Saturday, April 28, 2012

ITEC Tech Fair 2012- 6237 Extra Credit

On April 19, I had the honor of being a judge for the ITEC Tech Fair. This was one of three regional student technology fairs for K-12 students offered each year. Students are able to show their creative use of technology done in the classroom to others around the region. This year almost 300 projects statewide were presented with projects covering different categories such as multimedia, web presence, programming, video/linear presentation, graphics/publishing, 3-D rendering/non-linear animation, music/sound design, mobile apps, and innovative technology.


This year, I was a co-judge with Dr. Gao for 5 presentations featuring music and composing. The students ranged from 5th- 8th grade and all used Garage Band as their software of choice. Personally, I have never used Garage Band, but it appears to be standard software on Macs. Several students’ projects focused on getting them familiar with different instrumental sounds and how they are placed together in a song. Students were encouraged to use metronome settings to keep a consistent beat to their creations. Several older students created original instrumental pieces and one duo created their own song!

Screenshot of Garage Band

Allowing students to experience this type of creativity in the classroom gets them more involved in their lessons. Students can steer their own projects to learn what they want to without sacrificing essential curriculum. I had a great experience as a judge and am glad to see what teachers are offering for their students in the classroom.

1 comment:

  1. You were a great help, Meghan.

    Thank you for being there.

    Z

    ReplyDelete