A Night Off

I was tired on Tuesday. It was another in a string of long and busy days that included the weekend and most of the week before. It had been a full day of teaching, plus a staff meeting that included training on our new online evaluation system which took my brain from a steady sizzle to crispy fried. After that I had some of the usual errands, dinner, and convincing my four year old that she was both hungry and then tired.

There were things I needed to catch up on after she did finally go to sleep. Student assignments. Emails. Flyers. Chaperone assignments for upcoming field trips.

But I took the night off.

The dogs and I curled up on the couch and I finally finished the book I'd been trying to polish off since the school year started. After that, I went to bed early. It was marvelous.

I'm an adult (ish) and a teacher though. I get the option to decide how much work I do and when. There are deadlines, but they're often far enough away that I can fit things into my schedule when I have the opportunity and I can prioritize how I spend my time. Students don't often get that choice.

When the subject of self care comes up, work life balance is a huge factor. But kids get little input in their own balance. They're assigned homework with almost immediate deadlines, often from multiple teachers simultaneously. They have practices, games, competitions, family gatherings, chores, etc.

Maybe so many of us struggle to balance work and our personal life because we often take away the chance to learn how to manage it as kids. 

I wonder about this often for not only my students, but my daughter. How, as both an educator and a parent, can I do better at helping the kids in my life figure out how to prioritize, goal set, and take breaks when needed, when so much of their scheduled time is not of their own choosing?

I don't have an answer for this yet. I may not ever. But I'm hoping that a greater awareness from my side will help me to help them.

What are your thoughts? How do you help? When do you decide to take a night off?

Return of #GeniusHour Part 3

Progress! Students are working hard on their projects. This year seems to be going better than last, and a lot of that has to do with having a better idea of how to get students rolling and laying out clearer expectations. There's a greater variety in what they're working on this year as well (we'd LOVE it if you leave them a few comments!!!) Last year, all students were limited to relating their project to music. Because the 8th Graders have done this process once though, they had the option of anything related to the arts.

I am running into a few more engagement issues this year than last. The first time, I had them in the media center to work on projects less often so work was more focused. However, most students said last year that more time would have really helped. We've been in there pretty much exclusively over the last week and a half though, so there's less of a drive to get things done in the time we're here. Next year will need some revamping of our time and possibly steering more towards calling these Passion Projects instead of Genius Hour.

Next week will be focused on putting together presentations and practicing them!

For my inventory project, I have almost all of our instruments into the new system and with going through this process, I also have a better idea of my repair priority list too. Next week's goal will be finding the remaining straggling instruments still at students' homesprinting and attaching all of the QR codes. I'm really excited with how this is turning out and am looking forward to creating a "how to" post that others might be able to utilize to set up their own QR inventory.

To share my process with students (since I'm doing a project along with them), I'm thinking an infographic might work out. It will have information including a breakdown of how many instruments, how many of each type, links and resources I used, etc.

Two weeks to go!

Return of #GeniusHour Part 2

Student projects are already starting to take shape and I've gotten to start working on my inventory project as well.

Student projects:

• We've started blogging! Building on last year's experiences, I wrote this post to help provide guidelines for writing blog posts. (Thank you to Aubrey Yeh for sharing and helping me gain some feedback to share with students!!!) From reading through what they've shared so far, it does seem to be helping. Blogs were a big thing I wanted to improve on from last year and they're looking better already. The students would LOVE some feedback on their writing and projects. Please check out their posts and leave a comment. It would be really cool if you mention where you're from in the comment too!
• There's a pretty interesting array of projects being worked on so far. Since the 8th Graders did this last year with a focus around anything musically related, we opened up to anything in the arts. Some students are excited to be working on things that interest them even more than what they were able to do last year.
• With two weeks of in class working left, time is going to go faster than they realize. I'm going to get the presentation sign up posted for them next week so that they can start planning accordingly.

My project:

• I've actually started getting instruments added to the inventory I laid out here. This is going to be a challenge as tedium is not a strong suit for me. However, it needs to be done and will be a huge help in the long run.
• Our district technology specialists came through big time and found me an extension to add links to the folders I create to a Sheet! From there I'll use another extension to create the QR codes. 
• I'm really wishing I had a label maker to do the QRs as I go along. Things could start to get confusing when instruments I haven't made it to yet get added to those I have. Right now I'm going to focus on getting everything into the system and doing the QR's at the end. 
• Borrowing a cart so that I can move instruments down to the media center as the students are working is going to be a must if I want to get this done in time. Time to talk with the custodians to see what I can use for a bit.
• I am planning on presenting at the end too since I'm following along with the project guidelines the students are following. Since I gave them such a hard time about Thinking Outside the Powerpoint, I really want to come up with a fun way to share on a not particularly fun subject. I'm open for ideas on a cool way to present my learning!

Blogging Basics

With our Genius Hour in full swing, one of the big things I wanted to improve on from last year's experience was blogging. Using this post as an example for my students, here are some of the basics we'll be following as we use KidBlog.Org again this year:

• Use only your first name and last initial in your blog.
• Make sure you have permission to use any images you share, including your background or header for your posts. DO NOT just take an image from a Google search. Use your own photos or try Creative Commons or Pixabay.
• Come up with some kind of catchy title and then stick with it! Use Part 1, Part 2, etc. It will be easier for others to track your blogs though our KidBlog link and something more interesting than "My Project" is going to attract more attention.
• Your blog, including the avatar you choose, represents you, our band, our school, our district, our county, our state, and even our country! 
• Writing for a blog is a little less formal than an essay for class, but your writing needs to be something you're comfortable sharing beyond those who know you. You should still use complete sentences, punctuation, etc. 
• Posts don't need to be a full five paragraph essay, but just a couple of sentences is not enough either. Give details. Be specific.
• Link back to previous blogs to help others track your journey. 
• Your blog should reflect on your process, share new things you've learned, and request feedback from your reader.
• Invite your reader to be part of a conversation! Ask questions, seek advice, etc. Getting comments is a great way to learn from others and can be a lot of fun!
• It doesn't just have to be writing! Include pictures of your project, links to sites you're using, screenshots, etc.
• Posts do not have to be very long, but do need to have some substance.
• You should be doing a minimum of one post per week through the end of our project. 

To those experienced bloggers and/or Genius Hour-ers, do you have some other tips you'd include for my students? Please leave some feedback and say Hi to my students in the comments!

Recording Exchange

Through the magic of Twitter, we were able to connect with a band in California that was playing one of the same pieces as us last year. We exchanged recordings and the students were able to give and receive some really good feedback. I've tried this to a degree with other pieces, but students were able to give much more meaningful comments on music they were familiar with.

I would really love to do that again this year. I tried posting in the Facebook Band Directors Group but wasn't able to connect with anybody playing the same music. A lot of other teachers were interested in doing the same thing but ran into the same problem. I'd like to try one more time and hopefully a few more of us can connect with other ensembles to share.

If you're interested, please fill in your information on this awesome site created by the one and only Aubrey Yeh! Hopefully we can get some more directors and bands connected and get our kids thinking and sharing!

Word Wall 2.0

I'm making some headway on my list of new things to try this year. One of the techy ones was to create an interactive word wall using augmented reality. The idea is that when a word on the wall is scanned with the appropriate app, a video comes up with an explanation and/or demonstration of the term. I saw the idea at MACUL a couple of years ago and I've been dying to try it out. There were a few kinks to be worked out as I was learning some of the technology right along with the students, but most of them have it done now and I'm really happy with how it's looking!

While there are many augmented reality applications and sites out there, we used BlippAR. Within a couple days of requesting an educational account, I had an email invite to set it up. Once you're set up, you'll have to add your students under your umbrella account by choosing manage users, and then invite them to your project. It's important that students create within one project so that only one campaign code is needed to read all their Blipps.

Once my eighth graders set up their account through my invite and created a word card that would go on the wall, I shared these directions in Google Classroom.

Through trial and error and a few emails/chats with our extremely helpful Blippar representative here are some things we figured out:

• One challenge we encountered was that the image and video have to be pulled from the computer's storage. Most students did their image and video on their phones and sent them to their email to be downloaded to the computer, then uploaded into BlippAR (this whole process was actually more complicated than creating the actual Blipp!). If students had a cord to directly plug into the computer, it was much easier than trying to email large files.
• Another issue was that .MOV wasn't always cooperative to get into the program and edit correctly as .mp4. Once we figured that out, a lot of students used free file converters online and it fixed many issues.
• Students do not need to publish and make their Blipp live. As long as it works with the campaign code entered in the settings, others with the same code will be able to see their creation. If they publish it live, it will not work because one of the ways BlippAR keeps things secure for students is to keep things visible only to those that the codes are shared with.
• After adding the video to the Blipp, students should wait a minute or two before clicking Test/Publish to see if it works. If they do it too soon, sometimes the video hasn't finished processing.
• It doesn't just look cooler if the word is decorated and uses some color, it makes it easier for the app to distinguish between that and the other things it picks up in the background.

Our still under construction, but good looking "wall!"

The larger paper in the upper left includes instructions on what app to use and the campaign code that has to be entered so that the videos associated with the cards will work. You can see it closer here.

While I did miss the ease of instantly creating on a mobile device like I've done before with younger students in Aurasma, BlippAR's design studio provides the possibility of some really interesting student creation, as well as providing me a platform to assist students with their projects directly. Having our own representative for additional support was great too! Email feedback was responded to quickly, and I even did a Google Hangout with our rep because BlippAR is looking to learn and continue to improve their educational offerings. 

Now that I've finally gotten to try it, I'm looking forward to finding other ways to incorporate this into our classroom. Once we got past some of the initial frustrations, the students seemed to really enjoy it and I love the reactions of students and colleagues who have never used augmented reality! 

Do you use AR in your classes? Have some ideas on other ways to get students creating with it? Please share!

New Year, New Ideas

Just like people post about goals on their social media so that others check in and hold them accountable, I'm going to try the same idea with plans to start the school year and continue throughout. I've forced myself to actually take time off this summer and wait until August to start officially planning, but that means I've got a lot of ideas bouncing around that I haven't actually put down on "paper."

I'm hoping that posting these will help me keep on track:

• Continue to move more towards standards based grading, even though I'm on an A-E system. I want to establish clearer rubrics so that students better understand the system and can use it to improve as well as find better ways for students to feel that they earned a "successful" grade at the end of the marking period. Last year students were allowed unlimited retakes, extremely flexible deadlines, and I stopped including behavior as a part of their grade. However, many did not take advantage of these opportunities and so ended up with grades that they were not expecting from "just band." I've gotten some great resources from a friend on how he used it with his bands and need to really sit down and work it out for mine. 
• Giving my student more input and control over our social media. Each class hour will have a section of the week that will be in charge of coming up with one post and one summary of that week's activities to be included on the update for our website. They can take pictures and email me the caption to go with their post that I'll then share on our accounts. Student posts will also have their own hashtag in addition to our school and fine arts tags. 
• Interactive word wall. I saw the idea to create an interactive word wall using Aurasma at MACUL a couple of years ago, but until this year didn't have the circumstances to try it. The eighth graders will be assigned musical terms and have to design a card with their word on it. When the word is scanned with the app, a short video of that student will come up with an explanation and demonstration. When new terms come up in our  music, students will now be able to learn from each other, even if they're not in the same class.
• Updating room decorations. Seventh graders will work in groups to come up with relevant quote posters for the room. We're fortunate to have an actual poster printer, so they'll create them online with sites like Canva.
• Flexible seating options. Obviously this cannot be done full scale in a band room. Putting a 6th grade tuba player on a yoga ball is just screaming for unpleasant headlines, lawsuits, and job searching. What I imagine are some spaces at the front of the room and around the outside with some comfy chairs, stools, cushions, etc that can be easily moved and stacked. Many students come in almost half an hour before school starts and hang out with friends and we also do a lot of collaborative work that doesn't always involve their instruments. I'd like to have some options other than band chairs and stands for kids. My first step will be to reach out to our families and see what they might have sitting in the basement that they'd be willing to donate. Next I'll try some resale shops and my last stop will be Amazon. As it comes in, I'll have students help figure out how to arrange things and get it all set up.

What are some of your new ideas this year? Please share and we can help keep each other motivated!

An Alternative to the Practice Minute Log

Ah, the practice minute log. Few topics will bring up as heated a discussion among instrumental teachers as grading students for minutes practiced outside of school.

On one side you'll get the arguments about how they've been used for years, recommended numbers of minutes per age/grade, and a general belief that even if some kids are lying about their numbers, it's still encouraging more kids to practice than if there were no logs assigned at all.

On the other side you'll find people frustrated with the dishonesty students (and sometimes parents) display in regards to numbers of minutes, people equating them to reading logs which are also under fire, and the frustrations of a one size fits all approach to assigning practice.

Both sides mean well and want to find ways to help students establish solid practice routines.

I'd like to offer an alternative to the minute log.

Practice reflection videos.

Without the technology available today, these would not have been feasible before. However, with the multitude of available online learning management systems, including my choice, Google Classroom, it's a highly doable option.

I'll be the first to admit that practice reflections were a work in progress over the course of the year, but the information gained from them was worth their use and continual revising.

How:

• To start off, students were allowed to choose any goal they wanted. For the beginners, many used their first one to do things like show how to put their instrument together or make a sound on the mouthpiece.
• In each reflection they had to demonstrate their improvement from the week before and set a new goal.
• It was a requirement to play in each reflection (a few kids got into a habit of showing how to disassemble/reassemble their valves for weeks on end...).
• Occasionally, a specific section of music was assigned in preparation for a concert. They had to demonstrate their skill at it one week, then show their improvement the next.
• Reflections were credit/no credit. They could be turned in late, but no more than two weeks past their original due date OR had to be in prior to the concert they may have been directly related to. Students who did not earn credit (likely due to not demonstrating by playing something) had the opportunity to redo it as long as they stayed within the final deadlines.

Why:

• If they have to take home their instrument, get it out, and play something related to what you're working on, you've won half the battle! They're playing their instrument at home!
• Practice reflections gave insights into student learning, thinking, and overall trends. Individual feedback could be given through Google Classroom, but if there was an overall theme to a week's reflections, it was addressed in class.
• Treating them as musicians and not just students puts them in charge of their own learning. Rather than just meeting a minute quota, they were told they needed to practice as much as was necessary to meet their goal. Some weeks this meant more or less time, which is how a musician would determine their practice time.
• Students could set their own pace. While some students were still figuring out the difference between a whole and half note, other kids had been taking music lessons for years before starting band and were trying to figure out much more difficult music.
• Classes this past year were anywhere from 30-55 students. Watching these videos offered a chance to check in on individuals which is difficult in a large class. Additionally, when taken out of the class setting, it was a nice opportunity to get to know the student a little better. Many kids really enjoyed talking to the camera and often introduced siblings, family members, and even pets who may have popped through their video.

A few challenges:

• These take a lot more time to go through than checking off minute logs if you view them all. As the year went on and students figured out their process, practice reflections became more efficient and were assigned less often though. Since their videos were all in Google Classroom, they could be checked from the comfort of my couch, but they can be time consuming. At this point, I just spot check them, but rarely watch every student's video every time. 
• This was a big cultural shift. For students who had older siblings go through the program and do minute logs, this was a change in the expected routine. Even those who had no specific expectations for class requirements were stumped for a bit. The freedom of choosing and working on their own goals was a new concept for many.
• While we're fortunate to be in a district where most students have a phone or tablet to use, not all students have access to a device to do their recordings. Those students would upload them to Google Classroom at home, so some students did them in school with one of our devices.

Feedback? Ideas? Ways to make this system better? Other alternatives to minute logs? Please share in the comments!

My #GeniusHour Self Evaluation

What an awesome adventure this was! I am already very much looking forward to trying this again, especially now that I've got a better handle on how the students will go through the process.

If you'd like to see some of the other posts about the great things kids did and how this all started, check these out:
Genius!
All They Can Say is 'No
I Wish EVERY Hour Was #GeniusHour

Here are some additional highlights and things that need improvement for the next time:

Highlights:

• Most students gave very positive feedback about the whole thing. Common themes in their evaluations were how much they enjoyed the freedom of choice in groups, topics, and presentations.
• While there was some overlap, we learned about a very broad range of topics. Everything from programming Arduinos, to the financial backing needed for a Broadway show, to the history of Korean music, to music's impact on the body and mind, to making reeds, mallets, xylophones and even music boxes! Many students also worked on composing and performing new music, with several even working on secondary instruments.
• Finding mentors was a challenge for many groups, but those that were able to get feedback learned so much! The excitement of receiving an email or blog comment was a great thing to witness. 
• If you really want to see kids work hard on their writing, have them write for someone who's not you! They wrote, rewrote, peer edited, and rewrote again before blogging, emailing, or responding in either of those platforms. We discussed so much about email and blog etiquette...in band!
• Most students were excited to come in and work every day. Not only that, but most were very self directed because they were interested in what they were working on. My concerns about doing this in such large classes were mostly unnecessary. Minus the occasional quick verbal redirect, students were engaged right through the end of the year and it was a lot of fun to watch!

Kicked off #geniushour presentations w/ performances, demonstrations, and some cool tech! #leadwithHART #RCSarts pic.twitter.com/G2O6EaiFtq

— Hart MS Bands (@HartMsBands) June 15, 2016

Needs Improvement:

• Needing more time was a common complaint. We had several days a week to work during the last month of school, but parts did feel rushed, especially because we should have spent more time brainstorming project ideas together. Many students said that they didn't know what to choose and wished they would have picked a different topic than what they ended up with.
• One thing I didn't take into account was the summer break schedule at most colleges and universities. Many students reached out to professors for help, but since we didn't start these until late May/early June most were not around to respond. Because we'll likely do this again in the spring next year, we'll have to start things earlier so that they can hopefully make contact before many professors leave for summer.
• While many students really enjoyed the freedom of the set up, it made many students uncomfortable. Several said that they wished I'd given more ideas for projects, but I really tried to avoid that so that they'd pick something they were really interested in and not just go with something I said because it was easy. Giving more time to brainstorm together next time will be a definite must. Doing more structured brainstorming would be helpful too, but I'm not sure what that would look like. Ideas?
• I mentioned this in a previous post, but we really need to do more talking about blogging before they start writing them. The format was very unfamiliar and while some took to it pretty naturally, many struggled with it.
• Presentations posed a few challenges:
• I needed to come up with the max time limit sooner in the process as students prepared their final presentations. Many had to make alterations to fit in the available time slot.
• We needed to discuss more about what a presentation should/should not be. Many were so focused on creating a final product (ie:  composition) that they didn't really present any learning, just perform. The idea that this was supposed to be more about their learning process rather than a final "thing" was a newer idea for many and something I needed to be clearer on.
• Too many slides with too much text. I really tried to drive home the idea of "what kind of presentation would you enjoy watching?" but the slides are just too deeply ingrained. Maybe in the fall, we can do some kind of Ignite style presentation to help at least get past the idea of writing whole paragraphs of information and then reading the slides to us. Then we could do Genius Hour again next spring and they'll have some other ideas for how a presentation can look.
• Because presentations took  place during the very last couple days of school, there was no time to discuss their self evaluations. Next year I need to allow for a little more time at the end for students to complete them during school and to give us time to debrief after everything is done.

Lots of composer/performers today too in #geniushour! pic.twitter.com/hpPkrH7T9s

— Hart MS Bands (@HartMsBands) June 17, 2016

For our first try, this was (as I kept saying every time someone asked me about it) SO cool! While there were some problems I should have better anticipated, there are just some things you have to try yourself no matter how many great people share advice and ideas. 

Even though it's almost a year away, I want to plan and prepare so that I can set students up for more success next time around. What do you think? Suggestions to help with processes that need improvement for next time? Other thoughts? Please share in the comments!

I Wish EVERY Hour Was #GeniusHour

That title is a from a parent quoting her student as he talked about his Genius Hour project. It also came as part of one of the nicest emails I've ever gotten from a parent. If that's not a sign of heading in the right direction, I don't know what is.

Along with continuing their research and seeking out mentors, students began blogging this week. Though I wanted to use Blogger, I'm starting to see the benefits of using KidBlog.Org. The options to do things like moderate comments or help edit a post have been really helpful, especially since this is their first attempt blogging. They even mentioned us in a Facebook post after we tagged them in a tweet!

I've already got some ideas on how to approach blogging better the next time around. Some of the titles of their posts are engaging or at least help the reader have an understanding of what their project will be, but others aren't as much and so they're not getting as many comments. Next time, students will pick one title and each post after that will be a "part 1, part 2, etc" to have better continuity. Another thing I needed to better impress on them was to leave some questions at the end of their post to invite the reader into a conversation rather than just an update. Specific questions are more likely to gain comments.

At this point I think every student has gotten at least one comment on a post, thanks to some awesome friends and people who have been keeping up with us through things like Twitter. It's been an important aspect to help them really get that what they're sharing is going out to the world, not just me. If you've got a few minutes and would be willing to comment on some posts and leave your location as part of the comment, it would mean so much to them! 

Something else I introduced this week was that they'll be self-assessing their grade. Some students were overly excited ("Sweet. I get an A."), but most seemed excited and understanding for the right reasons. I'm planning on having them do a Google form that will serve as not only their self assessment, but a survey on the Genius Hour process. Any grade will have to be justified with evidence of what they've done and learned over the course of the final few weeks of school. 

While there were some concerns about the size of my classes (45 and 55 students) most students seem to be not only on task, but really engaged with what they're doing. Watching them get excited about what they're discovering, or getting an email from a mentor or comment on their blog has been some of the most fun I've ever had as a teacher! We have one full week of school to go so from here, the focus will start to shift to how students are choosing to share their learning. 

Thoughts on the process or projects so far? This is absolutely something I'll be doing again, so I really want to continue to improve it. I'm particularly interested in suggestions about self assessing their work.

If you're interested in where this started from, here are my first two posts:

Genius!

All They Can Say Is 'No'

All They Can Say Is 'No'

We started talking about our Genius Hour projects a few weeks ago, but this past week we officially started working on them. If this week was any indication I'm going to quickly go from a genius hour enthusiast to an evangelist.

Just like the teachers who have done this project before me, I'm happy to share that enthusiasm and engagement is pretty high. Considering that we only have three weeks of school left filled with tons of other activities, that alone is pretty exciting. There are a few students who are aiming a little lower than they're capable of, but I'm hoping that seeing the work their friends are doing will inspire them for when we do these projects again in the future.

Getting to work on #geniushour in 7th Grade! #leadwithHART #RCSarts pic.twitter.com/XkJjzKIznK

— Hart MS Bands (@HartMsBands) May 25, 2016

I think the best part of this week has been going through the process of finding and contacting mentors.  We started with a detailed discussion of what a professional email should look like including an introduction, description of their project, specific questions, and a closing. I've had students spend two classes writing, revising, asking for help, and revising again so that they can get their email just right. The idea that they're reaching out to someone other than me or another teacher has been really  motivating.

Another big standout moment was helping a student find a mentor to help her learn more about the differences in pop music around the world. She asked for advice on who to contact and I was honest saying I wasn't sure, but I'd ask on Twitter (which once again came through and helped put us in touch with some great people!) and her eyes got big for a second. She said "I was just going to ask for help in the media center, but I can see you're thinking bigger than that."

The mantra of the week has become "All they can say is 'no.'"  Students are reaching out to professional musicians, composers, college and university professors, programmers, researchers, writers, ballet companies, instrument manufacturers, and more! They've really taken the idea of aiming high to heart and it's been wonderful seeing the excitement when they get a response.

Next weeks goals are to have a mentor in place if that hasn't been done yet and to take our first steps into blogging. There won't be much time for a lot of posts, but I really want them to have the experience of writing for a wider audience than just their mentor and me.

Stay tuned for more updates next week as we continue the adventure!

8th Gr hard at work on #geniushour projects! Excited to start getting mentor responses! #leadwithHART pic.twitter.com/Ju0kTgLnMC

— Hart MS Bands (@HartMsBands) May 27, 2016

Adventures in Chamber Music

Great crowd and great music!#leadwithHART #RCSarts #musedchat pic.twitter.com/gvStmw8J5U

— Hart MS Bands (@HartMsBands) May 20, 2016

What a night we had on Friday!  After months of work, our students performed at our first ever Chamber Music Night! It was not without its bumps, but there are just some things that have to try first to get a feel for the best way to make them work. 

Friday's event started about a week after I got the job this summer. I was meeting with my new teaching partner, Lauren. She is the band director at the high school across the street and also teaches one of the four sections of sixth grade band at the middle school. We were sharing ideas for where our program would go and she started telling me about some of the very cool composition and chamber music projects her students were doing. This turned into:

• What if the high school students could actually hear their compositions performed?
• What if the middle school students played them?
• What if the high school students had a culminating event to share the music they'd been working on?
• What if we did one big blow out event?
• What if we did it at the park downtown in the spring?

And so Chamber Music Night was born! Lauren's student created their midterm compositions with the middle school students in mind. About six weeks ago, we shared a folder through Google Classroom with all of their compositions for the middle school students to start going through.

The whole process was as student driven as we could possibly make it. Students created the music, students selected the music and chose their own groups, students practiced together with minimal teacher intervention, and students performed. It was absolutely wonderful witnessing students as young as sixth grade having musical conversations. As we grew closer to the event, they even had the opportunity to perform for their classes and receive student (and some teacher) feedback.

We had a beautiful night! Families came prepared with picnics, set up on the hill, and enjoyed the performances. But while the preparation and weather went pretty smoothly, the event itself admittedly did not. Our sign up list was set up on the minute within a three hour block. Students with longer pieces signed up for multiple time spots in a row, however with all of the middle school and high school student participating in at least one group, we ran out of sign up spots. We started at 5PM and quickly ended up about 30-40 minutes behind the schedule. For those who have experienced it, the situation felt much like running a Solo and Ensemble room that was running late.

Most families were very understanding, but some were very justifiably frustrated, especially those whose students had selected a specific time because of another event that evening. We worked hard to keep things moving (which they really did, as one group left the stage another was coming on. No down time.) but the last performers didn't go on until about 8:40 when we were supposed to be done at 8:00.

Now that we've done it here are our alterations for next year's so far:

• Sixth graders will double up on parts (duet will be four people, trio will be six, etc). Even though we were really going for the responsibility of individual students on individual parts, this will help both their confidence for their first small ensemble performance, and it will be a big help on time.
• Keep high school performances to three minutes or less.
• We need more pieces composed for groups larger than two. Many of the pieces written were duets so we needed more groups to allow for all students to perform.
• Pieces composed by the high school students cannot be longer than 16 bars (in 4/4).
• Possibly start earlier and end a little later.
• Plan some breaks into the performance schedule so that we have a chance to get caught up if necessary.

The work that went into providing our students an authentic performance experience was well worth it and we're already excited for possibilities next year's Chamber Music Night will bring.

Suggestions for keeping things running smoothly? Ever done something like this before and have words of wisdom?

So I Had This Idea...

...and I can't wait to try it again!

If you'd like to see the whole story, check these links:
So I Have This Idea...(pt 1)
So I Have This Idea...(pt 2)
So I Have This Idea...(pt 3)
So I Have This Idea...(pt 4)
So I Have This Idea...(pt 5)

I learned so much through this process and I'm hoping my students did too (still waiting on their post-concert reflections to come in).  Here were some highlights as we wrapped our preparations up and performed this week:

• It was neat watching our Nick, our student conductor, come into his own as he great more comfortable up front. My favorite day was when he started things off saying that there were some issues the day before that he wanted to fix. He took us through some problem areas and was very open to coaching from the noisy baritone player in back (AKA: Me).
• I did finally cave and rehearse one small chunk of the piece to clean it up for performance. There was a spot in 3/2 that was really challenging the group and making it difficult to stay together. I went through it a few times and then had Nick take them through to make sure it was solid.
• The performance went really well even though I messed up Nick's last name when announcing him and may have botched a partial or two while I was playing.
• Seventh graders are already talking about teaching a piece and wanting to be student conductor next year!

This was definitely a fun experience, but there are things I want to do differently next time around:

• Either start sooner or do this for a different concert (or maybe both!). State testing and state band festival made it hard to keep any real continuity to our rehearsals.
• Choose music that they're less familiar with so that they have to actually teach/read/listen instead of just going by ear since they knew all the John Williams pieces in our medley.
• Select our student conductor sooner so that they have more time to practice with the ensemble.
• Start playing my instrument of choice earlier on so that I don't screw up all of the students' hard work!
• Use a longer piece so that we can have smaller groups once it's broken up. As in many group projects once the groups got to be more than three students, the others didn't have much to do (or could sit back and let the other members carry the load). 
• Find a way for students to be more reflective as we go through the process rather than just at the end. Maybe student blogs or have students share immediately after their group works on a part.

Thanks very much to those who have been following along and helping me brainstorm, think out loud, and giving feedback as we've gone through this! It's been a lot of fun!

We're on to Genius Hour in a week or so. If you'd like to follow our adventure, click here!

So I Have This Idea...(pt 5)

Well, our concert is in just over a week and here's where we stand:

• Only two students applied to conduct at the concert. I was both surprised and disappointed that only two did the process even though so many students expressed interest. Both candidates are high quality, but the fact that they were the only two who applied was surprising.
• Since a student will conduct, I've decided I'm going to play. While flute is my main instrument, I admit I've suffered from bass envy most of my musical career. I'll be playing baritone (both to improve my own chops as well as reinforce one of the smaller sections of the band) while our student conductor leads.
• As it goes with most group projects, some groups have shared their material better than others. The approach the first group took of splitting up and checking with individual sections has been oft copied throughout this process. I was rather impressed with the last group that taught as they actually worked to teach their part rather than just go through it. This group happened to have a few students who study privately and they all shared some ideas to help the band count the triplets they were encountering in Star Wars. 
• Sitting as a part of the band has reminded me of two things:
• Playing music is fun! I don't get to actually play my instrument all that often anymore. Even though baritone is not my first instrument, it's been a lot of fun just playing as a part of the band.
• Sitting while the person (people) at the podium talks for a long period of time is boring. I try to keep rehearsals fast paced, but even with that intent things can get bogged down when trying to fix a part or get a point across. If I'm sitting there with an instrument in my hands, I want to play it, not look at it. 
• A tiny part of me is enjoying some of the frustrations that students are encountering when they're trying to share information, and the band is talking/making noise/just generally not paying attention. While I don't necessarily like that the band is being so inattentive at times, I'm hoping it will help them all better understand some of the things said and done from the podium during regular rehearsals.
• After I get a second opinion on the applications, I'll appoint our student conductor next week so that they can rehearse with the band all week prior to our concert Thursday night.
• I really want to do this again, but now that I've experienced all the disruptions this time of year holds (including five days lost for state testing), I think I'll either try  it earlier next year (maybe the December concert) or start it sooner next spring.

Thoughts? Comments? Ideas? Please share below!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Genius!

I've been in love with the idea of Genius Hour/20% Time ever since I heard of it, but up until now didn't quite have the circumstances or comfort to give it a try. My original plan had been to use it at the start of next school year with my seventh and eighth graders, but then I saw this tweet and decided to try it in the last month of school instead!

Right now is the perfect time to try your crazy ideas, don't wait until a new school year when you will feel overwhelmed again #wgedd

— Pernille Ripp (@pernilleripp) April 9, 2016

I recently finished Don Wettrick's Pure Genius and have been researching the vast wealth of educational knowledge that is Twitter to come up with a game plan. Since my students and I have never done this before, I wanted to share the tentative plan and see what those who are more experienced with Genius Hour have to say.

• Though our last performance isn't until May 20, I'm going to introduce Genius Hour through a video or two posted on Google Classroom in mid-May (I'll do some suspenseful build-up in class before posting the videos). Several awesome people have shared some great resources after I tweeted out a question last week and I've been sifting through videos for a couple of days but haven't made the final call yet. I'm thinking one that gives the basic idea of it and another one for inspiration such as Kid President's Pep Talk or Famous Failures. 
• As this is band class, their project must somehow relate back to music. To get them brainstorming ideas, I'm going to have them try Dotstorming to start thinking out loud and commenting on each other's ideas. Again, the link will be posted on Google Classroom.  Padlet could work for this too, but I like that they can directly comment on each other's posts on Dotstorming. I'm hoping that most students will have an idea on the direction they'd like to go by the time performances are done so that they can focus on working through their project when we really start spending our time on this starting May 23. I'm planning to let students work in groups if they want, but no more than three in a group.
• Students will begin blogging (possibly with Blogger, but waiting to hear on a request to have it opened for my students) about their projects. I'll take the classes to the library to show how to set one up as well as create a Screencast they can use to reference when working on their own. I'll create a Google Sheet with links to their blogs and descriptions of their projects and share on our class social media accounts as well as my personal ones. They'll have to blog weekly at the least, though many will likely decide to use it more than that to share and seek ideas.
• Through their blogs and reaching out individually, students will seek out mentors. I love this aspect of Genius Hour because it gets them thinking outside our school community and there's SO much I don't know. I want them to get information from those who know their chosen topic best. I'm aiming for students to have mentors by June 1, but that could change depending on how things go.
• I've got the library's computer lab checked out several days a week from the end of May through the end of the school year to get kids access to the information they need. They will also be encouraged (as they have been all year) to bring personal devices to class.
• Presentations will be done during our final exam times on June 15 and June 16. I'm tempted though to ban the use of PowerPoint. Is that too constricting though for something like this? There are SO many other ways they can share information (even using Google Slides would be easier if multiple students are working together) and I'd like to get them thinking of more creative ways to share. 

I freely admit that I'm often better with big picture planning than with details (unless I'm rehearsing music) so I'd love to hear what do you think. My 7th grader class has 55 students and my 8th grade class has 48. Can I even pull this off with that many students?  Is there enough practicality in my plan to allow all students to be successful? What else should I be keeping in mind? What experiences have you had? Please share in the comments!

To see how this all turned out, check out the follow up posts:
All They Can Say is 'No'
I Wish EVERY Hour Was #GeniusHour
My #GeniusHour Self Evaluation

So I Have This Idea...(pt 4)

Just a quick update as we've been interrupted by Spring Break, state testing, and finishing prep for State Band Festival in the few days we have been able to meet. Once we get to May, we'll really start focusing on this project and music again.

• We had our first group that really struggled late last week. While I tried to be understanding because of the breaks in regular playing, they were fairly unprepared which made for some major frustrations and ill-spent time. They'll be trying again next week.
• After doing a short survey on Google Forms, we'll be going with an application process.  The questions I have as a part of the application so far are:
• What is the job of a conductor?
• I want to be student conductor because...
• I think I'm best qualified because...
• How will you handle issues that may arise with your friends if you have to make corrections or ask them to be quiet?
• Sometimes things go wrong in a performance. What would you do if the band became seperated during the concert.
• Students will also submit a video of themselves conducting a recording of the piece. I'd rather do them in person, but with so many students relying on the bus for transportation, it makes doing things before or after school challenging. 
• I'm going to get input from a few other teachers once the applications are in.

Anything else I should include in the application process? Other thoughts?

Read here for:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Three Ideas for #StuVoice in Performance Ensembles

For a long time, I taught band the same way I was taught. I picked music. I rehearsed the music. I decided on the performance format.

Most of this process is teacher driven and while it's a system that has produced some great ensembles over time, educational trends and research are continuing to show the benefits of offering more student voice. School shouldn't just be done to students; they should be making conscious choices in their daily education.  

My hope is that involving the students more in the musical processes that go into the creation of a good performance will extend their appreciation of the musical world around them.  It's not a perfect system, but here are a few ways I've attempted to incorporate more student decision making in the ensembles I work with:

• Music selection. When given the opportunity and some guidance (choosing for our strengths and instrumentation), kids actually come up with some pretty cool suggestions!  We just finished an assignment where kids posted a link to a piece from JW Pepper on a Padlet wall, submit a description to me justifying their selection, and vote on a the selections others posted on the wall.  When I've done this in the past, students definitely bought into some difficult pieces more knowing that they were part of the selection process and that the piece was suggested by a peer.
• Practicing.  I hated doing minute logs, but I still used them for quite a while because I didn't know what else to do.  Someone suggested doing practice reflections or journals on the Band Director's Facebook group and I've adapted it.  This year, students submit a short video of themselves through Google Classroom.  The video is to include a demonstration of something they've learned or mastered and the setting of a goal for the coming week.  Each follow up submission relates back to their post from the week before. It's been a work in progress but we've been learning along with our students as we help them set appropriate goals and work on strategies to achieve them. I will say though that students were pretty flummoxed by the idea that they got to choose what their goal would be rather than having one set for them.  I keep bringing it back to the fact that if they improve on anything as an individual, the group will get better too.  
• Rehearsal ideas.  Share a recording of rehearsal with students and ask for their feedback.  I asked "If you were the band director, what would you do to improve our performance?" Students gave some insightful answers.  Not only did they give great suggestions, but it got them thinking more critically about the sounds we were (and occasionally were not) producing and listening beyond their own sections.

What additions or alterations would you suggest?  How else can we get students involved and thinking critically about their music making?