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.

Audio Project: Song of the Seasons

Purpose:

• To create a fun way for second graders to learn about the seasons. Songs are a great way for younger kids to both be entertained but also memorize different topics. Therefore, by singing about the seasons students will have a fun time but the lyrics will be ingrained into their minds. The tune of the song is "This Old Man," which most younger kids know. Therefore, I thought this would be easier for most students to know and to sing a long to. The lyrics of the song are:
  

  Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
  There are seasons, four in all.

  Weather changes, sun and rain and snow,
  Leaves fall down and flowers grow.

  Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
  There are seasons, four in all.

  Look outside and you will see
  Just what season it will be!

Note:

• I would save my song as "Grace's Song" on the desktop of all my student's computers so that they can open it and listen to a demo of it. Then, I would save a copy of the tune ("This Old Man") to the their desktops, titled as "Grace's Tune". I will already have everything set up for them so all they need to do is press the record button. Also, I would type out a copy of the lyrics onto a word document and also save a copy of it onto all the student's desktops, titled as "Season's Lyrics".
  

Personal Growth:
I have never used Audio Software in the past, especially not something like GarageBand, so it was a new experience for me. At first it was really awkward to hear myself and it felt really weird to be speaking and singing into a computer. I guess it still does feel weird but it got a lot easier. I thought the programs were not as hard to use as I thought they would be. In the beginning I didn't realize that if I messed up I didn't have to start all over again. Therefore, when I kept messing up even towards the end I would delete and try to complete the recording in one attempt. However, I then realized I could cut out the parts I messed up and just record over it which made the process a lot easier. The only real difficulty I had was playing the song on the piano in GarageBand, which took more than a few attempts. Even now it sounds a bit shaky, but for the most part I had a lot of fun.