Coding is the new buzz word in primary education with many schools starting to teach it with the emphasis on teaching STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).
It is also possible to add in the Arts, with new research showing that teaching STEAM (STEM + the Arts) projects significantly impact learning.
Intrigued by this, I attended a workshop on coding in the classroom run by Stephanie Kriewaldt @stephkrie to see if I could add coding into my music classroom.
I was introduced to a computer and web-based program called Scratch, which is a simple coding program for use with students as young as Grade 3.
We were also shown the Makey Makey Invention kit, invented to be used as a fun, electronic circuit MIDI controller using conductive materials as the triggers for computer games.
Seeing the Makey Makey attached to fruit and controlling a very simple piano coded in Scratch (the fruit being the piano keys), I came away from this workshop enthused to write a 10 week unit of work for my Grade 6/7’s titled
as it would fit perfectly with their IB PYP classroom Unit of Inquiry on inventions.
I started by creating some projects in Scratch myself, connecting them with the Makey Makey, setting up stations around the room for students to investigate.
See the slideshow below.
We also talked about virtual instruments coded for use on iPad’s and computers and discussed how MIDI instruments are played.
I created a Scratch tutorial for my students to learn to code music sounds into scratch. Then sent them off on the summative assessment task to invent their own musical instrument, by coding a virtual instrument in Scratch and then inventing their own MIDI instrument to play their virtual Scratch instrument using the Makey Makey.
The result was fantastic, my students were extremely proud of their work, so much so that they wanted to share their projects with their parents and the school community on Graduation night. Below is a slideshow of my student’s projects:
is part of my Music Room Tech series with Bushfire Press. It includes everything you need to teach, including tutorials, scratch project files and more.
In 2015 I have been presenting this workshop around Australia and New Zealand receiving great feedback from those who
have attended.
At the beginning of October 2015 I launched the above title as the first in my series of Virtual PD publications. It is 90 Minutes of accredited Professional development containing video tutorials, step by step instructions on creating Digital Portfolios using Explain Everything, Book Creator, GarageBand, iMovie, Dropbox and QR Codes. All extra resources needed to complete the same examples are provided on a USB.
Below you can view the introduction video and read all about creating Digital Portfolios.
Being a primary/elementary teacher, the examples I use are straight from my classroom with real examples from my students. While the examples are music and at a primary/elementary grade level, having taught as a primary classroom teacher, I believe you can take the same structure and apply it to other subjects and grade levels too.
Digital Portfolios grew out of the following two needs:
The need in my music classroom to gather evidence of student work that I could assess after class and provide for parent viewing.
For gathering evidence I found in the lower grades that Book Creator was the perfect app for students to write, take photos, audio record and video record in, and now we can even insert the GarageBand songs we create as well. This gives myself as a music teacher a perfect way to gather evidence in a performance based subject. The evidence I gather I can view directly after the lesson and then later to assess for mid year and final year grades.
One of the best outcomes and feedback I’ve had from using Book Creator, is being able to provide parents with comprehensive evidence as to why their child has been given a certain grade.
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The a request from a teacher to display my Year 6/7’s music projects at their IB Exhibition
To achieve this request I looked at the apps on the student iPad’s and found that Explain Everything allowed the students to display on 1 screen:
a pages document showing their rewritten song lyrics
a screenshot of their GarageBand arrangement
the GarageBand sound file to play their recording for people to listen to
What this iPad set up in Explain Everything also allowed the students to do was have an interactive display on their Exhibition stall, where parents could play and listen to the student’s song.
This project started me on a journey to implement Digital Portfolios for all my classes.
So what are Digital Portfolios?
Digital portfolios, electronic portfolios or e-portfolios, are the latest trend in education. They are a way of collating or presenting digital work samples.
The positive outcomes of Digital Portfolios:
all work samples and files can be placed in one spot for assessment and viewing accessibility
students have different modes available to them for creating/collecting work samples; word processing, photos, images, audio & video recording
they provide the opportunity for assessment samples to include not only written samples but also visual performances of their work or skills in the subject areas that require demonstration of skills (such as The Arts, Physical Education and Science)
students with learning difficulties can engage better in their assessment opportunities due to the multiple options available to them
sharing files via email or apps such as dropbox and google drive means that not only can the teacher and school have access to them but parents can also have access
they provide students the opportunity to increase their technology skills in every subject area
they provide educators a wider scope for integration of general capabilities across the curriculum
Digital Portfolios have different uses in the classroom. They can be used for formative and summative assessment and to present work.
Formative Assessment Digital Portfolio
To collate and show the student’s progressive learning throughout the unit of work.
This is used to inform your teaching and planning for subsequent lessons.
Summative Assessment Digital Portfolio
A collection of work samples and files for students to be assessed by, at the end of a unit of work, against the learning outcome and curriculum used. This often results in a final mark for reporting.
Presenting Work to an Audience
Digital Portfolios are a great way of presenting work for display or sharing with parents.
Collating work into one app by sharing files into the one presentation allows for easy sharing of the entire project without the audience having to move between multiple apps.
The types of work samples you can gather are
written/word processed work
photos
screenshots
audio
video
There are many ways teachers and students can create digital Portfolios. Here are some apps that are available.
When using the presentation type of apps in the classroom there are 3 different types of Digital Portfolios.
Individual Portfolios
In a 1 to 1 device or BYOD classroom, students create individual portfolios of their work. If you have shared devices, e.g. 1 between 2 or 3 students, it is still possible to do individual portfolios. Pair students up to work always on the same iPad. Some activities allow for working together on the same task, e.g. videoing each other. Alternately have 2 tasks on the go, i.e. one student on the iPad; one student performing another set task.
Group Portfolios
Use the portfolio method to share and record group work, e.g. group compositions.
Class Portfolios
Instead of students creating individual portfolios for a project, the teacher can create a class portfolio for a specific activity or a summative task with a sample of work from each student on each page/slide.
In My Classroom digital portfolios have transformed the way I gather evidence. They have also made assessment and reporting so much easier as I can review the work samples multiple times. Another positive outcome to gathering work samples in this way has been when parents have questioned their child’s semester grade. In this instance I have been able to email them the Digital Portfolio for them to view and my assessment along with it, the parents really appreciated it as it gave them an insight into their child’s development.
If you would like to learn more about how to create Digital Portfolios in your classroom go to my Music Room Tech page at Bushfire Press.
Scratch Coding for the Music Room: Makey Makey Edition
In 2015 I have been presenting this workshop around Australia and New Zealand receiving great feedback from those who
What this iPad set up in 