Tag Archives: ECI 831

Learning piano: Patience, hard work and connections that transcend time.

18 Monday Apr 2016

Posted by in ECI 831, ECI 831 - Major Project - Learning Piano

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General thoughts and reflections

In recent weeks, I have focused on playing piano using my full hand range (by practicicing the opening baseline of Castle of Glass by Linkin Park), maintaining proper posture and playing with my left hand in addition to my right simultaneously… but this is taking a long time to progress. The most important thing I’ve had to remind myself is patience. Not surprisingly, there are no short-cuts to success with physically playing the piano. Your body has to be taught the movements in order to experience success. In understanding terminology, tricks for learning can occur much like it would learning from a textbook in the classroom, but you still need to understand and apply aside from memorize (Bloom’s taxonomy). What are some things that have stood out for me?

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Key points that I’ve noticed in my development and tips you can use.

  • I still need to keep learning different chords and songs I enjoy. And play them to completion, not just the parts I like. But some parts of songs may teach certain things (chords or hand range).
  • A song I enjoy is so much easier to play (practice).
  • I’ve only scratched the surface of learning piano. Be patient.
  • I need to maintain and honour a regular schedule to keep playing regularly, it’s easy to get caught up in life and skip a day or two sometimes.
  • Some songs I am simply not ready to learn/play yet.
  • It isn’t easy to play piano while singing… but can be very rewarding when achieved, even if you can just hum it to start.
  • Playing with two hands can be done, but learn one hand at a time and then combine them together.
  • There is no limit to resources out there, but some may be different, find what’s accurate and works best for you.
  • Maintain good posture and consider getting an instructor to critique you for even a brief amount of time. I was fortunate to work with a music teacher in person, but many virtual piano courses are available.
  • It is so amazing to be listening to the radio, hear a song, and think: I bet I could play that.

It is so amazing to be listening to the radio, hear a song, and think: I bet I could play that.

 

Recommendations on resources to learners.

I really enjoyed using Synthesia. If you can drop thirty dollars (USD) to purchase it, I found it very useful used in combination with Free Midi. Searching on Google or on YouTube is an easy way to find tutorials on songs, terminology, or instructors/courses available on-line. Some of which are free for the frugal!

What’s next?

Did I achieve all of my goals? No. But learning is never complete and my journey with the piano is no exception to this idea. In addition to the goal of learning the four chord song one day, as I’ve made countless references to… this classic below by Johann Sebastian Bach looks like another goal to learn in the future. The video below is slowed down enough for me to follow along while I play (if I can’t find a midi). I considered learning classical at the start of the term, but just hadn’t got around to it yet. After reading about Bach, I was reminded about the universal language that is music. That a song that someone composed close to three hundred years ago can make my spine shiver and emotions echo that of an individual who lived in a world not as connected like mine. But this connection through music transcends time, worldview and language. This serves as a reminder of why patience and hard work is important in learning music… and while I believe that success will look different for all students, he did (apparently) provide this quote to close on:

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Johann Sebastian Bach via Wikipedia

“I worked hard. Anyone who works as hard as I did can achieve the same results.”
Johann Sebastian Bach from BrainyQuotes

 

 

Have you been learning an instrument? Would you emphasize patience as well? Let me know below!

Logan Petlak

ED Goals: Continue to connect, learn, question and improve.

17 Sunday Apr 2016

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Term in review

Over the course of this semester in ECI 831 we’ve progressed from educational technologies, like utilizing social media such as blogging and tweeting –> open education resources and ideologies –> to the perils and realities of the internet world through law and harassment –> and closed with the power and need for on-line activism. As this was my first class in my graduate studies, I found it very relevant as a student again and still as a young teacher. I felt that many of the discussions directly translated to learning in my classroom.
How have I been applying my new knowledge and thoughts thus far in my teaching practice?

In environmental science we have utilized social media to do research on ways to reduce waste and become enviornmental stewards and activists. In health science, I registered and directed students toward an open education resource through Coursera to learn more about our current topic (vital signs). This was accompanied by showing the students that you may purchase certifications in recognition of these courses should you need some paperwork associated with it ($65). This, in turn, lead into a class discussion on university tuitions that unfortunately seem to serve as a price tag for paper recognition of knowledge garnered. Around the school? I’ve used Facebook group chats to communicate with students about our One Act performance for the year, and have continued to use Remind to communicate with my track and field team as well as help coordinate our school gay-straight alliance (GSA). After spending more time with Snapchat, I had utilized its popularity with students to help promote our school in Moose Jaw as well as provide an area for potential students to ask questions about the school.

As I took into consideration MOOCs and open education, I considered how to work this into my classroom, but rather than simply throwing in some individual research in assignments and reminding them about critiquing sources, I decided to formally merge my teaching style with what I’ve learned about digital citizenship. The Digital Citizenship Presentation covers this and “learning in a Mr. Petlak classroom”. I intend to use at the start of my semesters in the future.

 

Beyond my classroom and practice, what else has this course helped with?

Over the course of this class, I digitally connected with others in the private purchase of a house, I digitally connected with other educators on-line to enhance my PLN, and expanded my ability to organize knowledge gathered outside of the school back into improving learning of myself and others. I felt it helped me reflect on the social dynamics inherent in social media that was just becoming relevant when I was in high school, and it allowed me to better connect with this generation of learners. It also renewed my desire to be an activist and not be afraid to speak out, which I fear as educators we may fear doing so in order to remain neutral… and at times, silent. But the push to learn piano also helped me found my voice and way to “create” music and sounds that I have enjoyed for a long time… and will continue to keep learning about.

 

Closing

I sincerely thank Alec Couros and Katia Hildebrandt for an awesome semester of learning, as well as all of my classmates. I was very unsure what to expect in a graduate class but this did not overwhelm or disappoint. I feel like a better teacher and person after this course and I feel that is my ultimate goal of education: to continue to connect, learn, question and improve.

To finish how I started, below is a picture of the difference in hashtags from the start of the semester to the end of the semester. Despite the length of each list, the time to complete was actually very similar… and almost just as importantly… I think my hair looks better too!

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First Day – ECI 831

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Last Day – ECI 831

 

 

 

 

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Summary of Learning Video

Without further delay, below is my summary of learning video. “Google Yourself” a parody (remix) of Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself”.

Keep on learning,
Logan Petlak

Lyrics

It all began with a selfiechallenge,
and then I started google plussing my name!
Flipgridding teachers, oh, wow this is great!
No more learning on my own: networking

Learning project maybe write a song,
‘Cause I love music maybe piano player. Can’t yet,
But I still play piano lots
And, holy, I be learnin’ lots
Watching youtube, TedTalks connections is where it is at,
Took weeks just to see that

Katia don’t like trolls but she likes trollin’ ’em
And if you don’t like slacktivism I think you’re wrong.
And I’ve spent hours on my blog
Even tweeted @courosa
I’m networked son,
domain at WordPress.com

So I like PLNs – knowledge-able n’ such
Baby, I support open education
And I think I’ve got a good online identity
It’s clear that I google myself

And when Dave told me bout rhizomatic learning
The only problem I had was info curation
Experience is the best teacher of knowledge
Pipe’s more important than content in the pipe.

And I gotta chirp about some laws
Lessig saves us with creative commons, just go Cite it,
Or we will get locked up
People puttin’ wifi prices on (everything)
And net neutrality is where we wanna fight back,
Took months just to see that

Katia don’t like trolls but she likes trollin’ ’em
And if you don’t like activism I think you’re wrong.
And I’ve spent hours on my blog
Even tweeted @courosa
I’m networked son,
domain WordPress.com

So if you like PLNs – knowledge-able n’ such
Well then just support open education
And if you think you don’t connect with students
Then just edtech Snapchat yourself

And on the chance you have a classroom blog
teach #digcit – Translates to learnin’ for all
And yet the wealth gap leaves students vulnerable
Digital divide can we just break down it’s walls?

Corm-i-er told us, bout’ MOOCs and such
Oh, baby, you could go learn by “yourself”
Orient, declare goals, network, cluster, focus
And go complex question yourself

Now I have, a PLN – am knowledge-able n’ such
And I support open education
And if you think you don’t manage your reputation
You should go google yourself

Piano injuries: movement retraining.

29 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by in ECI 831, ECI 831 - Major Project - Learning Piano

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Learning chords and piano these days has been taking a toll on my wrists. I had to figure out why. Self-deprecatingly, I assumed I was either weak-wristed or doing something wrong. So I asked the internet, and so did Bradd Szonye, and his quote and question was similar to mine: “Do I need to do something different, or do I just need to build more strength?” It was the first… although after digging into comments, his problems ended up not being exactly similar to mine.

My search for the causes took me to PianoMap.com and it identified the possible causes of my pain, whether it was muscle or tendon-based, or both:

  1. Co=contraction – two muscles working simulatneously against one another.
  2. Awkward positions – this one is a no brainer. I’m the king of awkward positions, situations, and comments.
  3. Static muscular activity – repeating a similar motion of contraction can cause pain.
  4. Excessive force – playing piano doesn’t require much force, but “it is easy to fall into the habit of using more force than needed”. Yeah, I did that.

Solution to my pain?

“The person must learn to play the piano using non-stressful movements to perform the tasks that were formerly performed with stressful movements” – PianoMap.com

Summarized? Relax and stay in a position that keeps you relaxed. I need to “retrain” my “movement”, but how do I learn the right movement online? Is there a free online instructor? Hello, Youtube.

Alright Alison M Sparrow, what are some common mistakes, and what is proper movement and posture?

Knuckles, wrists, elbows in a line. Deal.I decided to confirm her credentials. She’s got ’em. I trust her and her 200,000 subscribers. She even offers a Skype lesson component for $40! AND AND AND! TWITTER AND A BBC SHERLOCK HOLMES PIANO TUTORIAL!

So, moving forward, found some more resources, addressed my issue of wrist soreness, hopefully I can work on my movements!

 

Corner Gas short-cut?

I could’ve avoided all this research had I just listened to Davis Quinton (Lorne Cardinal) of Corner Gas’ advice: “When you play piano you have to keep your fingers loose, like bear paws”. Yes, I’m aware that Corner Gas isn’t a solution for everything (but show me evidence that tells me it isn’t). Shout out to humour for health to laugh at even tough situations, like me struggling to learn piano.

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“Bear Paws” via MakeaGIF.com

 

SIDE NOTE: I once mentioned looking into how to do looping with my piano, and I don’t have a good enough piano for it or I need to buy a Boss RC-2 or RC-20 loop station… around $200. Unfortunate, but perhaps an investment to make in the future if I want to get more serious about this.
Tips, comments, feedback? Let me know!

Logan Petlak

Ps. Oh yeah, and: Bear Paws.

davis bear paws

“Bear Paws” from Corner Gas: One Piano, Four Hands via Youtube

Normalcy and “justifying” online harassment

29 Tuesday Mar 2016

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Scrolling through a Facebook feed the other day,
I happened upon the picture below, an apparent quote from Larry Winget, whom has some inspirational terms but his commentary on “whining” or “being a victim” may be taken out of context by some…

to college students

“To College Students” via WordPress

It was shared by one individual whom I know to enjoy taking in a variety of views and challenges and reflects on them practically and will share their thoughts respectfully. The same picture was also shared by one individual who frequently posts articles and pictures against refugees, Muslims in Canada, denying white privilege, supporting gun use and has a confederate flag in pictures… not surprisingly, I’ve long debated deleting the latter individual, but at times see the value in being aware of different, albeit hurtful opinions, which I recently learned is avoiding the Echo Chamber Effect. Thanks Mike Rugnetta for this term! How often do we see the duality and overlap in an idea/quote between separate ways of thinking yet manipulated for own gains. One used it to challenge thoughts and break down barriers, the other used it to justify actions and comments that attack (“offend”) others (devil’s advocate could say this is simply my opinion, but given the context you may be inclined to agree). The reality is that some ideas are worth getting offended about and make us create change but some of us may be fighting for the wrong side. Why are some individuals on, what I consider to be, the wrong side? And do they have any grounds in justifying what appears to be digital racism?

Applying it to education
As educators, we are fortunate enough to be exposed to the ideas and negative underlying contexts present in our society be it sexism, racism, and much more, but outside education, others aren’t necessarily exposed to this information and thoughts. Some even resist it violently online… resorting to online harassment to combat challenging ideas or notions (more on the normalcy of online harassment later). Could this be due to post-secondary education, much like its apparent correlation between democrats and republicans? Educators are fortunate enough to be exposed to these ideas and have the responsibility to address these in the classroom. Our duty is to foster the challenging of beliefs and ideas in a classroom.

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Photo Credit: Emily Kidd2012 via Compfight cc

Beliefs when challenged however, can be taken to extreme lengths to be justified or manipulated, much like in my story above. Some of which may be devoid of critical thought processes. It can be justified negatively in one of two ways, either through stating that “I have a right to my opinion” and they celebrate the defiance of it, or simply say, well I was proposing this idea simply to “troll” others who get too worked up about it. As stated above, conversely, one of these individuals could use the above paragraph to describe/be against what I may believe as well. Where is the line? Hypothetically, were I to share this to my Facebook feed, I would expect those who believe it would support me and like it, which may perpetuate my belief, but the same networks and Echo Chambers exist for both sides. Why can’t both be okay? Where is the line between harassment and free speech? What’s the difference?

The difference is empathy. One side welcomes acceptance, while the other resists it. Some beliefs,when they pertain to human rights, typically when ignoring them, are not okay anymore. Not in Canadian society. And the online harassment of females and its normalcy displays a disheartening reality in the digital world.

It is never appropriate to use slurs, metaphors, graphic negative imagery, or any other kind of language that plays on someone’s gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religion. – Matt Rozsa

Normalcy of online harassment
I still recall freaking out at the age of 10 in the year 2000 about a random individual on the online game, Starcraft, who threatened to “find me and kill me” (it was because I won the game, no big deal). Terrified, I ran to my older brother about it to show him and he quickly assured me that “that’s just how it is, don’t worry.” And from then on I began the numbing process to online harassment that is shielded by anonymity, which I’ve previously made reference to, and Ellen Lague addresses the pros and cons in her article. It wasn’t an new idea sixteen years ago, let alone today. And I don’t really belong to a marginalized group or have been targeted due to my identity!

“A death threat is like waking up in the morning. Just something that happens to me, happens to all of us.” –boogie2988

Whether it’s in comments, videos, or pictures, a lot is said in what is shared on social media, and who people attack or “troll”… and the repercussions can be lethal. Solution?We need to take “offence” and challenge it. Trolling, harassment and doxing happens to famous figures, like gamer and The Guild star, Felicia Day, and takes an insidious and subconscious toll. Her story highlights the study-supported bulls-eye on women specifically in social media. We can attempt to numb ourselves and prepare for the ensuing harassment considered “inevitable”, but even that notion needs to be challenged. Why is numbing okay? How do we challenge that? Do we police comments? If learning can take place perhaps over time comment-policing isn’t necessary.

Why care?
Why does all this matter? Because while many may lose faith, and with many instances of hellacious harassment it can be easy to see why that happens, I wholeheartedly believe that society is moving past bigotry. Since more individuals are able to voice their opinions online we may see more of the dark side of society than we’d like, but it’s a dark side of society that has been present for a long time. We don’t have to be okay with it. It just makes our problem visible, which can be easier to fix. Whether you hear it in the language of individuals of past generations or those who take pride in being abusive by saying they are “old-fashioned” ultimately, some things need to be taken offence to. And taking offence isn’t being “sensitive”, it’s having compassion for other human beings. Macklemore’s “White Privilege II” provides a great narrative on the intricacies of pursuing this and, as Katia put it, “we’re on the right track”.

Agree? Disagree? Have you had similar experiences? Your thoughts?

Logan Petlak

Learnin’ piano on the go, bro!

20 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by in ECI 831, ECI 831 - Major Project - Learning Piano

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So, I’ve found that I’ve struggled to manage my time well and may not get as much piano practice in as I’d like… as a result, in addition to stepping my game up, I also considered that this poses a great opportunity, how can I learn piano while I’m always running around? Let’s learn piano chords on the go! Using my Samsung Galaxy S5, I downloaded some apps through the Google Play Store. And have been trying to use them to get a better idea of the chords… some I found are in the video below that I recorded using Zoom.us

Video details
In this video I explore a couple of apps for Android that I got for free from the Google Play Store.Specifically I look at learning some of the chords to play the 4 Chord Song.

Piano Scales & Chords Free
Review: Can play all notes simulatenously to get the proper sound of the chord. Thought it looked professional and user friendly enough and had games to help me learn, however the game is quite difficult to master. Has the names of all keys on the piano screen!
UPDATE: HAS INCORRECT CHORDS! – I thought my C# minor was off and it was… I was in fact playing a C# Major

Learn Piano Chords
Review: Simple view with large text. Cannot play all notes simultaneously on my phone. Has the names of all keys on the piano screen! Incomplete, only has beginner chords (okay for me in the short term).

Piano Companion
They also have a twitter to connect to!
Review: Most professional looking and has a large database. Cannot play all notes simultaneously on my phone. Has the names of all keys on the piano screen!

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Screenshot taken with Samsung Galaxy S5 via Piano Scales & Chords Free.
Closing
For all of the apps, they don’t teach the posture or finger dexterity required to play piano, but they do give me the visual of learning which keys to play for a particular chord. Most importantly, they are all free and extend my opportunities to play piano. And for you iPhone users out there. Piano Scales & Chords and Piano Companion are both available from the App Store… in addition to many other apps! I will continue to practice and keep you posted, but thus far, learning chords even just four of them has been a slow process!

Comments or suggestion of other apps? Let me know! Thanks!
– Logan Petlak

Harnessing social media: anonymity and digital citizenship

28 Sunday Feb 2016

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We need digital citizenship to better achieve curricular goals and develop our students holistically in a connected world. I decided to create a personal prototype digital citizenship presentation to begin educating my students before beginning research projects in order to guide them to critique and utilize information found on-line and in social media. Since their knowledge-pursuit is connected to the curriculum, responsible use of social media to gather information is implied. Teaching digital citizenship extends beyond the curriculum however, as the interactions within have potentially negative consequences. Utilizing social media and teaching digital citizenship can help foster holistic development (mental, social, and emotional well-being) and may combat social factors potentially inhibiting a student’s ability to achieve curricular outcomes (ex. cyber-bullying).

Combat the negatives of social media
If we don’t weave this into our classrooms or it doesn’t happen at home, problems with social media will occur. There are many outlets for problems to occur, Yik Yak is only an isolated incident. Yik Yak seems very similar to ASKfm, which has caused problems associated with cyber-bullying in our community. Since Yik Yak is location-based… it can be blocked by geo-fencing, but this is just a band-aid. As always, rather than providing a band-aid to a problem, we want a long-term solution… and normally this comes with education (climate change or sexual health issues are hopefully made better through education). How can this be done? We need progress and solutions beyond isolated incidents and this can be remedied through continuing the conversation in the classroom about digital citizenship… and teaching students not to hide behind anonymity.

Applications to sexual health
Porn has well-documented negatives associated with viewing it, affecting intimacy (in the sexual sense) between partners negatively. Porn’s not going to disappear in the near future, so address it head-on with awareness, like Ontario is doing. Much like sex education shifts in recent history we saw that greater education of sexuality can lead to lower rates of STI-transmission and teen pregnancy. This follows the idea that it gives teens the knowledge to make a choice… and combining choice with positive relationships leads to a stronger learning environment. If you play with everything face up… and live a life that you’re not afraid of others finding out… is that not the best way to achieve positive self-esteem? You come to terms with your flaws, address them and can plan to improve them… even utilizing the help of others to do so.

“We need progress and solutions beyond isolated incidents and this can be remedied through continuing the conversation in the classroom about digital citizenship… and teaching students not to hide behind anonymity.”

Anonymity
4chan thrives on anonymity, and delivered by and reaching an invisible audience. It provides a blend between humour, fanaticism, anarchism and vigilantism. You have a sordid mix of meme-creating humour, well-meaning “cyber-attacks”, and severely harmful instances of cyber-bullying. Some cyber-bullying extends to “bad” corporations/individuals, so one may argue it is a force for good, much like Batman… and like Batman, it all circles around its anonymity. It allows for the power to do good… and bad, all without the fear of getting caught. Many parallels can be drawn between it’s associated organization: Anonymous and fsociety from Mr. Robot.


4chan and Anonymous is nameless and faceless, but it is still a network that provides a Jekyll and Hyde home for individuals. Students need a home, a social support network, and validation of their ideas therein.

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Anonymous Emblem via Wikipedia

Validation drives the desire to connect to groups, to share your story, even if it is within a group interwoven with negativity. Even without a face, you can feel validated in your statements or “heard”. Unfortunately, your ideas can also be “trolled”, damaging self-esteem or, as some students are reportedly doing, practising “self-trolling”, cutting themselves down on-line, altering their personal expectations. Silver-lining, this potentially allows them to observe support from peers, who will be their hero? Will one come or, could they even be their own hero, creating an anonymous threat and solving it themselves? While not a good practice to create a fake bully to see who will stick up for us, or defend ourselves, what is a positive we can take from this? Can we utilize heroism ideas like this within digital citizenship to help students practice problem-solving constant attacks and shifts to their identity and expectations? “No one judges them more harshly than themselves” but perhaps “No one can provide the answer to it but themselves”. As a teacher, what subtle supports can we guide them to higher self-esteem achieved through this? Can we devise a way through educating students on digital citizenship to take advantage or simulate these opportunities to grow and meet the expectations they feel are placed on them? Students may create these expectations, so how can we guide them out of it without imposing it or having to police it? How can we make them their own heroes? If we can devise a way, they become the bedrock and clientele of these potentially hazardous social media sites and educating students about social media through digital citizenship may be the way.

Comments? Feedback? Let me know!

-Logan Petlak