it comes to integrating technology into the classroom. I just feel that this is an inappropriate way to do it. The results were not good for me; I do not think I would make my students do something that I never enjoyed.