Donor’s Choose: Everyday Tech Needs

Getting a head start on the 2016-17 school year, I posted a Donor’s Choose. Please help support some basic technology needs for my classroom.

DONOR’s CHOOSE LINK HERE: https://www.donorschoose.org/project/everyday-music-tech-needs

Enter Code: LIFTOFF and they’ll match your donation for the next 7 days!

 I was thinking about lessons for next year and I remember being frustrated by a reoccurring problem that I have as I move from class to class: Speakers that don’t work! If you’re familiar with “Art on a Cart” I teach in the same style only its “Music on a Cart” (also I don’t even use a cart unless I have a ton of instruments). If you’re not, basically its that I don’t have my own classroom. Every period I have to physically move myself and all my materials and enter into another teacher’s room, where they leave and for the next 45 minutes it becomes the temporary music room. It really doesn’t bother me as much as I think it would most teachers. I grew accustomed to teaching in this style after 4 years of English instruction in South Korea. Still, there are somethings that really bother me.

     One is Speakers! You never know if the class you enter is having tech issues, or if they just have really quiet speakers, either way its a nightmare for me. I’ve had teachers just tell me, to hold a cord a certain way, or wrap it around this or tape it here, ones classroom even had a “Speaker Helper” whose job it was to hold a speaker cable in such a way that they worked (otherwise they wouldn’t!) Not really the ideal situation for a traveling music teacher. I thought of a genius way to circumvent this problem though and its just to have my own.

    Obviously I’ve thought of this before, but carrying speakers from class to class was so impractical I gave up on it, but this time I really really solved the problem and it’s Bluetooth! A tiny little battery powered speaker that is both potent and portable! I have one at my house and I can’t believe I never thought of it. A good quality speaker will last the entire day on a single charge, and easy fill a classroom with high quality audio. Bose is the best in the biz, and so a quick visit to a Best Buy (never thought I’d go there again) and a live demonstration I decided on the Bose Mini-Soundlink. Quality audio, durable, portable, great battery life, and reasonable price. If funded it would grant me confidence and stability in my tech capabilities, and thus relieve a massive amount of stress.

     Other every needs are things like headphone splitters. They let multiple students listen to and share the same device. I had a full class set I bought with my own money 2 years ago, and have gotten so much use of of them, however and teacher (or parent) can attest to the wear and tear of what 2 years might do to something a child uses, so in short: I need new ones. Also, in the theme of tech needs, asked for a small quantity (6) of Google Cardboard VR goggles. I feel this amazing pieces of tech need their own post, but they can be a huge asset to ANY classroom. Think of those old red and blue 3-D glasses, except these actually work. You load up a special website of pre-rendered 3-D video online, and watch it through the glasses and wow, now you’re in ancient Greece, or watching the Maori do the Haka in live, or walking through an 1800’s railroad camp. (or on a roller coaster). We do so much work with music from different places, I think they’d be the perfect tech-center for my students to get some context and background knowledge of what we’re learning.

      All together the entire DC Grant is under $400 ($380.20) and will have an impact on EVERY student in the school (536). Usually grants like these get funded by a benevolent corporation or a philanthropist before the school year starts, but just in case, if you follow my blog or support arts education and integration fund my project. You’ll see the reactions and results here throughout the year. 

Donor's Choose link: https://www.donorschoose.org/project/everyday-music-tech-needs