During the term break I was fortunate enough to have some extra funds
to purchase a wireless modem for my laptop. This has not only been a huge
relief in being able to communicate and work while travelling, but also being
able to use the internet to assist students in their lessons.
For the first week of this term I decided to use this piece of
technology to show a video to my students. From my point of view, this is one
of the most brilliant videos I have ever seen. For others this may not be the
case, and this was certainly apparent with the wide variety of reactions
ranging from amazement to complete disgust.
The following video footage was taken by a doctor, about 5 1/2 years
ago, during his first couple of weeks learning the clarinet. The doctor, being
an ear/nose/throat specialist, decided to fit one of his wire-cameras through
the side of his mouth along with the clarinet. Using a couple of different
settings to view what would be occurring on the inside the following footage
was produced.
The concept of being able to film inside a person’s mouth while playing
is remarkable. I think back to when I was learning in primary and secondary
school, even at university, and my teachers would comment about technique and
delivering the air through the instrument. That accompanied with the wish of
being able to see inside someone’s mouth to know what to adjust. The idea of
being able to see what was occurring inside a single-reed player’s mouth was
something that always boggled my mind. Of course the answer would be to use a
camera, but how to get one to work for you and be of sufficient size was another
matter. But to take the concept further by slowing down the footage in relation
to the frequency of sound to see what is taking place takes things to a new
level. For some students this assisted them in understanding the process of
producing single-reed notes/sounds.
This was what I told each one of my students prior to showing them
this video...
“Twenty years ago I began learning the clarinet. Twenty years ago the
technology to provide and share new information was nothing like what it is
now. Three years after I began learning the internet started to become
commercially available for people to use. Another ten years later the video
sharing website YouTube was made available for people to utilise in terms of
sharing a wide variety of videos.”
Smartboards weren’t in existence when I was in secondary school. Back
in primary school the switch from blackboards to whiteboards was seen as the
cool thing, especially when people were asked to write an answer with a marker
on one. 5 1/4 and 3 1/2 inch floppy disks were being phased out as CDs were
being used a lot more to install software. The progression of computers went
from the Apple ii/e, to the LC series, and then the bubble-gum colours of
iMacs. I still reflect back on some of my earlier school times and remember how
some people would comment on how much easier we were getting things than they
were. Now my generation is starting to pass that same comment on to the current
generation.
I posed the following question to my primary, and some of my
secondary, students; “In twenty years, how do you think technology is going to
change as a part of teaching?” It’s a fascinating, and at times scary, question
that continues to intrigue. It certainly caused a lot of more students to think
upon the idea of how technology could advance further as some gave interesting
ideas as a part of their response. In twenty years, will the children of the
next generation be told the same thing by children of this generation that they
have it easier through the aid of technology?
It’s something we can all think about.
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