Blogs in my classroom

This last fall, I started a blog with my choir students. I posted all instructions on the web, including links to research sites and then asked students to post comments at the end of the class on how they did on the assignment. It was a good idea.

Needless to say, before it was all said and done, the whole thing came to a crashing halt. I can see now that we all lacked a little preparation. I plan to do better this time around.

First, I plan spend some time in my classroom going over cyber-etiquette. This is not widely taught, so it will be up to me, the music teacher, to get it taught to my students. I have wi-fi access in my room so I can use the Promethean board to access the web, our blog, etc. to teach my students how to properly navigate the page and act in cyberspace.

Second, I am currently using our blog as a bulletin board for concert information, post recordings and pictures of performances and even links I find interesting. I mentioned posting concert recordings on the blog to my students, they were unmoved. When I added to it that their audience would now be the world, "that's cool" mumblings rumbled through the room. Using the blog for snapshots of performances is a great way for family far away to see our performances. Also, as a teacher I like to see what other schools are doing. I follow two schools' blogs to see what they do in their classroom. These are examples of what I want for our blog to grow into. (See their blogs in the link section.)

Third, I hope to have our blog develop into an open forum for discussions. My original idea for the blog was to have a place for students to share their music history research findings. I would like this to grow back into that again.

For now, I'm going to keep it as the online "bulletin board" for music accomplishments, notices and work my way back to my original goal. Here is our blog if you would like to check it out.

http://pleasantviewmusic.blogspot.com/

Welcome to my blog!

My name is Kerry Seip and I am a music teacher. I have taught all grade levels and a good variety of subjects. Even though I'm not working in elementary rignt now, my favorite grades to teach are second and fifth grade. They are so full of joy and have a great zest for life. Eighth graders and high schoolers are slowly starting to grow on me. But my elementary kiddos are still my favorite.

I am fortunate to be married to my biggest collaborator and my best friend. My husband Todd is also a music teacher and just about the nicest man in the world. We have been married 17 years. We have two amazing children who daily teach us about living. Our daughter Kai Lin is five years old and sings, dances, laughs, runs hard, plays fast and can light up any room with her smile and twinkling eyes. Our son Li Hong is "almost five" and is an architect, engineer, rollercoaster designer, poet, storyteller, producer and loves chicken and french fries that come with a toy. Their tiny presence in our lives keeps us running non stop and remind us just how lucky we are.

My current teaching assignment is middle school music. My school has just over 300 students and I have 75 in two choir classes, 50 in two band classes, 25 in drama and 18 in piano. That is well over half the school! But I have room for a few more! I am also the color guard coach for a local four-time state champ high school marching band. Growing up, I never wanted to be a teacher. But now that I have been one for over 11 years, it is where I belong. I love music. But more importantly, I want to share that love of music with the next generation.

Currently, Todd and I are working on our Masters degrees in Integrating Technology into the Classroom. Our classes are through Walden University. This blog has been created as a place to share insight into the impact technology can have in the classroom today and in the future. Check back often for new information. Better yet, sign up for the RSS feed for my blog and stay up-to-date with all the changes as they happen. Please feel free to leave a comment as well as any great links related to music and technology. I am always looking for the latest and greatest so that I can give my students the best education I know how to give.