Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Teaching/Learning - 20 years ago, and later...


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.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Back into the swing of things.

With the commencement of Term 3 cometh the re-commencement of teaching. The period of a two week break where students regain at least 30 hours per week of not having to attend school will bring about a realisation of whether or not students have used the time to practice and keep up their skills. Especially since there are some who have examinations in just under four weeks!

But what about their teacher? How exactly have I spent my holidays?

First of all, the time off has been well spent with my own son. Bennett is now crawling and really starting to interact now with Emelia (my wife) and I. And not only are we starting to be terrorised by the crawling and having to make sure things are out of reach, but Bennett has started to do some clapping now. It's simply amazing how much babies are quickly capable of learning and how curious and keen they are that they simply want to explore.

My sister-in-law, Eloise, and her fiancee Simon tied the knot in a heart-warming ceremony located at the top of a scenic, yet at times freezing, mountain top. Very interesting times for our family as we had to adapt with Emelia being around Bennett less often since she was involved with being in the wedding party. That meant I had to contain the young son, keep him entertained, and make sure he wasn't as vocal during the ceremony. For some families moving between the wedding ceremony and dealing with children, we all did rather well.

Downstairs is finally being sorted as we work out what to keep and throw away. This is quite exciting for us because not only will we sort out some boxes that haven't been touched for six years, but also it means I have some space to sort out the piano to finally take some footage of it in its reconditioned state.

On the teaching front I wasn't contacted much for lessons in the holidays. I'm hoping students have practiced hard and are feeling extremely confident of achieving very good marks. This meant I could work on some projects of my own. Recordings are becoming an integral part of student learning these days as more people take to video and sound web sites. For my own students I've had the opportunity to make some of my own recordings of their technical or solo pieces. With the technology we have these days more students should be looking at recording themselves and listening to how they play their music.

A few compositions are in the mix at the moment. I still have some works I commenced many years ago that I am revisiting every now and then. Main works I'm working on currently include...
  • ...a five movement program work for one of my students for alto sax and piano. The storyline is based around someone taking a bus ride, and then find that their trip is hijacked resulting in a "bus chase". And no, it isn't based off or related to any past movie where my doppleganger is involved (some people will get this joke).
  • ...a study for bass clarinet with dubstep influence. This was commenced last year, and I am hoping to pick up on it further with a bit more time and inspiration up my sleeve.
  • ...a duet for alto sax and marimba in a similar style to serial composition. I am currently aiming to make this as complex as possible yet feasible for an audience to listen to.
And finally, the constant research and development of furthering teaching technique and strategies. You always learn new strategies whether it is through research, discussion, or even by chance through conversation with other people.

Now it's time for me to get back on the road and keep students on track.