Final Reflectioon

When we were given instructions for our final teaching assignment, Professor Schneider told us to consider changing our lesson, and doing something daring.  It may succeed, or go down in flames.  My lesson was a  mixed bag, for although the lesson was an engaging one, my choice of technology created problems that made the lesson less effective than it could have been.

Using my laptop with an outdated operating system, Windows 8, meant that it would not be compatible with newe technology.  That, in itself is a take-away for me.  I have been in the process of upgrading my technology and a new laptop is definitely on that list, but it is imperative to have the latest technology whenever you are teaching with technology in an untested environment.  My Powerpoint program worked fine at home, but in the UB classroom environment, anything that could go wrong . . . did. My technical difficulties threw me off, and I am sure made it difficult for my "students" as well.

My lesson focused on the musical style of Woodie Guthrie,  his influences and his influencers.  I wanted to focus on the NAfME standard of having students respond to the music and use concept words to describe what they heard.  Students were given cards with words such as "acoustic instrument," "humor," and "storytelling" to describe the songs that they heard.  The discussions then revolved around why they chose the words they did and how they related to the music. The students, despite the technology setback, were engaged in the lesson.  We did not have time to go through all of the listening examples.  Professor Schneider's comment afterwards suggested that students also explain why certain cards were not chosen.  I thought that was a great suggestion that would have extended the learning into a wider discussion of Folk music and its elements.  

In life, there are often no do-overs.  If I had to choose one, I would have like to do this assignment over.  But, in the end, I think the essence of the lesson was there, and even though the technology affected the overall delivery of the lesson, I think it did illustrate what could happen when technology interfaces with other technology.  It must be compatible, and ideally figured out beforehand.