Technology in the Music classroom

For the purpose of this paper we will use the name Mr. Smith. Upon walking into his classroom I noticed that he had a projector which come to find out is a norm for any high school room now. Mr. Smith had a laptop on a cart with a projector and an overhead projector. He also had two microphones mounted to the upper part of the wall. Mr. Smith uses all of these to help his teaching. The laptop and projector combination allows the students to watch choral performances of themselves and other schools. The students critique the performances and try to use what they see or what they do not see to become better performers themselves. The microphones are also a great learning too; they give the students instant feedback. The choir can record a song and then go back right afterward and listen to it. This gives them a chance to hear what the Mr. Smith is always telling them for themselves and makes them better listeners. Mr. Smith has a guitar teaching program on his computer that is the “text book” for a beginning guitar class. The students have virtual lessons and can learn songs very quickly. The program Cakewalk Studio is a recording program that students can use in an electronic music class. Students can record their own material or create new songs on the computer with the keyboards.

The administration is looking toward technology as a tool, not a solution. They are fine with adding many technological things into the classroom to assist the teacher but are not quite ready to make a full switch to learning straight from a computer just yet. Mr. Smith shares this philosophy as well. “I like using technology in my classroom because the students are more engaged in the material. It makes me a better educator and that’s what it’s all about.” – Mr. Smith

I would have to agree with Mr. Smith and the school on this topic. Technology is a great tool and if we don’t use it as teachers, we are letting the students down. They are missing out on something better and technology has become woven into our world today that we would be doing them a disservice not to share it with them.