So as I have been working on my school website lately I have tried to make it more interesting for the kids to come to. I try to put really valuble tools and information on the site but if I cant get the kids their in the first place it doesn't do much good. I have put a few videos up on youtube of past performances but in doing this I have began to wonder wether or not I should. In my opinion it is a great tool and a wonderful resource but I fear some parents might not like it even though there are absolutly no names attached to the videos and frankly I think you would have to be looking for the video to even find it. I am curious what others think about this topic.
My wife and I are in the stage of life where we are making decisions for at least the next few years of our life. Now that I am in my second year of teaching and I like the school that I am in. We have decided to settle in and start our family.
While doing this we have decided to purchase a house which has raised a few questions about where we should live.
Being that I teach in a very small school in a very small town personal life and school life is very easy to cross. Right now live in another small town about ten miles away and that has really helped me to keep these two lives some what more separated. Here are some of the pros and cons got each that we have thought of.
Pros of living where I teach: Live close to work. Get to know students outside of school. Future children live in same town that I teach in. Get to know community members and other teachers better.
Cons to living where I teach: People have too easy acces to bring work into every other aspect of my life. I am Mr. Gardner in everything I do.
So in my second week I decided I am severely lacking in the planning department and decided that it is time to apply at least one thing that I learned while student teaching. A Simple Tool Really
By drawing a small square on the white-board for each class and writing on there before each class what I need to accomplish I am more likely to get more accomplished.
Get More Accomplished
So for the last couple weeks I have done this and so far its working. I am not perfect on getting the boxes filled before each class and I can see the difference in each class depending on whether I do it or not.
Week one of life as a second year teacher has come and gone.
I've Changed
I've changed, I'm already a lot more productive in one week than I was all year as a first year teacher. I'm more friendly with other teachers and I understand better how how administration and everything works. With this new found pro-activeness, I have been a lot busier as well. I have taken up some added responsibilities which are my own fault. I volunteered.
I Volunteered
I am coaching seventh grade football this year and I am on the varsity scout team in addition to my already hectic music schedule.
First Day Of School
For the first day of school we had to take care of rules and expectations. I changed all my first day handouts this year. I found these great music Websites of other schools and stole from each to come up with my own.
The biggest change was to my grading policy, I added an "A" project for each quarter.
They Can Choose
I really like this because it allows students to actually get involved in making the music program better. But, it also allows them to choose They can choose if they want an "A" and what they are willing do to get it. The best part is its all on their own time frame.
Didn't Waste Time
I didn't waste any time getting started with performing in the music department either. I heard from some friends of mine that there was going to be a talents how in the local old west days celebration that was severely lacking in contestants. I decided that my top audition choir could put together a song in just one week or 4 days to be exact. So on Tuesday I gave them a new song to learn and two days later on Thursday we choreographed half and on Friday the other half.
Am I Nuts?
In my mind it was a good idea because it gave them a chance to get started right away and not waste a lot of time trying to get the wheels turning at the beginning of the year. They are always more motivated when a performance is looming. Also it was a really easy number with really easy choreography so it worked really well as a confidence builder. You should have heard the kids brag to their friends that they could be performance ready in a week. I might add that infact they did very well and it was looking like my crazy idea just might work after all.
Suprises, Always Surprises
The night before we are to perform I find out the wedding that I am supposed to DJ for (did I mention I DJ on the Side:) is actually starting 2 hours earlier then originally planned. This conflicts directly with our Old West days performance.
My Beautiful, Amazing, Talented Wife
*Cue Super Hero Music. My Beautiful, amazing, talented wife comes to the rescue as she is fast learning is a full time job. She a little reluctantly covers for me at the old west days while I head off to DJ the wedding. About the time I know their performance should start I get a call from my wife explaining that a few of the students decided that instead of doing the choreography they would just stand and sing the song. This would have been fine except for it's a pretty simple song which can be boring without the simple choreography to accompany it. Simple + Simple = Not Boring right? I think I learned that in college. :) So I tell her no they can do it
Simple + Simple = Not Boring
So a few of the more popular students took it upon themselves to persuade everybody else not to do the choreography. So needless to say I was kind of disappointed with the kids because they knew the choreography but decided not to do it anyway. Overall I still fill it was a good experience for the kids and would probaby do it again given the same set of circumstances. And in the end I even let the kids count it as their "A" Project for this quarter so now everyone is happy and we have all learned a few things.
Here I begin year two as a music teacher. In many ways I feel more prepared than last year and yet I still feel unprepared.
My goal this year with this Blog is to make it more real. At the conclusion of every week I want to journal what we have accomplished and where we have fallen short. I fear doing this because I am really allowing myself to be very vulnerable but at the same time isn't that what music is all about?
So while I invite you in a very personal way to step inside my music program this year I also ask that you not judge me or my teaching style. Be patient with me while I am still learning what works for me and what doesn't, remember I am only a second year teacher. I am always open for constructive criticism and to be honest I will need lots of comments to help motivate me to regularly post.
So if you are interested in reading a BLOG like this please comment and let me know.
Throughout the blogosphere we’ve all noted several times that images are used in a lot of blog posts and there are equally as many posts mentioning that we should use images within posts. Including my own post, 13 Ways to Grab Attention.
But finding the right images to use can be difficult when you’re conscious of copyright laws and what is considered fair use.
So with this post, I’ll detail for you 4 ways to find images that you can use within your blog posts. But do keep in mind that with these sources, you need to consider the terms in which you use them.
This is by far one of my favorite places to get images for posts. There’s a huge variety of images to choose from including a great selection of free images that are perfect for blog posts. Of course there’s also the ability to purchase stock credits that will enable you to pick up different size images and use them for other purposes.
iStock is a slightly more expensive means for getting images. However they do have really awesome quality images for blog designs as well as a free photograph per week and a free vector image per month. So just registering for a membership will enable you to pick up some free stuff!
With Flickr you can search for images to use for your blog posts based on the type of license the photographer attaches to the images. And all of the images that you’ll find are free but make sure that you credit the photographer of the images you do use with a link back to their Flickr account.
Using Google is slightly more complicated as you’ll need to figure out the license of the images you do find. However a lot of the images that do come up are from blogs which makes it easier if the blogger has given proper credit to the original photographer.
These methods have been so effective for me in finding the right images to use that they’re all the sources that I have. There hasn’t been a single case yet where I couldn’t find the right image to use for any number of blog posts and niche blogs. So have a look.
Do you have any sources for blog images that you can share with us?
Until not so long ago, the best way to learn an instrument was to buy or rent the real thing, and then commit to regular lessons from a real life teacher. Things have changed, especially for piano, as a full size MIDI keyboard can run you less than $100 these days. Combine that with a cool program like Music Wizard Group’s Piano Wizard, and you can get yourself on the path to the concert hall for a fraction of what it used to cost.
Piano Wizard is a customizable and complex piano program that can take you from beginner to pro through a series of exercises and games. They even include stickers to put on your keys to help remember which key is what. The program earned a 4 star rating at MacNN, so if you’re an aspiring keyboardist / pianist but don’t have the scrilla to lay down for weekly lessons, this could be an effective, fun way to hone your skill.
Written on July 1st, 2008 at 12:07 am by Darren Rowse
Over the last week I’ve run some Crazy Egg heat map tracking on two posts on Digital Photography School (both of which got to the front page of Digg and got a lot of traffic) that both highlight to me a very simple method of increasing the number of pages that people view when they visit your blog.
What you’re looking at above is the ‘hottest’ zone on the post. It is the most clicked upon part of the page. This section of the page was clicked on just under 2000 times over the duration of this test. The full page had just under 6000 clicks.
What stands out for me is that the section of the page you’re viewing above is a long way from the top of the post. While the general rule is that people click more on links at the tops of posts - this section of the page is only viewable once you’ve hit ‘page down’ 7 times!
The first two links in the section are links to my subscription page and a byline link to the author of the post - but the other five are all internal links to other articles on the blog. This means 1800 or so of the visitors to this page viewed at least one other page on the blog.
The ‘Further Reading on Camera Shake’ links were ones that I manually added to the post and the ‘Read more posts like ‘How to….’ links were automated links generated with a WP Plugin.
Lets look at another example
In this test (on a post on ‘Jowling‘) I’m showing you the same section of the page. This time I had to hit ‘page down’ 5 times to get to it. Again it’s low on the page and again I’ve got the automated links as well as two others in the ‘A Couple of other things….’ section.
Once again - this is the hottest part of the page in terms of clicks with around 1600 clicks (all internal) out of 6500 clicks on the full page.
Why do readers click links so far down the page?
It might seem a little odd that links so far down a page would be clicked on at such a high rate - but the reason that it happens is quite logical. These points on the page are what I call ‘pause points’. They are parts of a page where readers pause and make a decision on what to do next.
These sections are all at the end of articles - a point where readers end one activity and look to do another one. Many readers simply hit ‘back’ at this point or head to Google to search for something else - however when you give them something else to do or read you have a decent chance of convincing them to stay on your site.
Other Things to Do at Pause Points
There are of course other things that you can do in these ‘pause points’ on a blog including:
Advertising - this is a ‘hot zone’ in terms of CPC ads
Affiliate Programs - I don’t find they convert as well as CPC ads here but they can work
Social Bookmarking - many bloggers run social bookmark buttons in this spot to encourage readers to vote for the post
Subscription Invitations - this is a great place to get conversions from first time readers to subscribe to your blog
Really any key conversion goals that you want to achieve can work in a ‘Pause Point’ - although when you put too many options in that point for readers you probably dilute the conversion rate. What else do you put in ‘pause points’?
Summer in the City by Joe Cocker, Coldplay’s Clocks, and Loser by Beck are essentially all purple songs, they’re just from different decades - according to Rockola.fm. This Spanish site gives the whole “music to suit your mood”-thing a new boost by combining several factors we’ve seen separately on other sites before. It combines the color factor from Guitarati, the year factor from Yamelo, and the similar artists factor from Last.fm.
So you start by clicking somewhere in the colorful circle, or by typing in your favorite artist. Your semi-personal radio station then starts blasting away. Don’t worry about making the wrong start, as you can always correct Rockola by giving a thumbs up or down for a certain song. Along the way, Rockola will learn about your taste. I personally hate it when an algorithm claims that it can determine what my music taste is, I don’t even know what I like myself. But hey, maybe this promise does work for you.
It’s recommended to sign up, as this gives you access to a tagging feature, unlimited listening time and a share option. Well, thank you but no thanks, Rockola is a fun way to explore new songs, but I don’t see it becoming my main source for new music. For that, I stay close to an old friend, owned by CBS.
Downloading illegal music has become a hot topic on the Web. So much so that it’s easy to forget about the plethora of sites dedicated to free, legal music. We’ve put together a list of 30+ sites that will keep your MP3 player playing until your batteries are completely drained.
Whether you’re into pop, jazz, metal or classical, there’s something here for everyone. Let us know which are your favorites.
Amazon MP3 Store - The vast majority of the music at Amazon is for sale, but they do have a rotation of free tracks available for download.
AmieStreet.com - Focused on promoting new and independent music, their downloads range from free to $0.98 as they grow in popularity.
ArtistServer.com - It started off as a resource for independent electronic musicians, but is now open to all. All tracks can be downloaded for free.
BeSonic.com - Offers over 13,000 free tracks from mostly European acts.
BetterPropaganda.com - A music webzine covering hundreds of music labels, and offering thousands of free & legal songs for you to download.
CCMixter.org - a site dedicated to music that you can download to remix and post your results, all under the Creative Commons license.
Download.com - Most people think CNet’s Download.com is just about software, but they also have tens of thousands of free MP3s you can download from new as well as up and coming bands.
Epitonic.com - A large selection of free tracks from smaller record companies that are free to download with larger releases available for purchase.
EZ-Tracks.com - Offers over 30,000 legal downloads that are managed through a partnership with the labels. Starts you off with credit for 101 free upon registering.
FreeAlbums.blogsome.com - A blog that posts reviews of complete albums that are available for free downloads from numerous sources.
GarageBand.com - Independent bands can upload their music, then have it rated by users, as well as downloaded for free.
Imeem.com - Features streaming music from all of the major labels as well as numerous smaller companies, with numerous free downloadable tracks.
ItsFreeDownloads.com - Finding the free downloads on iTunes itunes-overtakes-wal-mart-in-music-sales Apr-4-2008 can be a chore, this site does the work for you and lets you know what’s free each week.
Jamendo.com - Artists upload their albums under Creative Commons, allowing new listeners to discover their work. Although free, there is the opportunity to donate to the performers of your choice.
Last.fm - While most people know Last.fm for its streaming and social aspects, they offer a weekly chart of downloadable free mp3s.
LegalTorrents.com - Proving that not all BitTorrent activity is illegal, LegalTorrents is filled with completely legal material.
Live Music Archive - Part of Archive.org, features thousands of live performances by smaller bands as well as the likes of the Grateful Dead and Jason Mraz.
MetalHordes.com - A band promotion site focusing on various forms of heavy metal, and allowing bands to upload mp3s users can download for free.
MP3.com - Besides their paid section, MP3.com does offer a large selection of free tracks from acts small and large alike.
MP3.com.au - Focusing on Australian bands, mp3.com.au offers a repository for bands to upload their music for people to download and try for free.
MP34U - Works in conjunction with Muzic.com, this site finds sources of free music & legal music from all over the Web.
MP3Raid.com - Searches multiple sources to bring you approximately a million free song downloads.
Muzic.com - A sister site to MP34U, wherein the artists upload their tracks themselves, and muzic.com helps them promote their work.
Purevolume.com - Allows independent musicians to set up profiles for themselves, stream their music and gives them the option of enabling their work for free downloads.
Ruckus.com - Ruckus provides free music to people with .edu email addresses, and requires you to renew your licenses for DRM once a year.
SoundClick.com - Offering a mixture of signed and unsigned artists the opportunity to set up profile pages and either stream their music or offer it up for free downloads.
SpiralFrog.com - Major release albums and tracks available for the price of just watching some advertisements.
Stereogum.com - Daily free mp3s from various artists, as well as rotating free albums.
TuneShout.com - A site for independent artists to promote themselves. Artists can upload tracks either for free or at a user cost of $0.89.
We7.com - We7 offers mp3 downloads for free, but they do have advertisements attached to them. If you want them without the ads, they do offer a paid alternative.
So as I have been working on my school website lately I have tried to make it more interesting for the kids to come to. I try to put really valuble tools and information on the site but if I cant get the kids their in the first place it doesn't do much good. I have put a few videos up on youtube of past performances but in doing this I have began to wonder wether or not I should. In my opinion it is a great tool and a wonderful resource but I fear some parents might not like it even though there are absolutly no names attached to the videos and frankly I think you would have to be looking for the video to even find it. I am curious what others think about this topic.![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=7ec75d73-4c6c-4d3e-97c1-f13c3084a6af)
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Until not so long ago, the best way to learn an instrument was to buy or rent the real thing, and then commit to regular lessons from a real life teacher. Things have changed, especially for 
Written on June 29, 2008 – 9:00 am
Downloading 
