Creating Lifelong Learners

The comments to the iSchool video I posted give some insight into some of the challenges involved in implementing one to one technology of any kind:

Chelsea asks, “Won’t students tune out if we use iPod Touches in the classroom?”

I say…The distraction argument has been made in terms of integrating multimedia in the curriculum, using the internet, math manipulatives, realia, etc. It seems that making school a boring place has the biggest danger of tune out possible. How many students tune out listening to their teacher lecture all day?

What you’re describing, I think, is a classroom management issue. When I pass out linking cubes for teaching addition there’s the same tune-out danger. I always give students time to play with the cubes before starting the lesson. But once the lesson starts, if you’re messing around then I take the linking cubes. Same with the iPod Touches, netbooks, laptops, whatever you’re using.

Wrapping up this music themed mini-week on Creating Lifelong Learners, here are three music related podcasts I subscribe to:

Sound Opinions
from National Public Radio (home of This American Life) comes what they call the world’s only rock ‘n’ roll talk show. Based in Chicago, they’re the Siskel and Ebert of pop music. My favorite shows have included classical album dissections and analysis of particular genres like funk and disco. They also have interviews with established artists and have all their old shows available from their web site. The elevate the discussion of rock ‘n’ roll to serious criticism. I’ve discovered lots of new music from the podcast.

Morning Becomes Eclectic
I’ve also discovered new music from this podcast which features live performances by artists you’ve heard of and some you haven’t.

KEXP Song of the Day
This podcast gives you a free song every day. Most of the songs I don’t like but every four songs or so you find a winner. Looking at the past episodes, I find many songs I already own. This is also a good way to discover new music.

Bonus

If you become a fan of iTunes on Facebook you get occasional free tunes in addition to the free weekly selections on iTunes. You’ll have to endure Facebook advertising from iTunes in exchange.

Barely Legal Radio
I talk about this one all the time. If you’re interested in the legal side of the music business or are in a band that’s starting out, this show is for you. It’s hosted by entertainment attorney and member of the Vandals, Joe Escalante.

Any favorites to add?

Michael and Branding

How Michael Became a Brand Icon
What we should do to brand ourselves, our schools, our businesses

Death by an Overdose of Showbusiness
What we should not to to ourselves, our schools, our businesses

Humanizing Michael

Robert Hilburn Remembers
Long time L.A. Times critic reflects

Quincy Jones Remembers
After “Bad” the rest was just noise, Jones says of Michael’s life and surrounding controversy.

Teaching About Michael

As always, Larry Ferlazzo is there with resources for teaching.

Like many people, the iPod has drastically changed my music listening habits.  When I got my first iPod (five years ago and free via freeipods.com) my mission was to make it so that hitting shuffle would never bring up a bad tune.  Finally, I was able to extract just the songs I liked from albums that were overall made of crap.

So it’s rare that I buy albums even though I spend hundreds of dollars a year on music between iTunes and the Amazon music stores.  Nevertheless, a few albums get through.  Last year I was excited about Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” and Beck’s “Modern Guilt.”  I think “In Rainbows” is a masterpiece but a year later I have to be in a bad mood to listen to it with the exception of the opening track which helps me when I’m working out.  I tell my fiancé that Radiohead was the music I listened to when I was single and sad all the time.  Beck’s album, while poorly reviewed, was one of his most consistent albums in years.  I agree that there’s something empty about it but several of the songs are pleasantly surprising when they pop up on shuffle play today.

This year, I was excited about the new Wilco album which is released today but has been available via the band’s web site for months.  I’ve been a fan of Wilco since a friend of mine had me score a scene in her travel documentary with “California Stars.”  Years afterward I found “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” in a local music store (remember when we had those?) and I still consider one of my favorite albums of all time.

“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” led me to explore Wilco’s entire back catalog and even side projects like Tweedy’s work with the Minus 5 and Loose Fur and his previous work with Uncle Tupelo.  Tweedy is an incredible songwriter and his body of work is remarkably consistent, his voice is one of my favorites because it’s appealing and yet not that intimidating.  I feel like I can sing along when I’m listening.

I was a bit disappointed by “A Ghost Is Born” I thought that they took the experimentation of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” too far.  There are some great songs on there but many of them descend into noise…too much noise.  While one can skip over the noise at the end of “Reservations” at the end of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” putting noise in the middle of the album makes it hard to get through it.  But the heartache of songs like “Wishful Thinking” and the killer bridge of “Theologians” bring me back to this album a track at a time when putting together playlists.

“Sky Blue Sky” got rid of the noise but also got rid of the rock.  To say the album is mellow is putting it lightly.  Some of the songs like “Impossible Germany” and “Side with the Seeds” have a nice payoff eventually but you have to stay awake to get to those points.

The newest album “Wilco (The Album)” finds  a perfect balance between the too much noise on “A Ghost Is Born” and the too much mellow on “Sky Blue Sky.”  The guitar solos that dominated “Sky Blue Sky” are used just enough to avoid stealing the show.  The songwriting, as always, is top notch and as an album it’s distinctly listenable.  Highlights for me include “Wilco (The Song)”, “You Never Know”, “I’ll Fight”, and “Country Disappeared.”

The album does not approach the perhaps impossible heights of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” but it’s a terrific mix of melody mixed with just enough darkness and depth to make this a great album that doesn’t make you feel depressed to listen to it.

I am suspending e-mail delivery of the blog for the summer.  As always, you can visit the blog directly by going to:

http://www.creatinglifelonglearners.com

E-mail delivery will resume in the fall.

If you’re in the Los Angeles area, please join me this summer for one of two movie making classes I’m teaching using iMovie ‘09 and Final Cut Express. Both classes are two day “boot camps” that are both about learning to use the particular software programs AND learning some basic concepts of filmmaking such as shot selection and editing tips.

iMovie ‘09 bootcamp is July 20-21st and Final Cut Express is July 23-24.

As a bonus, learn Pages and Keynote from iWork ‘09 on July 14th.

All classes are sponsored by the Los Angeles County Office of Education. There is a small fee to subsidize the cost of the classes.

Sign up for these classes at: http://ito.lacoe.edu/workshops/workshops_display.pl

As usual, I’ll post any links and handouts to the blog so attendees and non-attendees can view them here.

Here are some terrific finds for the end of the school year.

1. A fabulous listing of fake web sites, hoax photos, etc. The best being a site warning of the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide (also known as water).

2. Snag Films
Can’t remember where I found this but you can watch documentaries on this site for free. I particularly recommend Run Granny Run which was a really touching film about an 80+ year old woman who runs for senate. Very inspiring.

3. Alec Couros’s list of 80 great Youtube movies for teaching media literacy just got a little longer.

4. And create your own video sharing site for free using Fliggo which I’ve posted about before.