Why my Horn Professor is actually the coolest and how they made me a better teacher.

 So if you're not aware: I play French Horn.

I play French Horn a LOT. It's my favorite instrument to play and I cherish it's existence every day of my life. Since the 7th grade, I had a variety of private horn instructors that helped me develop my tone, and playing abilities into a manner that not only made me sound good, but also, I applied into my life as steps to becoming a better person. I think often why they are so good, and how they do it. 

So ISTE.org has a list of really good "standards" for teachers and educators alike, in how to set the example for the students. One of those "standards", which exemplifies that the teacher has to also be a learner, is what I want to point out. I'll share a little bit how each of my Horn Professors exemplified in their teaching (whether they knew about it or not) and how I hope to apply it into my life. I will simply just list them as Teacher 1, 2, and 3. if any of them by some chance read this, I hope you remember what number teacher you were in my life. 

2.1: Learner

1. Is a father with a newborn during his time teaching me. Even with the conditions of having a child, He was continuously looking for ways he could improve himself. I specifically remember when we were practicing tuning and one day, we went from having a little tuner, to having a phone on the stand, with the tuner, where the closer you were to your correct pitch, the bigger the green smily face got in the middle. it was so awesome for me and although new to him as well, He learned that day that even the small little things were going to help me. 

2. She was always adamant that she was right, but when I came in with a really high sense of pitch (not perfect, but better than hers) she was blown out of the waters! She was so curious how I am able to do such. When I then was able to teach her my methods of memorizing pitch via youtube/spotify, She then applied and used it from then onwards. I don't know if she still uses it, but I do just remember that moment because She taught me well that It's okay to admit that we are all have our specialties and can learn from one another.

3. What makes my third teacher so special is that she has had little to no actual training on what it means to be an educator and teach well. She simply performs, and if it sounds good, it sounds good, no matter the method that was approached to get there. It's quite a nonchalant way of going about things, but from it, we both learned from each other through means of collaboration, and with it, how special the internet is in teaching us with a wide range of *free resources.

*at the expense of buying a phone/tablet/computer with service

Well in a full roundabout means from this, I am still a learner, and when I get to the playing field of teaching music and english in the future, I don't believe this feeling of being a student will ever leave me. I understand fully that I need to keep improving my technological abilities (like how to properly size these gifs I include) and also be willing to learn from those who may know more than me, regardless of age. I hope that in making sure that my students know that they have the ability to teach as well, and giving them this opportunity I hope will empower them to pursue dreams. 

Model Teaching from the Bluey Gang: 

I decided to include this compilation of Bluey clips which is on DisneyNow, where they are in Calypso's Classroom. This class is one that I admire so much because some of the most important life lessons are taught here, both from the teacher AND the students. So sit back, watch, and enjoy :)  

https://disneynow.com/shows/bluey/season-02/episode-54-school-friends/vdka29874729 

Connecting, Planning, and Being Transparent.

 In another round of questions and answers, I'm here to talk more about being a "digital native" in todays world, and showing off the ideas of being "connected" both in my private life, and professional life. 

What does it mean to be a "connected" Instructor?

It means about as much as you read into it. For me, I apply being an instructor that is connected to my students lives both in the classroom and outside. my first priority is their safety, health, and well being. Inside the classroom, I make sure that there is a good rapport for the students to feel welcome always, and to be in a safe environment for them to be brave, and learn. If you see recently I've been using a lot of gifs from the show Bluey. This isn't just because I believe this show is just incredibly adorable and I think every human being in any bit of spare time and a disney+ subscription that they have should go watch it, but more because it teaches some of the most valuable lessons in education about the importance of learning anywhere, both at home, and in school. They are role models that students (especially from kindergarten to grade three) can learn from in how to be playful, respectful, and imaginative, but also teaches people like me, adults, how to create environments that guarantee fun, interactive, and safe learning. So for me, a lot of my teaching attributes, including the aspects of being a "connected" instructor, come from this show. 

• 
  Provide space for free thought
• Do not jump straight to the answer, let them figure it out on their own
• Do not just stick to one way of learning
• have FUN with it!

Should Instructors Create a Public Learning Network (PLN)?

if you have full intentions of teaching online in any way shape or form, yes. Having a Public Learning Network makes learning so much easier and more accessible for students, mentors, and all in between to have a "home" to go to when they are lost in their learning process. such lets everyone know what you are going to teach, and how you are going to teach it. seeing lesson plans, and material for learning and so on. This not only will help with teaching, but also helping you find a place to teach, since schools could then just go there and find everything they are looking for to fit their qualifications.

P.S. Bonus if you can have students be apart of that PLN, because not only can students then have a place for themselves to see the overall progress of their learning, but they can then see and learn from others in the process all in one place and location, something that is not as easy to do without one. 

Moving Forward in Life

So I got a few questions to really ponder about today while I blabber on about life. 

So today's big focus is all about technology in the first place. As new things come in, older things phase out. do you ever see anyone using myspace anymore? no. It was all taken over by Facebook. I think similarly with this website. it isn't something people use now that other, more popular social media sites exist and provide the entertainment for us.  

So what influences teachers and students to use technology in the classroom?

Technology as we use it is all more for the sense of convenience. It takes things that usually are long lasting, tedious, and mundane activities, and it gives us shortcuts to learn faster, without having to take every step there. its like driving a car or taking a train somewhere vs. walking to that same destination. These kind of little things help us become more efficient. One of the prime examples that I think about is an essay that is being collaboratively written between me, and 3 other classmates. Less than 20 years ago, we would have to have gotten together to research in the library, find information, collect it in a coherent manner, and then write or type it all out on a computer that we probably rent or loan, since most people didn't have personal laptops at that time, more rather they had desktops that were expensive and a hassle.

Now a days, I just use my phone for everything. Sometimes I get really bothered by the fact that I get a weekly update every sunday on how much I used my phone, and see that there was over 10 hours of my day spent on it. I freak out every time! What am I doing? wasting my life away at this. But then I look at the details. I see the amount of time spent on youtube, watching documentaries about the history of different tribal nations in the Philippines, and how they connect and interact today with the modern "low-land" Filipinos (tribal and traditional filipinos call the modernists "low-land" because the indigenous people live up in the high-lands/mountains while the more modern/western Filipinos are literally lower to the lands, on the ports and seas, speaking spanish/english/tagalog, etc.) and all of a sudden, I don't feel too bad about it, because even though it seems like nothing was done in front of a screen, information filled my mind. It works. I was being productive towards the mind rather than the body. 

Am I a Digital Native? 

Yeah. I definitely am, no doubt about it. I was born in the digital era, and I have never known what life is like without technology. There are hilarious jokes that my parents always talk about how I was the "Little Einstein" not because I excelled in any specific subject or topic, but because at the age of two, I knew how to not only turn on and log into the computer, I knew my alphabet because of the keyboard, but I also could legitimately play this one video game on the computer called Lemmings. Because of this, in elementary school, me, along with many of my friends would already know how to use computers/technology that my teachers would struggle to teach us how to use. It was always a blast teaching the teachers in some cases. 

Easier learning

I think many of the teachers that are digital immigrants are people that genuinely enjoy the classrooms of the early 2000s, because there wasn't an opportunity for us to cheat, but also, the teachers didn't have to focus so much on lesson plans, and they were able to share, use programs, and keep student's attention on reading books, letters, articles, essays, and so on. And of course, we didn't mind because it was always followed with coolmathgames.com, Poptropica, and Club Penguin (RIP). I will say though, that as technology develops, especially the usage of AI chats and robots such as Siri, Alexa, and more recently CPGChat (my Polysci professor taught us how to use), The "native" digital users like me and my generation, are going to be outsourced and become a new generation of digital immigrants, with a different whole generation of technology that we will have to learn, re-learn, while the younger generations grow up in it. 

Reflecting back onto the past.

Me and my roommate wearing
 matching suits for our concert ;) 

Gosh, It has been a while since I've updated this blog, or even looked at it. ever since the pandemic started, this page was just at a standstill. But now, as I am learning how to effectively use technology in a classroom setting, I decided to update this a little bit more. I'm going to include some answers to questions that are a part of my EDU 305 Class, to let them know (and you all) that I can still use technology. But in a quick crash course of the past 3 years since I last really posted, I live in Hawai'i now, I am studying Music and TESOL and Political Science. I've changed my Major 4 times, and I'm graduating soon :) 

Through the Ages (EDU 305):

The joy and wonder of the technological era have made a huge shift in accelerated learning for youth and students of all ages. This has led to many significant achievements in improving the ability to learn things such as maths, languages, and even music! Providing easy go-to lessons, and fast and efficient communications between each of us, from any part of the world! My understanding of how technology works is very reflective in the photo on the left. Even since I was 2 years old, I have known how to use a computer. as a toddler, I would play computer games like Lemmings or Space Pinball, or better yet, mess around and make art on "Paint" and write journal entries about life or random notes on the computer for my siblings to read. ever since I was 2, I have always been tech-savvy in the room. I fully plan to use this skill in both styles of teaching, In person, and Remote. I've been able to program, functionalize, and use a variety of games, videos, and photo resources provided on the internet as valuable tools for educated learning. I have used computers and technologies to create my own online classes, do tutoring, and work hard and diligently on making sure that students can still have the same amount of attention that they need (if not more) than they would in person. 

 Things I hope to learn: 

Active learning Experiences:

My classroom is an active learning experience that incorporates a variety of new resources as we develop as humans. I am here to learn as well while I teach my students, with this, I am always open to suggestions. while I am a current student, I want to make it clear that I am looking to know how to best incorporate any valuable resource that can make my teaching more engaging, exciting, and FUN for all students. 

Online Understanding:

The benefit of my age in the teaching field is that I grew up strictly in the technological era that comes with all of these advances. I was there through it all, the rise and fall of Vine, MySpace, and Facebook when it used to be cool and when it transitioned to the social media app for "old people", Instagram, Snapchat, and most specifically TikTok, which has become a very valuable source of learning for many when used properly. I hope that in this class, I can effectively incorporate the technology that is the "now" and fun thing that my target group would enjoy.

In-person technology understandings: 

I think the most important thing I am going to need help keeping up to date for me, is knowing what kind of work I specifically need to incorporate in my classroom to make sure that technology is only used as a resource and tool for elevated learning, and not have it decelerate, or hinder any progress that I am striving to achieve. I understand that If I don't take into consideration the limitations, and also the surplus of agency students have without moderation, problems occur. so hopefully by the end of this semester, I can replace these goals with actual principles and methods I can and will use in my classroom to help students grow.

-Powell