What is an AutoMagic Band Director in the first place?
When you are first learning a new skill, whether in technology or music, it can seem like magic when you finally get it to work. Once you have mastered the skill to the point that it becomes automatic, it can seem like magic to an outside observer.
An AutoMagic Band Director, therefore, is one who has mastered all aspects of their job, to where it becomes Automatic (that is to say, Magic).
My Foundational principles ...
... for Technology use as a teacher and music educator
Hello!
My name is James Hargreaves and I am simply a middle school band director hoping to inspire, educate, and motivate the next generation.
When it comes to technology, I don't have any special innate skills. I've just been forced to learn a lot to keep up with the running of a middle school band program that at one time had 380 students enrolled and only two directors on staff.
When the administrative tasks started piling up, I was fortunate to discover some technology tools that helped me manage the workload and get back to the focus of teaching my students the magic of music!
Philosophy and Guiding Principles:
The Best Technology tools available SHOULD BE used daily by every teacher in every subject (where possible),
not because the technology is "shiny and new" or because "the kids will like it ...",
but because we, as teachers, have a responsibility to be good examples to our students.
If we demean and belittle technology and treat it as a waste of time or not worth the effort, we can accidentally train our students to avoid or even fear using technology, reinforcing the mistaken idea that tech is only good for gaming, videos, or social media.
The future possibilities of technological innovations are nearly unlimited. It is only our lack of imagination that hinders that advancement.
Remember that no student in school this year has ever known a world BEFORE smartphones or YouTube.
In 2022, the iPhone will turn 15 and YouTube will turn 17. How old are your students?
Having the ability to do ANYTHING from an App on your phone or Learn ANY new skill via free video lessons on Youtube is no longer a new or amazing thing. To our students, this is just reality; the way things are.
Even though our students were born into a world where technology is everywhere, that doesn't mean they already know how to use it. We need to teach them how to use the tools that are available so they can reach their full musical potential!
This is why you love some technology innovations while avoiding others ...
Setting an Example:
Hopefully, we are already setting a good example on the skills of music-making, the art of practicing, how to strive toward a goal with a purpose, and the importance of persevering despite hardship, challenges, or struggles.
But we can also be examples to our students for using technology. All those same principles we apply to our music training can apply to technology training. (Plus, SOMEONE has to show them that technology is good for something more than just YouTube, gaming, and social media. 😁 )
By integrating technology into our routines and embracing the challenge of learning these new skills, we show our students (and ourselves) that working with the tools we have, with an eye toward the future, allows us to dream of what is possible instead of just assuming everything is impossible.
If we approach using technology in a BALANCED way and AUTOMATE tasks where we can, we just might find ourselves with more time to teach and connect with our students than we ever thought possible!
Does Music Education really need technology?
As music teachers, we have a special role on our campuses and in our students' lives, as our subject sits at a unique place in the battle of technology in schools.
Other than maybe the PE/Athletic department, music is one of the only subjects where we could still teach our standards (and create awesome musical performances 😁), WITHOUT using advanced technology. At the end of the day, all we need is sheet music and an instrument (or a voice for you choir peeps...).
On the positive side, if the internet went down in the middle of class, and none of our computers, iPads, or smartphones worked, we could still continue teaching music. And in some cases, even without power, we could still have rehearsals and prep for a performance.
On the negative side though, this ability to teach without technology makes it easy for us, as teachers, to put off learning how to use the latest tools, thereby limiting our student's access to things that could help them improve (and once again, showing them that technology is only good for gaming, Youtube, and social media.)
In my experience talking with other music teachers, on average, we tend to have the least confidence or experience in using advanced technology, especially when compared to our ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies counterparts.
We have so many other things we do that are physical and active and experiential and relational that spending time learning how to do something with technology can seem like more of a chore than it is worth.
When was the last time you looked forward to using your time to:
- Manage your program's finances, inventory, or student contact lists?
- Track forms and payments or enter data into a spreadsheet?
- Design and print concert programs? (while hoping you spelled everyone's name correctly...)
- Design and manage a website?
- Send out another mass email? (remembering to include the attachment this time...)
THINK CRITICALLY about the time you spend doing things now.
How much time does it take you to do all the little administrative tasks each week? Is there any area where it seems like you are doing the same thing over and over again? Could that task be automated in some way? What Technology Tools would help you accomplish these tasks more quickly or easily?
What about teaching skills to the kids? Rhythms, Tone, Tuning, Dynamics, Phrasing, Instrumental/Vocal Technique, Sight-Reading, Self and Group Evaluation, Critical Listening, Music Literacy. What Technology Tools would help you connect the students more effectively to the content? What software or apps are available that could help the students evaluate themselves on their own skills and help them improve during individual practice time?
And assessment ... Are there tools available that you could use to assess your students on their knowledge and skills? Are there ways to more easily keep track of chair test results and pass-offs and communicate to the students where they need improvement?
CAUTIONARY REMINDERS:
As you learn any new skill with technology, start slow and build your confidence with small steps forward.
Don't just dive into using a new technology tool blindly. Do your research and keep an eye toward if that tool is working effectively, how you could improve its usage, or if there is a better alternative.
Technology will never be a total replacement for the skills we teach our students. They still need to play their instruments (or sing) with good tone, time, and tuning. They still need to be able to read music. They still need to be able to listen while they are playing (or singing) and perform in a group with good balance, blend, and musicianship.
In a performance, NO TECHNOLOGY will do those things for them but several tech tools can help them prepare for the performance. While we should use tech tools in class and teach our students to use them, we must also give them the courage and the confidence to perform without the training wheels.
When in doubt though, teach the kids first and help them achieve their greatest potential. All else, technology included, is secondary.
No technology tool will fix every problem or work perfectly every time. This is the nature of software development. There will always be errors that need to be worked through. The trick is knowing how to troubleshoot the problem and develop a solution without just throwing out the tool completely.