Music

Music // "Composer Time Machine" //

__Meets Ohio Music Academic Content Standard: __ Standard Historical, Cultural and Social Contexts Standard Benchmark B: Identify composers and classify them according to chronological historical periods. Indicator 1: Classify by composer and historical period a varied body of exemplary music works. __Technology Needs: __ Computer – 1 per student Headphones – 1 per computer Internet Access to the following websites:

 DSO Kids []

New York Philharmonic Kidzone [|http://www.nyphilkids.org/main.phtml?] __Task Description with Technology Integration: __  Students will come to this Technology Day already be familiar with the body of work of famous composers from each of the main historical periods through weekly listening and study exercises. The presentation of this information will be done through use of the “Composer’s Gallery” on the New York Philharmonic KidZone website and the “Composer’s Corner” of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids website.

Using the interactive game “Time Machine” on the Dallas Symphony Orchestra website, students will test their knowledge of composers’ links to historical periods. Forty-two composers are presented with clues about their musical work, dress, personal anecdotes and historical period references. The task is to return each composer to their “rightful place in time” by correctly placing them on a timeline labeled with the names of musical periods that spans the years 1550 to 2000. Up to three clues and three chances to guess are given for each composer.

Feedback is provided in the form of color – red for correct, blue for incorrect and sound – a “boing” for incorrect and a “chime” for correct. Additional information is found by clicking on the composer or time period name. Students will capture “screen shots” of their completed work that they will paste into the "Hooray for Tech Day" glog and save for evaluation.

Here is a screen shot of the Time Machine Game:

__Supporting Research: __ In a study of 4,000 middle grade students in North Carolina, students saw a connection between technology use in school and academic engagement. They rated using computers as their favorite activity in school. Outside of school their favorite use of technology was listening to music.

Spires, H., Lee, J., Turner, K., & Johnson, J. (2008). Having Our Say: Middle Grade Student Perspectives on School, Technologies, and Academic Engagement. //Journal of Research on Technology in Education//, //40//(4), 497-515. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

Students learn better with visual and verbal knowledge representations together as compared to one of the representations by itself, according to a 2005 study by Moreno and Valdez. The study also found that students learn better when they are able to “make” rather than “take” meaning. When students select important information, organize it into understandable representations and integrate it into information already known, learning is deepened.

Moreno, R., & Valdez, A. (2005). Cognitive Load and Learning Effects of Having Students Organize Pictures and Words in Multimedia Environments: The Role of Student Interactivity and Feedback. //Educational Technology Research & Developme////nt//, //53//(3), 35-45. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

A study of the effects of supplementing regular middle school history textbook lectures with content delivered through interactive multi-media software including interactive timelines found statistically significant increases in achievement scores for students who used the interactive software than for those who did not. The lesson proposed here employs similar technology, using an interactive timeline of famous composers.

Kingsley, K., & Boone, R. (2008). Effects of Multimedia Software on Achievement of Middle School Students in an American History Class. //Journal of Research on Technology in Education//, //41//(2), 203-221. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

__ Tried and True or New and Innovative?: __ This activity is mostly tried and true. Online quiz-type questions that include hints about the material that provide immediate feedback are often used as for student review. The added feature of clicking on the name of the composer to provide additional background material and the timeline format takes this website to a deeper layer than most i nteractive websites, but the interactive format is one many students would be familiar with.

Component Two

Part One <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">The music activity for technology day is to complete an online game about music composers. The strategy that this activity supports is Simulations and Games. Games allow students to “discover knowledge through exploration” and in the composer game students learn about various composers. When they place the correct composer on the timeline they learn various interesting facts about the composer and his or her music. The game also serves to engage the student in their own learning. The game is interactive and allows the student to actively participate while learning about the composers.

Directly linked with the game is feedback, which is a second strategy supported by the composer game. Feedback needs to be immediate (for homework or tests feedback should occur no longer than a day after completed) and the online game provides instantaneous feedback for students. As soon as they place the composer on the timeline they are reinforced with a chime sound for a correct answer or a “boing” for an incorrect answer. Feedback is proven to improve student achievement and the feedback in the game will improve students’ knowledge of the composers. If a student receives an incorrect answer, he or she is allowed to try again. Being able to correct incorrect answers is another important element of feedback found in the composer game.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">The composer music game is free to use, so the school district will not have to pay for this software program. The only cost to the school would be that of a computer lab available for each student to use.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Part Two <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">One educational challenge that this lesson addresses is “Literacy Development.” According to the Focus on Effectiveness web site, literacy development should create “higher-order thinking skills that enable students to comprehend, analyze, and communicate about ides.” In order for the students to be successful at this game, they must analyze the text that they are given and apply it to the correct composer. This proves that they are using their higher-order thinking skills while completing this task. Additionally, this game encourages reflection because they have the opportunity to re-read the clue to attain the correct answer. Overall, the technology of the composer music game attends to the challenge of literacy development because the students are using critical thinking skills as well as participating in the task of reflecting on the words presented in the clue.