Let The Learning Continue!

Hi everyone!
     In regards to my Genius Hour project topic of music therapy for those diagnosed with a mental health disorder, and those undiagnosed, I have found that there is a lot of interesting information all over the web! I've gathered background research on what exactly music therapy is, and even more information on how it can be implemented in different ways to different people. However, what I have learned most on my journey to complete this project so far, is actually about myself, and what it takes to fully immerse yourself into a project such as this.
     For instance, I have learned that participating in a Genius Hour project is quite the commitment.

Schipul, E. (2008, March 29). Commitment [photograph].
 Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1PzsaKm

These projects involve a lot of time and effort to be put in, but when done properly, they are a lot of fun! The key, as I have said in previous posts is to find a topic that you find to be of interest to you, or that you are passionate about, and to go from there. This is something that I am beginning to understand more and more as I continue with this project, as I am finding myself to motivated to continue researching and working due to the interest I have in music and music therapy.
     I have also found that I like having my own timeline for this project that I would like to follow.

Oz, S. (2014, March 1). 2015 calendar template rectangular 14 purple white background [photograph].
 Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1JsEc2X

I have found that with my own timeline to follow, I am working harder to follow it, in order to please myself, and be proud of the hard work and dedication that I have put in. I find myself being motivated to continue on with my research due to what is part of the exact definition of a Genius Hour project, passion and the exploration of my own creativity with what I find. 

Getting Reflective

Hi everyone!
     This week in class we were prompted to reflect upon on what we have learned about our Genius Hour projects so far, and what we have learned about ourselves.  
     In terms of the project thus far, I have learned more about the importance of self-motivation within Genius Hour projects. Without self-motivation a project such as this, spanning over a large period of time, could fall by the wayside. However, with self-motivation and the interest, and passion that is involved in an effective Genius Hour project, instead of forgetting about the project, the researcher will want to put the time and effort into their project. This is also something that I have learned about myself, I am more invested and interested in working on projects that involve something that I am interested in and/or passionate about. I am extremely interested in my project topic, and with that intend to work hard each week to meet my goals and successfully complete the Genius Hour project! As of right now I am still in the beginning stages,locating effective, credible sources, but I am very excited to see what I will learn in the weeks to come!
     Stay tuned to learn more about my project and progress throughout the next few weeks!

My Genius Hour Project

Hi everyone!
     Today we began to develop the questions we would like to focus on for our Genius Hour projects. However, when asked to develop a question, I found myself struggling to know what I would like to research. It needed to be about something that I find interesting and would enjoy learning about throughout the semester, which got me thinking about my interests.

Krebs, D. (2013, January 19). Genius Hour Brainstorming For Ideas [photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrsdkrebs/8396958364

     One of the things in life that I love the most is music. Unfortunately, I do not play an instrument, but I do listen to many different genres of music, all of the time. Which got me thinking of why I love music so much, and that is because of the way it can help me in any situation. When I am stressed, sad, angry, or even happy and wanting to celebrate something I turn on music... and then it came to me. I would love to research just how music can be used to assist someone's well-being. But how could I get more specific with this topic? After thinking about this, and conversing with my course instructor, my question for this Genius Hours project was created: What is an effective music therapy program to implement for students' well-being for those diagnosed with a mental health disorder vs. those undiagnosed?

Alishayan79. (2012, January 10). "Music" [photograph]. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maroper_Music.jpg

     My main goal for this project is to try to conduct a little research on the subject each week, in order to continue learning and discovering new information over time, before coming to a conclusion. This is a subject that I am very interested in, and would love to learn more about, which is why it is something that I would also like to learn about slowly over time, rather than trying to absorb a vast amount of information on all at once. It is with this in mind, that I intend to measure my progress by noting what I have researched and found each week, in order to build upon my research and delve deeper into the topic.

TPACK Teacher Quest: Copyrights

  For this week's TPACK Teacher Quest badge I was able to learn more about copyrights. For instances, I learned that copy right notices are not actually required, if you created a piece of work you are the only one with the rights to use it (Figg, 2013). Furthermore, I learned that as a Canadian teacher, I can only show videos in my classroom that have public performance rights. Any YouTube videos that I, or any other Canadian teacher may choose to show need to have a Creative Common license allowing them to be used, not just the standard YouTube license (Figg, 2013). 

Pingstone, A. (1988). "Children playing Paperboy on an Amstrad CPC 464" [photograph]. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_computer

     Through gaining this knowledge, I was also able to find what I believe to be the most important thing to teach students about copyrights, which is to create their own work, but also to know the proper ways of crediting the original creators of works they may use. I believe that this is not only important in terms of teaching students about laws, but also in teaching them morals and empathy, through understanding how others may feel when their hard work is being claimed or assumed to be someone else's. 

San José Library (2008, August 9). "Children using the library computers" [photograph]. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1ief9eT

References

Figg, C. (2013) Copyright for tech-enhanced teaching. Handy4class Presents the TPACK Teacher     

     Game: A Game That Builds Teacher Knowledge for Teaching Tech-Enhanced Lessons. 

Welcome!

Hello everyone!
Welcome to Genius Hour with Miss Winger! In this blog I intend to share all of my experiences with Genius Hour throughout the semester.
Stay tuned, the fun will begin soon!