TIS and THAT VOL. V
ISSUE. III
WV TIS, SEPTEMBER 2016
Feature Teacher
Ear Training
Logan Rhodes has been chosen as the STEAM Feature Teacher for Calhoun County Middle High School. He uses technology in his related arts classes almost daily, in one way or another and is constantly sharing his ideas with his colleagues. When asked to share his love of technology integration and the tools he uses, he prepared the following article for readers. Within the next paragraphs you will begin to understand why he has been chosen as the feature teacher. Let the words speak for themselves.
It sounds like a strange phrase to the non-music teacher. But it consists of a slew of very important skills that are essential to good musicianship. It’s comprised of being able to hear music and determine what rhythms, notes, intervals, chords, and phrases are being played.
Traditionally, ear training exercises and assessment in music classrooms have been a tedious exercise, for both teacher and student. When I was in college, my ear training professor played a series of notes on the piano, which we students tried out best to accurately transcribe onto staff paper. Assessment was based on the same exercise. In other courses, recordings were used, but the end result was still writing down the answer on a sheet of staff paper. Thankfully, in this age of technology, we can bid goodbye to that antiquated form of teaching. Theta Music Trainer https://trainer.thetamusic.com/ offers a wide range of music theory and ear training Logan Rhodes— Calhoun Co. Middle High School exercises. Continued on page 2 Continued on page 5
What Do You Want to Be When You Grow UP? This is the question that we ask our students at a very young age. More often than not, they always have a quick response. Children think that they know exactly what they want to be when they grow up, until they grow up. The career and technical centers throughout the state of West Virginia help to ensure that our students have an opportunity to continue with “hands on learning” when they need it the most. Continued on page 4
TECHNOLOGY IS BEING USED MORE AND MORE IN THE CLASSROOM THESE DAYS. DO YOU NEED TO MONITOR THEIR ACTIVITIES? SEE PAGE 4 FOR MORE DETAILS