Technology never ceases to amaze me! Every time I think I've gotten a little handle on a new piece of technology or website I find a lot more amazing things. Today I spent about two hours reading and researching various websites and apps for the ipod touch. I love the Rockin the Standards (especially the language arts version) which was shared by a colleague. I definitely will need to download from itunes and use with my students. I've also come across some interesting music programs that are being used throughout the country such as "Little Kids Rock" and "Education Through Music." Both are really exciting ways that teachers are able to reach their students (especially those in the inner city) by teaching them in ways that are interesting to them. The Little Kids Rock program sounds like it would be so exciting for kids because they get to learn popular music on popular instruments, hitting them right where they are at in their lives instead of teaching them instruments and content that is not relevant in their lives. I'm really challenged by how to do this with my students! I wonder how I can do a better job of teaching them the things that are relevant in their musical world. I've also found several organizations and people (Tim Bedley- a Christian music teacher!, Little Kids Rock) that I'm going to look up on twitter and start following. I think they could have really great things to share. I also ran across a bunch of cool apps! I have the common core app for the ipod touch. There are lots of really cool and interactive apps, but most only work for the ipad.

On Mondays I've been lurking on the #musedchat (music education chat) on twitter. It's awesome to hear things that other teachers are doing in their classroom and resources they are using! I look forward to connecting with this group of people and learning more through the discussions.

Last week I contacted the other music teachers in the county to discuss long range planning. I was hoping to share some ideas and strategies. Out of all the elementary music teachers (at least 15) I only got two responses! One response was "I don't have a good method....sorry I can't help." The other response was from a teacher suggesting that we get together to talk. I couldn't believe that I got so few responses from my co-workers. I think it will be interesting to see if I can stir more collaboration among other music teachers in the county.