Communication with Music Trials

We set out yesterday talking about our personal connections with music. I asked, "How many of you sing in the car? The shower?" "How many of you affix a song to a memory?" We all have connections to music based on our own personal experiences. Music is one of the more powerful forms of communication for many people, especially your generation.

We discussed how certain types of music are better at certain times. Studies show that certain types of music can help you sleep better, and certain types of music are better to wake to because of the physiological affects on your nervous system based on the beat of certain music. We talked about audiences: clearly classical music carries a different fan base then that of, say, Death Metal. When you set out to create your song, you MUST keep audience in mind. As part of that outcome, you will be required to do a significant write-up about what your intent was when you set out to create the song. Think about songs that have haunting lyrics or musical scores. Think about songs where the beat is so intense there is no way you can sit still... you have to move your body by either tapping your foot, moving your head, or jumping up and dancing. These are usually deliberate conventions on the creator's part.

Think about audience in this sense: If you are creating a music video of your best summer moments, you won't be seeking out a sad tune with slow, dreary beats. You will most likely be looking for songs that are upbeat, fun, catchy... Conversely, if you need to create the slideshow for someone's memorial service, you will be looking for songs with slower beats, softer tones... musical artists set out with a plan, and so should you in the creation of your song.

Part 1 of this reflection is asking you to discuss your connections to music. When do you find yourself listening to music? Do you want different types of music at different times in your life? Are you one of those people who needs music to concentrate or relax? How does music affect your life?

Part 2 is asking you to explore a few fun online things and discuss them regarding the idea that music is a powerful form of communication. These are newer technologies, and are completely changing how people engage with music. In your reflection, you will need to discuss whether you liked the site, what the pros & cons are, and how this site could change how people look at music (or could/should it??)? Think about how technology has changed music, and how these online sites change music. Below is Cameron's 1st attempt on yourspins.com, where you can take a song and remix it. What if your remix is better than the original (is that possible?)? But what if? What are the copyright issues there? Think beyond big...



Another place to explore is Jamstudio.com, which Cameron describes as "a slightly easier version of Garage Band." Is he correct? Or do you want more control? How can you share your creations on these two sites? Think about social networks and how you can quickly become a popular artist. Think about how places like MySpace have launched artists. Is it possible to become an overnight sensation online?

A 3rd place to look would be Noteflight. As stated on their website, "Noteflight® is an online application that lets you display, edit, print and play back music notation with professional quality, right in your web browser. You can work on a musical score from any computer on the Internet, share it with other users, and embed it in your own pages. And it's free for individual use." Kyle has played with this some before, and says you definitely need to know musical scores in order to do well here. It's not the same as something like Jamstudio, but if you are indeed musically inclined, this might be the site for you. If you think you've got what it takes, go for it. Give us your feedback.

In short: explore, play, and see what happens. Give us the feedback. Good, bad, indifferent. Are there other places to explore? What are they? How has all this changed music as we know it. How has technology changed music as we know it? Could you actually become a popular artist by using something so simple as one of these technologies??? Remember, your reflection will be graded using the Output Rubric (1st one when you scroll down).

Week something like 12 (we'll call it that anyways)

So, last week, we again made a charming attempt at UStream, and had yet another failure. Obviously, you cannot evaluate this as a form of communication since we have had epic fails every time we've tried , but you can postulate on how this might work, if indeed we could get it to work. Having said that, I want you think about how doing a live webcast could be a functional form of communication. What are the benefits of "going live"? What might be the downfalls, other than the obvious hurdles we experienced? How can this form of communication be used in an educational setting effectively? What purposes would it have? Can you see yourself using this form of media in an academic setting? How?

So, because we had such utter failure with our live streaming attempts, we resorted back to the weekly rubric, to which you all moaned and groaned. However, I rest comfortably at night knowing the following: I am teaching you how to build a PLN, a personal learning network, a concept surrounding the use of other peoples' learning. This is a concept that had grown exponentially because of the use of tools like Twitter, LinkedIn, and other similar social networking tools. Professionals know that this is how real learning happens, and many students are quickly learning, as well. To have power, you no longer get to be the gatekeeper of knowledge. In today's day and age, your power comes from how much you can share and with how many people. Online etiquette states that unless you source the knowledge, you give credit to the source. If people follow the "code" then you could quickly become fairly powerful, if people like what you are posting. There was a post not too long ago on Twitter that said, the ultimate compliment is to have your post retweeted. Why is that a compliment? Because your information is getting sent out all over the Twitterverse. The more people like your post and retweet it, the more people want to know about you, the original poster. The end result? You have grown in power based on your knowledge. And the converse will hold true for you. You will learn from others, as others learn from you. It's a powerful concept.

For example, last night on Desperate Housewives (yes, I'll admit to being a junkie of that show), one of the main character's husband didn't get an advertising job he interviewed for, and when his wife asked, "What happened?", his response was, "I was asked if I had ever mass marketed a campaign using Twitter? I had no clue what he was talking about." And so it goes. This is not pop culture, PLNs are main stream. After all that, what did you get from this week while you dabbled yet again in the rubric? What new ideas, concepts, tools, tricks, etc did you learn? Or did you fall into a rut and just do the same ole', same ole'? In short, what did you learn this week? Remember, your posts here will be graded using the Output Rubric (the 1st rubric on the page), so freshen up on those standards.

Photo Journalistic Integrity

This week we explored the concept of photojournalistic integrity and how easily and effectively pictures can be altered. Journalists, as well as photographers, are bound to another code of ethics that is only slightly different. The two groups of reporters are made to follow basically the same set of "rules" that are put in place with the hope that the public won't be mislead.

When photographers and reporters violate certain ethics they are often harshly criticized by their peers and coworkers. Are these criticisms fair or not? Should photojournalists be held to a certain set of standards and ethics, and if so should these standards be held to everyone who publishes photographs? For example, should commercial photographs have its own set of ethics? What about the pictures you see in fashion magazines?

Week 9 Photo Integrity Reflection

For the next few weeks, we will be examining the concept of photo integrity. You have been asked to complete the following standards for this project.

Part of this project is that you reflect every day so you can be able to use this information for your writeup at the end. This project started on Tuesday 3/24. You should have a refection from each day. You will receive credit (or not) based on your reflection. The standards for reflection remain the same.

week 7 reflection

Picture borrowed from Unshelved http://www.unshelved.com/archive.aspx?strip=20090311

Now that you've been using Twitter for several weeks, who do you feel more like, the mom or the kid?

If you used Glogster this week for 3.4 original content, what are your thoughts on this application? What are the classroom uses for this application? Can you see it being used elsewhere, outside the classroom? What are the benefits? Downsides? If you haven't tried it, I would encourage you to do just that - try it.

Some of you tried Animoto this week; what are your thoughts on this application? What is the classroom benefit? Can it be used outside the classroom for any purpose? What are the benefits? Downsides?

What other applications have you used this week? How did the 2nd week of the challenge go for you? Now that you understand the requirements and what is expected of you, how did you better manage your time this week? What other thoughts do you have?

Week 5 & 6 Reflection

OK, clarification here - MASSIVE clarification needed! This blog is ONLY for use within this class as a REFLECTION tool. If you're posting to the class blog, then it's the We're Curious blog & you should only have a text post. If you're posting an original video, then it needs to go in the class Vlog, Deep Thought. There should be LITTLE text that accompanies your video because the main forum for this arena is VIDEO (thus the term Vlog - VIDEO blog). This blog's purpose is to help you at the end of the term go back and look at your reaction to all the different forums in which you've taken part.

Last week, you started the weekly challenge. You were asked to post reflections, post original content, and examine new areas. What were you're successes? What was difficult? What did you learn about managing the content you must create? What other thoughts do you have about the work you're doing?

We had many conversations about the content of the original work you post. My thoughts are, if you post quality content, then you will create a sound following of people who will help you grow throughout your academic and future life. If you choose to create content that doesn't contain quality, then people will not follow you, and it won't matter that you are creating. What are your thoughts on this? What is the value of the content you create? Does it matter?

One new place you were allowed to use to create original content was Animoto. If you tried this, what was your reaction to using it? Is it something you would use again? What was the benefit? Were there downsides? If you haven't tried Animoto, I would encourage you to explore and create. This is an easy online visual/audio presentation tool that could be cool for some of your classes.

Another place you explored was Blip.fm. Clearly some of you spent a lot of time here. What are your thoughts about this application? What are the benefits? How can this be used in an educational setting? Or can it? Nick suggested we could create an online radio station for the school since the school is now looking at allowing iPods at teacher discretion. Can this be done using Blip? What forum would we use to host? Should we explore this? Why? Why not?

2.2

The economy is in its worst since the depression. "The global economy is likely to shrink this year for the first time since World War II," the world bank said. This is going to be bad if we keep going on the track that we are going. we might get to be like the great depression if we don't try to fix our economy now not later. http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/09/news/international/global_economy_world_bank/index.htm?postversion=2009030907