Question 3 ( Finally completed)

In educational settings, how does technology enhance the teaching and learning environment?

Educators controvert many various ways to teach their students effectively. One of the best ways is to use technology to make the ideal environment for students in educational settings. If you are asked what the ideal environment is for teaching and learning, you might immediately have the answer, technology. This is because we have seen many examples on how technology works in educational settings. If so, how does technology affect the teaching and learning environment?

In general, people tend to categorize that technology is just mechanistic devices or machineries. Originally, the roots of technology drives from "Tekhnologia, systematic treatment of art or craft", "Techne (Skill) and Logos(A Study)" by Greek, or "Weave" and "Construct' by Latin. Also, it has the meaning that the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science and pure science. Technology is not just kinds of mechanistic devices nor machineries. It has revolutionalized the life of humans and has made the teaching and learning environment become advanced, convenient, and effective to have various experience for all students alike.

The most important impact is that technology advances educational settings. We have focused on using the computer as a medium including the internet as resourses in the classroom. This is the most popular issue in the modern era regarding educatinal technology. However, in 1709, the piano (pianoforte) was first revealed as the invention of an Italian harpsichord maker named Bartolomeo Cristofori. This could be seen as the beginning of the revolution of educational technology. The invention of the piano was not only music related but also proven science. It caused the teaching and learning environment to rapidly advance, especially music. Modern technology such as the computer, internet and such mediums make the educational environment adapt to a new style incorporating such inventions. As the piano has extensively spread out to people because of its positive educational influence, modern technology is also regarded in the same light.

Moreover, technology has made a convenient environment in educational settings. We set up our own homepage and blogs, made movies and animation, and discussed our opinions about technology through the Internet. We collected a huge amount of information in seconds by just clicking. Also, when we write some articles on the office word program, the incredible technology novel checks that we made a mistake, and warns the user by a red underline, so we can easily find out what the error was. Indeed, technology directly affects educators and students.

More importantly, technology is an effective mean for teaching and learning. Using computers and the Internet in the class are becoming more and more common in schools. No more are the days of a blackboard and chalk, 10lb. dictionaries, etc. Educators can find out useful information without wasting time, and students can have various experience directly whenever  they want. I think this is enough to tempt educators and students in educational settings.

So, what do the view points of Dewey, Bruner, Elliott, McLuhan, and Eisner provide for our consideration when thinking about technology, performing arts, and the process of teaching and learning?

John Dewey - "Educators must first understand the nature of human experience which is referred to as "instrumentalism". For example, my experience of a lesson will depend on how the teacher arranges and facilitates the lesson, as well my past experience of similar lessons and teachers.

Jerome Bruner - "Learning is an active social process in which students construct new ideas or concepts based on current knowledge. Bruner describes learning as what happens when one applies previous learning and life experience to the completion of a new task or the understanding of an unfamiliar concept.

Elliot W. Eisner - "The key to developing knowledge within schooling and other educational settings is to create a varied and stimulating environment in which people become immersed. People need access to the experience of different forms of representation or symbol systems.

Marshal McLuhan - "An extension occurs when an individual or society makes or uses something in a way that extends the range of the human body and mind in a fashion that is new. Every extension of mankind, especially technological extensions, have the effect of amputating or modifying some other extension.

David Elliott - "Musicianship is a form of cognition - a rich form of thinking and knowing - that is educable and applicable to all. The praxial philosophy holds that the process of developing musicianship is a particular kind of learning process that students can engage in and learn how to employ themselves.

Among their mainstream theories, I could find a common opinion that experience is important for teaching and learning. Also, people can have experience based on the practice and the process of teaching and learning. Interestingly, we have argued that technoogy is most advanced, convenient and effective tool for supporting their theories in contemporary era. So, people try to use technology as educational tools and they are getting used to being more and more and easier and easier to use technology. As a result, it helps the educational environment to have changed from subject-centered authoritarian practices, to student centered practices that strive for individual and social change as Prof. Gilbert said on the website. Therefore, technology and education have a direct relationship and have interacted to enhance the teaching and learning environment.

Platon

The men who has music in his soul will be most in love with the loveliest.

- Platon -

Question 2.

 Discuss someways that I can use my art to enhance student acquiring English literacy skills.

This is not an easy question as an international student. this is because, at first, I had to know what the English literacy skills are and how student can acquire English literacy skills. However, I believe that English literacy skills are same as Korean literacy skills. Also, to enhance students acquiring English literacy skills as a music educator, I should notice what music education's problem is.

MUSIC is familiar to every one. A baby already has a sense of feeling by the baby's mother before a boy or a girl is born. Right after the baby's birth, the baby begins to develop the sense of hearing and feeling abilities. Because of these abilities, the baby can become to discern, understand and express their thought. So, everybody can sing even children at the age of 2~3 years can sing. Even though they can learn the songs or the music by themselves, why do educators teach the songs in schools? 

About 2000 years ago, Greek believed the importance of music for people was to be adapted to the ideal politic system or social, and in the medieval period, the importance of music was considered to be important for people's religion. For the seventeen century philosophies, music was needed to maintain people's morality. In the 18 century, Singing School movement began to increase the quality of the church music in the USA. In 1838 when the USA government allowed to teach at public schools as a regular subject, people believed that music is helpful mentally, morally, and physically for human beings. And then, the interest of music educators became focused on just singing until the 1920's. From 1930's to 1950's, music was widely extended to music activity such as to singing the songs, playing the instruments, creating music and listening to the music. Since 1960's, music has been treated in the various way much more than before in schools.

As time went on, people have had the different concept of the importance of music in each era. 

In modern era, the most important thing for educator is to have the right direction to teach in school's classrooms. Educators should notice what kinds music and what kinds intention will be used for student to experience in the music classroom. They should have educational strategies. If students are provided limited music education like just singing or just listening to the music, they cannot have the variety of experience. It is obvious that the singing is the one of important actives, but their experience through music is much more broader. Moreover, if students are offered just the singing class or just the listening to music, they can have different experience depend on what educator have the intension. 

In conclusion, the most important role of music for students is to provide an opportunity that student have their own thought. It means that students can have experience to analyze, judge and criticize through the process of music,the music practice.  I think this is related with Elliot saying, "the original meaning for the art had much more to do with the process than with the product"  So, music educators should help students to have various experience, feel dynamic emotion and represent their great ideas by music or through music. As a result, music educators will be able to help to enhance students acquiring English literacy skills.

1. Discuss Three of the Websites of My colleagues (Alejandro and Jessica)

Alejandro Baez's Page I bet he can have a part time job as a web designer. During three weeks, I could see he was trying to de his best. He must have spent for a long time with his computer to organize his website. I am posting the picture that I am impressed. Next time, I want to ask that how he could make the moving words in the bar?( and moving word,"welcome"). Also, I think he uses the table effectively in his tech page. His website is designed by the exciting animation and well organized the each webpages. Using the table is enough to attract to people. It is one of the most important roles for the website. Also, his explanation could be the guideline for the students who are interested in the creating website.....

Welcome to Yan Zhu's (Jessica's) Homepage I have observed Jessica's website for four weeks. She is such a genius person. Every time I logged in her website, she easily posted the assignment right after the class. The most impressing thing is her Tech Assignment Page. Posting the picture matching with the subject is a great idea. Also, I like her movie. I almost forget how beautiful New York is. Because of living in New York or being busy life, it is easy to ignore the valuable thing around me in NY. I thinks her movie could be advertisement for NY visitors. I like her animation in the Tech Assignments Page rather than in her animation assignment page, the Statue of Liberty. It is just my personal opinion.

1. Discuss Three of the Websites of My Colleagues (Nicole's)

Nicole's New and Impressed Website!- It is true that Nicole's website is reborn and so impressive. She is definitely good at the technological skill. I posted the picture that I was impressed above by her technology skill. Even I couldn't thinks about that it could be explained in detail like above picture. I knew that she was good at not only music, but also this kinds of technological skill when she sat next to me in the class. Besides, her final concrete music is awesome~ What a great idea to mixed your movie and concrete music. I almost though it is one of the scene in the X-file. Personally, I really liked the television show the X-File. It was long time ago to enjoy the X-File,  so I was glad to hear that music again. It makes me to remind in Korea. (I like the background color too. Is it the bright pastel green?)

Here is the responsibility as an educator

I reply to Abaez about the comment for me to keep discussing about social network (cell-phone)

Classmates:

Abaez,

Thanks for the posting great comment. You are right. it is true that there are some disadvantage in wild developing technology in Korea and the maintaining balance is difficult to people. However, you might know that everything has advantages and disadvantage, merits and demerits, or strength and weakness.

 When I prepared a group presentation for the class last week, our group members thought that the Internet is the great tool for social network of education, but there must be disadvantages. Yes, we knew what disadvantages are as we said in the presentation. So, we should be the educator who try to keep the balance for children's or student's education in schools. If we were technologists, it would be easy that we try to spread out the only advantages for developing technology. However, we are not the technologists, but the educators.

I bet that American deeply think of other related issues for not using like Korea. First time when I came in NY, I could not understand not to be able to use the cell-phone in the subway. Every Korean who just arrived in the United States might feel uncomfortable about that. As I have lived in NY for a few years, I realize that there is more important things, such as security, air noise, or other issues, than that just using the cell-phone in the subway.

I know the United States is the advanced country in extensive fields, ranging from business and technology to education. So, many foreign students came in NY to learn those things. I think that both Korea and American have different values to develop each field. However, there is one thing that we can do in education field whether we are Korean or American. The thing is that we should try to find advantage of technology to use education field with the least damage. I believe that this is one of our significant responsibility as educators.

Another Function of the cell-phone performing

Just fun.

Incredible skill.