Week 3 Wimba Leadership Project Sharing

Although I was unable to attend the week 3 Wimba session I thought I would take the opportunity to discuss my publication document.

My leadership document is based on my Challenge Based Research; integrating technology into the music classroom, specifically high school band.

The paper includes an abstract describing the overall CBR project, literature review, pre and post surveys, and the two phases of the project. The final section describes the outcomes of student engagement based on the post survey.

In the literature review the big idea began to emerge, which was motivation and engagement. The paper  discussed how music and technology are motivators as separate entities, as well as combined.

In both phases, I used technology combined with music education to draw the students into deeper learning. They had complete access to Web 2.0 tools (www.aviary.com, www.podbean.com) , as well as desktop software to create, edit, and publish their music projects. They were also allowed to publish their work to a podcast hosting site linked to iTunes as an RSS feed.

The results were as anticipated. Technology is an important draw to students as they showed a high level of motivation to continue working with technology in music, and to continue in band. The project was a success.

Leadership Project Document

Julia Hutchinson gave me feedback via email about the document. Here are her comments. 

Abstract -

David, your abstract gives a wonderfully concise picture of your yearlong CBR. It presents a clear picture of the problem, plan of action, and the results.

Introduction/Motivating Students Paragraphs -

Great intro. The paragraph after the intro paragraph unnecessarily repeats from the intro in regards to educators having a problem with motivation and engagement in the classroom.the sentence that starts with, "The research findings revealed that the 86..." needs a little tweaking for present/past tense consistency.

" In similar research, and in an aim to involve..." --- excellent paragraph 

"Hammel (2003) discussed the importance..." --- excellent paragraph

"Motivating Students Through Technology"

The two sentences that begins with Burns (2006) could be one paragraph. The second Burns sentence needs tense tweaking.

"Combining Music and Technology in Music Education" and "Conclusion"

These areas are beautifully written!

Phase 1 Data - excellent. I can visualize your students engaging in this project, creating music loops, RSS feeds and giving each other feedback.

Data Collection - excellent. (Just a thought: since you have nine students, I wonder if it would be better to give the number rather than the percentage? Not sure, again, just a thought.)

Phase 2 Data - excellent
Data Collection - excellent!

Conclusion - excellent

David, I really enjoyed reading your paper. I didn't have to force myself to 'get it'. Aside from a few minor adjustments, I would argue that your paper is an outstanding presentation!!

Julia Hutchinson