If you have never observed a ballet class before, you might have confused yourself that you accidentally happened upon a French classroom (wearing really weird outfits). Originating from France, ballet movements are all in French. With Jazz, Tap, and Modern coming after the “creation” of ballet, all dance forms also use these terms, along with their own vernacular. Each of my classes start with journal vocab from the unit they are studying. Since ballet classes study ballet all year, and my Academy students take ballet for multiple years (with some at the same levels and some moving up levels), deciding WHAT vocabulary I should do for each class has always been a struggle. Considering there is an entire ballet dictionary, finding vocab to use is no trouble, but the vast amount can also be overwhelming. This year, my technology has encouraged me to look at the vocabulary in a different way and I think both my students and I are reaping the benefits.
Each 6 weeks I have been trying to use technology in a different way to support the learning process. What I didn’t want to do was try to get them to learn all the new tech AND new terms at the same time. What I decided to do was choose an essential package of vocabulary. For the 1st 6 weeks, we loaded the vocab in Quizlet and tested the translation/definition in Edmodo. The 2nd 6 weeks we did the same for the Production Vocabulary. When the 3rd 6 weeks came around, I made the decision to return to the 1st set of ballet vocab. This time we used awwapp.com for practice spelling and then Classkick to take spelling tests on the same material. The 4th 6 weeks was our Spring Show so we had a small break, but for the start of the 5th 6 weeks, we went back to the material 1 more time. This time they made a Virtual Video Poster of the vocabulary which required them to know the material, spell the material, and demonstrate the material. My students and I have gained so much more confidence in the process. Instead of being mediocre at a million words, they are now experts at an essential set. Instead of feeling like I haven’t taught them anything when I see low test scores, I am now thrilled at how well they are doing. It was a great reminder that sometimes Quality wins over Quantity.
My ballet classes also have delved into the Mimio board as a tool for vocabulary study. On day one we did the vocab as a pre-assessment without previous instructions to take a check on their previous knowledge. Ballet 1-3 had not yet been introduced to many of the terms before, so for them it was nice to use and knowledge in their schema to make best guesses. For Ballet 4, the words were all ones that they had heard before, but I needed to check how well they really knew them. Each day, again instead of adding more words, we try the same activity again, looking for continual improvement and retention. It included both previously studied skills of definition matching and spelling.
What about the other classes? Last week Jazz 4 took the same Virtual Video Poster concept and used it with the Broadway dance vocabulary. (see previous blog entry). My Dance 2 is into their modern unit using their Google Classroom for journals and Quizlet for vocabulary.
Last week, Dance and Media had an exciting opportunity to visit The Lennon Bus. With a full sound recording and video editing booth, the students were amazed at all of the technology used to support the arts. You could see their camera and video brains working overtime as they imagine the possibilities of using skills learned in this course for countless jobs in art and tech.
They are now halfway through Module 3 where they have been using cultural dances as a way to study community, choreographic forms, and dancing with others. This week they learned the Mayim dance, a dance asking for or celebrating water. This lead to the question: “What social issues are prevalent in our personal community that we could create a cultural dance about?” The students then planned the video shots of their dance. Each student then made their own Video Collage in InstaVid. We then took the video to Replay to add music choices to the video.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to reflect this week and realize an important lesson. Even though there are many tools that could have helped be to refine my teaching practices, the challenge of adding technology to my standard lesson plans has given me the exact push I needed and brought so much more QUALITY to my life.
Each 6 weeks I have been trying to use technology in a different way to support the learning process. What I didn’t want to do was try to get them to learn all the new tech AND new terms at the same time. What I decided to do was choose an essential package of vocabulary. For the 1st 6 weeks, we loaded the vocab in Quizlet and tested the translation/definition in Edmodo. The 2nd 6 weeks we did the same for the Production Vocabulary. When the 3rd 6 weeks came around, I made the decision to return to the 1st set of ballet vocab. This time we used awwapp.com for practice spelling and then Classkick to take spelling tests on the same material. The 4th 6 weeks was our Spring Show so we had a small break, but for the start of the 5th 6 weeks, we went back to the material 1 more time. This time they made a Virtual Video Poster of the vocabulary which required them to know the material, spell the material, and demonstrate the material. My students and I have gained so much more confidence in the process. Instead of being mediocre at a million words, they are now experts at an essential set. Instead of feeling like I haven’t taught them anything when I see low test scores, I am now thrilled at how well they are doing. It was a great reminder that sometimes Quality wins over Quantity.
My ballet classes also have delved into the Mimio board as a tool for vocabulary study. On day one we did the vocab as a pre-assessment without previous instructions to take a check on their previous knowledge. Ballet 1-3 had not yet been introduced to many of the terms before, so for them it was nice to use and knowledge in their schema to make best guesses. For Ballet 4, the words were all ones that they had heard before, but I needed to check how well they really knew them. Each day, again instead of adding more words, we try the same activity again, looking for continual improvement and retention. It included both previously studied skills of definition matching and spelling.
(this was the pre-assessment on day 1 PRIOR to the learning, so no judging the spelling :)
What about the other classes? Last week Jazz 4 took the same Virtual Video Poster concept and used it with the Broadway dance vocabulary. (see previous blog entry). My Dance 2 is into their modern unit using their Google Classroom for journals and Quizlet for vocabulary.
Last week, Dance and Media had an exciting opportunity to visit The Lennon Bus. With a full sound recording and video editing booth, the students were amazed at all of the technology used to support the arts. You could see their camera and video brains working overtime as they imagine the possibilities of using skills learned in this course for countless jobs in art and tech.
They are now halfway through Module 3 where they have been using cultural dances as a way to study community, choreographic forms, and dancing with others. This week they learned the Mayim dance, a dance asking for or celebrating water. This lead to the question: “What social issues are prevalent in our personal community that we could create a cultural dance about?” The students then planned the video shots of their dance. Each student then made their own Video Collage in InstaVid. We then took the video to Replay to add music choices to the video.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to reflect this week and realize an important lesson. Even though there are many tools that could have helped be to refine my teaching practices, the challenge of adding technology to my standard lesson plans has given me the exact push I needed and brought so much more QUALITY to my life.
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