The Haydn Hideaway

We just finished up our last class of Internet for Educators at Brandon University. I guess it's time to update the 'About' page. I figured, with the time I should be in #I4Ed, I'll write a blog post to discuss my reflective thoughts on not only this course, but also my time in the Faculty of Education. I'll save the School of Music for another day. Faculty of Education Being an integrated B.Mus/B.Ed student was an interesting experience. Because there are always constantly scheduling conflicts between the School of Music and the Faculty of Education, I take my required education courses whenever I can, in whatever stream I can - doesn't matter if the course is for early, middle, or senior years. Just fit it in there! Because of the mixture of courses, I don't really have a "cohort" in the Faculty of Education. There were some familiar faces in #I4Ed but many of them were new! And of course, no other music education students, so I stuck to m...

I'm so glad I took the time after class to really edit my Final Project the way I wanted it to be. I figured, I had a rough version available if needed to present to the class today (i.e. everyone else had gone already) so I could  present if need be, but I really didn't want to. I learned the video editing program I had didn't allow me to edit the video the way I wanted - adding extra audio over the video files. So, after downloading a few too many video editing apps, HERE WE ARE! So yes, while technically late, this is a version of my final project that I am really happy with. I never used TikTok before making this, but I admit I really liked using it. It was fun to be creative! Thanks for reading.....and watching!

Well, we made it! The final blog post for #I4Ed, Internet for Educators. What a ride it's been! There's been a lot to learn and experience in this course, which will be discussed later as part of my final project (to be shared on this blog as well). In our most recent class, we discussed what some of the biggest and most important changes that digital technology added to education. We got into small groups to discuss before joining back as a whole class. The first idea someone mentioned (which was the exact scenario I thought of also!) was that technology has allowed us to connect with people that we couldn't have before. It is much more accessible with the help of social media to contact authors, scientists, public figures, amongst others to ask them questions or even have them video conference with your class. This is much more engaging for students and these people become more than just faces or names. We also talked about internet courses opening more doors f...

For our final tech task, we are to create an Alternative CV. I decided to use Venngage to create an infographic. After using Venngage, I wish I used it to create my infographic about music careers  (click the link for my blog post). This infographic is actually legible, for free! Bonus. I wasn't too sure what to add to my CV. Since this CV is digital, I figured it was a prime time to add an embedded video of myself playing. Unfortunately, at this time I don't have any recent recordings (however, this is subject to change after my recital in March! Stay tuned...) and I feel like the recordings I do have are not representative of my playing today. This is something I plan on adding to my digital CV later on. I liked the creative aspect of the alternative CV. Building a resume is rather boring and done strategically - I didn't feel the same about preparing this infographic version. Thanks for reading!

This weeks Tech Task is to discuss infographics - what they are, why they could be useful in a classroom, and also to make our own! This will be an interesting task. I'm daunted by having to make my own, but I'll give it a go! An infographic is pretty straight-forward - it is a graphic, with information. The Wikipedia article for 'infographic' states that infographics are "graphic visual representations of information, data, or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly". Using images along with the information makes it more memorable and visually appealing, rather than just a long stretch of text. Infographics in the Classroom Very simplistic infographic for younger students I think infographics could be very useful in the classroom. I see simple ones as posters on the wall, like a rule reminder with a simple image. I could also see ones used to remind students of the goals of the class (ex. "I can feel the beat in my ...

In this weeks blog post for my Internet for Educators course, I will be focusing on the presentation given to us by Matteo DiMuro , a high school math and computer science teacher from Brandon. His presentation focused on coding, but also had touched on flipped classroom at the beginning of his presentation. Flipped Classroom Before Matteo really got into his presentation, he asked how many of us were familiar with flipped classroom. I felt like I had a pretty good idea, but I didn't want to put my hand up in case I was confusing it with something else. Turns out I wasn't the only one, since very few people had their hands up. I knew it was student-led, but I couldn't quite remember the process of flipping a classroom.  Flipped classroom is when students consume and practice material outside of class time, so when students come to class they can be getting individual help from the teacher or working on a lab. By freeing up instruction time from lectures, more time ...

Yes, this blog title is definitely a play on Jerry Seinfeld's show "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee". This week is the Brandon University Indigenous New Music Festival. The festival brings in Indigenous composers from across the country to perform and work with the New Music Ensemble (BUNME). Because of my weekly travels to Winnipeg, I was asked to pick up one of our guests from the airport, Cris Derksen . Cris Derksen is Juno-nominated cellist and composer from NorthTall Cree Reserve in northern Alberta. She is of Cree and Mennonite heritage. She combines her classical training, Indigenous background, and electronic effects to create new sounds and share new perspectives. She has performed and collaborated with other notable artists including Tanya Tagaq, Buffy St. Marie, Kanye West, and A Tribe Called Red. Derksen completed her Bachelor of Music degree at the University of British Columbia where she played principal cello in the UBC Symphony Orchestra. The ...