Google 20% Project A Success

I would have to rate our first Google 20% a huge success. Students came up with great ideas and have opened the door to the wide range of possibilities that students have with music. I highly encourage students that did their presentation by video to post it on their blog page. If you did an audio presentation, you can also put that on youtube and put it on your blog.

Some students have not yet posted thier final blog. Until you do that, you will not recieve full credit for  your grade. (I have posted all grades on edline this morning.) There are still several students that have not done their presentations; we will finish those presentations when we get back from winter break.

One of my favorite quotes from the student blogs is "These projects allowed us to optimize our creativity and demonstrate what we can do if left without instruction. (A skill that is quite useful in the real world.)" This is so true! Learning how to come up with new ideas/methods is a key to being successful. One of my favorite quotes is from Mark Twain: "Don't let schooling interfere with your education."
My students are capable of so much! Hopefully this project has opened up more doors for them both in music and in their general education. 

Now on to getting my presentation ready for the Oregon Music Educators Conference in January with G. Douglas Bundy and Bob Ponto. I think this session will be amazing!

Google Presentations

We have had Google presentations the last two days of class and I have been ecstatic about the results of all the work done by the students! Some of the projects/presentations were truly amazing. Students: please write in your blogs your feelings about your project and what you have learned these past few months. For those of you that presented on youtube, please post your youtube link on your blog. Also, for those of you that have your recording as an mp3, you can also post that on youtube.

Over vacation I will be picking some of your projects to present at the Music Conference in January.

Also, check out the students' blogs on the links to the right.

Great Job LO!

Post Turkey Day

Now that Thanksgiving is over, everyone can not start thinking about their projects and how they will present them to the class. Our next Google day will be on Dec. 7th with presentations beginning on Dec. 9th. I will record these projects and then pick some that I will present to the Oregon Music Educators Conference in December. This is a busy month with concerts as well as football games. (We play in the quarterfinals tonight against Roseburg.) Go Lakers!

Video of October 19

The students continue to be truly amazing with the projects they are working on. Composing, arranging, programing, writing, learning new instruments, teaching, and so much more! I know that the students are learning so much more then they expected.

I walked around the band room (and practice rooms, office, computer lab, dressing rooms, auditorium) where students were working on their projects and captured some of their work on video. I couldn't get everyone on the recording as there was so much to choose from and I had to keep it under 10 minutes for youtube.

Students are reminded to update their blogs!

Video Coming

Next week (after our google day) I will post a video of my students working on their projects in class!

October 12

Some very cool recent postings by my students. A reminder to my students: change the title of your blog to include your name(s) and a short descriptor of your project. The next Google 20% day is next week. Go Lakers!

Wed. 10/5 - Some Amazing Projects Are Taking Shape

The symphonic band and wind ensemble both worked on their Google 20% projects today; these students are coming up with some amazing projects. One trio of students wrote lyrics to a song, put chords and a drum pattern to them, and performed it for me. I was REALLY IMPRESSED! This would be a song I could hear on the radio or on youtube in the very near future!

Students were learning new instruments (the ukelele is a popular choice), making new instruments, arranging music for pep band, writing reviews of songs, playing in a rock/funk group, teaching other students how to play various instruments, composing, etc. It is great to see the satisfaction on the faces of the students tackling this project with such enthusiasm. Although there were only a very few students that were not using their time wisely, overall today was a smashing success.

The biggest challenge is finding places for students to go. After all our practice rooms, hallways, and dressing rooms were filled, students just went to a corner or spot in the band room. If you can get passed the fact that it's not perfectly quiet in the room (with all sorts of music happening), it actually worked very well.

I am encouraging students to post these projects on their blogs so that others can check on their progress; video/audio links, pictures, etc.

 Looking at our stats on our blogs, we have view coming as far away as Russia! One of my students was so excited that someone from Germany was checking out their blog.

I am posting pictures that I took today of various students and their projects.

1st Day of Google Project

Well, the LOHS band is off and running on the Google 20% project! There are great ideas that are coming from the band students and I'm am excited to see where this will lead to. My biggest concern is that everyone takes advantage of this opportunity to do something exciting, challenging, and fulfilling with their time. A few things for the students to know:

• The Title of your blog should be what your project is. Anyone should look at the title of your blog and know what you're doing! You can change your title by going to the design tab and changing your title.
• If there is a group of students doing one project, everyone must contribute to the blog.
• There could be many people looking at your blog. Make sure you don't write anything inappropriate.
• Use pictures! 
• Attach audio recordings/samplings on what you're doing.
• Be creative with your projects as well as your blogs.
• Have fun and enjoy the experience of a self-directed project.

1st Google Day Tomorrow

In class tomorrow we will have our first Google 20% day. Students will tell me what their projects are, begin work on their projects, and start working on their blogs. I'm very excited about what paths they will choose to further their music education!

Introducing The Project To My Classes

Today was the first day of classes at LOHS. Students got the chance to visit with friends and to meet the new students that moved into L.O. I also got the opportunity  to introduce the Google 20% project to my students. I used Google docs to present the material as well as linking up a video by G. Bundy that showed the background that he has with Google. Students now are thinking up ideas on what their projects will look like. Our next Google day is Monday September 19th where their declare what their projects are. This is going to be an awesome project!

Welcome To The LOHS Band Blog

G. Douglas Bundy is an amazing technology teacher in the Beaverton School District (and past band director at Aloha High School). Last year he was selected as one of the few teachers in the world to go to a Google workshop in Australia to help him realize the power of technology and how it can change education for the better.  One concept Google uses with their employees is the 20% concept. Briefly stated, 80% of their time they are to be working on Google projects. 20% of their time they can devote to any project they want. Google found this to be very successful both in employee satisfaction, but also their workers have come up with projects that have made a difference in peoples lives!

When Doug told me about this, it really got me thinking. If this could work for Google, could it work in public education? If I gave my students time in class where they could work on any project they wanted, how would they respond? I spoke with my band about this concept last spring and the vibe was very encouraging. Already they began to think about what they would like to do. Write a french horn quintet, learn a new instrument, compose and perform music in the style of Thrash Metal; all of these ideas were being thrown around. I could see the excitement in their faces and I began to formulate how this was going to work.

Some teachers I talked to regarding this project were very skeptical. Change is hard and trying something  COMPLETELY new can be foreboding. But I have faith in my students that the charge given to them will be taken seriously. My students are extremely creative and I look forward to seeing what they come up with!

In January Mr. Bundy, myself, and Dr. Robert Ponto (from the University of Oregon) will be presenting this concept at the Oregon Music Educators State conference where I will present some of my students' projects. This will be a great way not only to share the creativity of my students, but to possibly change how some music teachers teach music!

One thing I know will be required will be for students to keep their own blog on their process and progress of their project. More on this and everything else about the Google project will come in future blogs.

With guidance from Doug Bundy, the enthusiasm from my students, and my commitment to better their music education, I look forward to raising the bar for my students and myself on what we can achieve in band.