Matt has a point... iphones and conclusions

Matt has a point...
Matt and I are both music students studying instrumental music method as well as classroom music method. On his most recent blog, Matt mentioned that he had bought an iphone. He remarked that some of the applications are very useful for learning things like aural training in music. I too have an iphone and I have found that also to be the case.
One of the incredibly important aspects of the iphone is its immediacy; its accessibility. Personally speaking, since having the iphone I have made use of the applications such as 'music theory pro' to keep my aural skills (requirement for musicians and music teachers alike) up to scratch (it takes practice - for me anyway). This is a fantastic application which allows people to practice their aural skills such as recognition of intervals, chords and scales - building blocks of music theory. These days, a lot of students actually have iphones, ipads or access to them which means that the learning task of aural theory (which can often be seen as boring and tedious) can become more engaging for them. Infact Often the aural training within the subject of music can seem quite daunting. Programs such as 'music theory pro' make these skills more accessible - it turns the learning in to a kind of a game. This is another example of how ICT can become part and parcel of learning rather than an isolated 'subject to cover'.

In some of John's very first lectures during this semester of ICT, he spoke about the importance and the relevance of integrating ICT into learning rather than relegating it to a subject on its own. John spoke about working through ICT in order to learn. Indeed my conclusion in reflecting on the course this semester is just that: rather than boxing it in to a corner, the use of ICT should be integrated within the subjects taught. Perhaps in some ways its position is kind of like that of written and aural literacy, in that we are taught that all teachers are teachers of literacy, not just english or language teachers.  For example in every subject, a student is expected to write a report/essay/composition/some kind of assessment etc. Literacy skills are used for each one of those. The teachers responsibility is to recognise their role in developing the students literacy in these contexts. The way that ICT is similar is that it can be used through out any or every subject taught at school. So something else that I have learnt is that there are a plethora of programs, blogs, sites etc which educators are able to use to teach or help teach their subject area. If teachers allow their students the chance to use ICT to learn/complete assignments etc, they are a) Giving the student an alternative way of learning (which may suit different intelligences of students idea of Howard Gardner) b) Developing a students ICT skill level - highly relevant in 21st century work places c) Helping students to explore the VELS ICT for Visual thinking, ICT for Creating and ICT for Communication.