technology in the music classroom

Response to the article "A Learning-Center Solution for Using Technology in Elementary Music" by Amy C. Casey. This article can be found on page 50 in the Teaching Music Educational Journal in the February 2005; 12, 4 edition.

In this article, Amy Casey talks about her use of technology in the music classroom. In her room, there are only a couple of computers, so to help with this situation, she sets up centers one to two times a month. In her computer center, Ms. Casey watches the children work hard ranging from listening to music, to even composing their own music. There are many different programs that she uses, and with all of them she sees good results. One of the programs she uses in her classroom has 24 self-paced music lessons that the students participate in. After they finish, a report is sent to the teacher, so they can monitor the student's progress. These lessons can be done with one student, or two - using a splitter to split the headphone so both can hear the outcome of their hard work.

Although she is limited with computers, Ms. Casey also uses other forms of technology, not just computers. In a tent in one of her centers, she has tape players and headphones where the students can learn about different types of music from different eras. Here they listen and reflect on music. Another center is one where students use keyboards to play and listen to music that they have written in one of the centers. This way the students are learning about composing music, but also given the chance to hear what they have created. I believe that technology is a great idea not only in the computer lab, but as I've read in this article, the music room as well.