Reflection Journal Entry #8: Audio Software

I never had any past experience using GarageBand no Audacity so this whole project was a new experience for me. For the project, I recorded a tune on GarageBand and decided to just have my students open this pre-made tune and sing a song about seasons (lyrics given to them) along with it. I think this would be a great way for the students to be able to learn different topics (numbers, shapes, math, reading, etc.) through songs. I could create my own tunes and my own songs about certain topics and use this as a fun way for them to learn. Also, I could use this program so the students can create and record their own songs or poems for certain holidays or even for their parents. This way the parents can see what the kids are learning in class and also can involved with it. I think it would be difficult to get the students to create their own songs unless it's just with the piano, but even then it wouldn't be very easy for them. Therefore, I think for a second grade class it would be easier to give them a choice of pre-made tunes by me (the teacher) and then just have them record their voices over it. For the tutorial I used Audacity which was a lot simpler because this program is only used for voice recording. I think I could have students recite their assigments (poems, readings, etc.) on this so that I can hear them and then maybe even let other people (classmates, other teachers, parents, etc.) listen to them. This way people will know what is going on in my class and all the things we are doing. I think in order to use these programs, I would need to clearly explain to my students, step by step, the procedures and directions. Even for me, the programs were a bit confusing but for a second grader, it would be much harder. Overall, I'm glad I got to explore these two programs because I think they would be very useful and fun to use in my classroom and teaching. They are a fun way for students to get interactive and to let others listen to their works as well.