Rap and Opera. Do they alienate listeners in a similar manner?

Before we can discuss whether or not opera and rap alianate listeners in a similar manor, we must first compare and contrast rap and opera.

Rap-
-Originated in the Bronx in the 1970s
-Spread to minority populations through the US
-Embraced by street gangs
-Rap is the combination of rhyme and poetry to a musical beat
-It has a background in improvisational poetry
-Focuses on the “here-and-now,” discussing issues such as popular culture and politics
-Often degrades women
-The culture of rap music is focused on poetry and quality of lyrics
-Discusses racial issues
-Listeners generally tend to be younger, living in poverty, less educated
-Audiences are allowd to be loud and energetic

Opera-
- Originated in Florence Italy in the early 1600′s (1598)
-An art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score
- Usually done in a theatrical setting
-Listeners generally tend to be wealthier, older, and well educated
-Tells a story, usually dealing with love and tragedy
-Audiences are expected to be quiet and reflective listeners
-Dated

Similarities-
-Difficult to understand (Rap-lyics are usially very fast and hard to hear/follow)
(Opera- usually is in a foreign language (to the american listener) and text is often embellished.
-Strongly disliked by certain audiences
-Though of as being music for a certain audience

From comparing and contrasting these two musical genres it is evident that the two forms are very different. That is except three main similarities, they are difficult for listeners to understand, they are thought of as being music for a certain group of people (Rich-vs-Poor), and they are both strongly disliked by certain audiences. What I mean by strongly disliked by certain audiences is that people who don’t like one of these genres often strongly dislikes it, to the extent of refusing to recognize it as music. Few people have a strong dislike for jazz or rock. People either like it or don’t really care for it, but there is no doubting it’s legitimacy as a musical form. Now it is easy to understand why rap consumers don’t generally like opera, and vis vera. The genres target two totally different audiances. They have two very different messages, purposes, and lifestyles that go along with them. But why do people who don’t listen to either music dislike both? Well because they are difficult to understand. Rap is often very fast paced and hard to follow. Master lyricists like Eminem fly through pages of lyrics in each song. In Eminem’s “Rap God”, he raps though 6,077 words in just 6 mins and 5 seconds. (He did this with no breaks and by memory live on the Youtube awards last month) Thats 97 words each 15 seconds which means he’s averaging 6.5 words per second. Plus he’s using large words, and complex rhythms which makes it even harder for people to follow what he is saying. Opera is hard for most Americans to understand because it’s usually in another language. Plus, the performers often embellish their parts making it even more difficult to follow. The story lines and music are often out dated and lengthy. Consumers many times don’t have the discipline to sit and listen to an opera at home. Ultimately, the reason why both opera and rap alienate listeners in the same way is because they are thought of as a being a genre for a certain audience (not for all consumers), and because the text/ lyrics are often difficult to follow and understand.

Unused Technology in the classroom.

          Over the last few Months I have been doing my fieldwork at the FR****** School in K*****, New Jersey. It has been quite a unique and informative experience observing the music teacher there. I witnessed a community that was very different from the one I grew up in. Over the past two months the Ricksbury School really welcomed me into their community, and because of this I was able to form educational relationships with both faculty and students. I say educational because I was able to learn a lot from both the faculty and the students. From their strengths and successes, and from their faults and failures, I was able to reflect on them in hopes of finding my own teaching style. I was also able to see what strategies and styles were successful with the students and their varying learning abilities.

         My co-op helped make my experience a truly educational one. He was extremely helpful, and I learned a lot from both his strengths and weaknesses.  His weakness being his understanding, and utilization of technology in general. There was not a single day where he didn't ask me to help him do something on his computer. He was always yelling at his computer, and manually restarting it 5-7 times a day. The interesting thing about it is that it seems to be a very new, and high-end desktop. There is a computer in the classroom, which is connected to a overhead-projector and a sound system. Unfortunately, he never once utilized it. I asked him about why he doesn't use the computer, audio system, or projector for his classes, he said that it's more trouble than its worth. Just because my co-op does not use these technologies does not necessarily mean that he's a bad/ lazy teacher. Its that he doesn't really know how to use them, and that he doesn't have any patents for them when using them. Most technologies require you to explore them on your own time before you can use them to their full potential. I think that all teachers should attend a constructive technology workshop every year where the teachers work with professional IT people, and with their co-educators; to figure out how to not only use the technologies available in the school, but also how to effectively and efficiently teach with them in the classroom.   

Cochlear Implants can change a persons life

           Most pleople would say that the ability to hear is absolutely imperative as a musician. If asked to name a deaf musician, most people would say Ludwig van Beethoven or another deaf composer or performer. It is very likely that they would name a composer who lost their hearing later in their careers. Very few could name someone who lost their hearing at a very young age. This is because listening to, and particularly making music, rely incredibly on hearing. This is not to say that deaf people do not listen to or appreciate music. In fact, the opposite is quite true; most people who are considerd profoundly deaf can still enjoy and dance to music. This is mainly done by feeling the vibrations of the music. People who are deaf can also enjoy music through signed song. For some, deafness is not a permanent condition. A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that grants a person who is profoundly deaf, or severely hard of hearing, with a sense of sound. Although the quality of sound may be different from natural hearing, patients are able to hear and understand speech, environmental sounds and even enjoy music!  The effects of this technology can be mentally, and physically life-changing. I cannot imagine what it must be like to sense sound for the first time, let alone hear music. I urge youto check out this video below. Its a video of a eight-month-old baby boy hearing his mother’s voice for the very first time. All thanks to a cochlear implant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTzTt1VnHRM

Technology Integration Plan

CLICK HERE for my Technology Integration Matrix

            In this lesson, which is geared towards a fifth grade music class, students will reinforce their understanding of how and why we need to connect vocal timbre with expressive qualities of a written text. For the majority of this lesson, the students' will be working with a poem entitled "The Snow Fell Until Dawn." The original lesson plan used in this matrix is called “The Snow Fell Until Dawn.”

Students will begin by collecting descriptions of their feelings and experiences with/of snow. To do this, the teacher will call on one student at a time, and he/she will say what is on his/her mind. This step is aligned with National Standard for Music Education #8, as it begins by incorporating students’ real life experiences and descriptions into a music project. Although the project does not yet involve music in this first step, it involves another discipline, which can loosely be described as "nature study". This step is also aligned with NETS-S #2, as the students will share basic digital media, such as YouTube or home videos, to help illustrate their descriptions. This step mostly involves student participation, as the students are the ones sharing their experiences. It also involves oral/visual presentation, because the students' will share videos with the class, and listening/viewing, because they will experience each other’s videos. In order to keep a running list of the students’ experiences (for future reference), either the teacher or the students will need to write them on a classroom white board or chalkboard. The students will need to use YouTube or another form of video archive to share their videos with the class. The teacher will need to hook up the computer to an overhead project so that the whole class can all view the videos. 

After sharing their experiences, students will then recite the poem together as a class. This step is aligned with National Standard for Music Education #5, as the students are reading text, which can be though of as a beginning form of music. Although this step does not involve music notation, the students are reading text that will soon be embellished with musical elements. This step is also aligned with NETS-S #2, as the students will be reading from a digital source that is being initiated from a distance by the teacher. This step mostly involves group participation because the students are reading the text as one group. It also involves teacher display/direction, as the teacher must point to the words as the students read so that they have an idea of how fast to move as a group. In order to do this, he or she could use a yard/meter stick, or some other kind of pointing device. The teacher must once again use an overhead projector to display the text of the poem to the students.

After reciting the poem, the students will brainstorm which musical elements should be incorporated into the poem’s performance, and they will make revisions as necessary. This step is aligned with NJCCCS 1.1.5.B.2, as the students are using their knowledge of multiple basic musical concepts to embellish the text of the poem. This step is also aligned with NETS-S #3, because the students will be using technology to aid with the development of their musical decisions. This step involves student participation, as the students will offer their own suggestions of musical elements to incorporate; individual decision, as the students must formulate their own opinions prior to sharing them; group discussion, as the students will reflect on each other’s suggestions; and editing, as the students will decide on the effectiveness of their own and of their classmates’ decisions. In order to organize the students’ suggestions, the teacher will use colored markers or chalk to categorize their suggestions by musical elements on the board. The students may also use metronomes and portable keyboards, keyboard apps, or piano pads to assist with their decisions of rhythm and pitch respectively.

After brainstorming which musical elements to include, the students will perform the poem vocally. This step is aligned with NJCCCS 1.3.5.B.2, because the students are allowing their voices to take on different pitches and timbres in this performance. This step is also aligned with NETS-S #3, as the students will be using recording technology to document their performance for future references. In addition to the pointing device, this step utilizes a recording/playback device to capture the students’ performance.

After vocally performing the poem, the students will listen to the recording and evaluate their performance. This step is aligned with NJCCCS 1.4.5.B.5, as the students must now formulate their own opinions of the success level of the performance and music elements added as well as defend their opinions. This step is also aligned with NETS-S #4, because the students must think critically to decide on the results of the recording. This step involves student participation, as the students will offer their own opinions; group discussion, as they will share their opinions with one another; and assessment, as both the students and the teacher will decide on the effectiveness of the performance as well as the musical elements that were added. In addition to the recording/playback device, this step may need to utilize speakers, or some form of amplification system, so that the entire class can hear the recording of their performance at one time.

Finally, the students will break up into smaller groups, and each group will create and perform a musical composition, this time using instruments, that depicts the text and overall character of the poem. This step is aligned with NJCCS 1.3.2.B.3, because the students will be working with Orff instruments (or other instruments available to the class). This step is also aligned with NETS-S #6, as the students must demonstrate that they can use the instruments, as well as a music notation software, correctly and effectively. This step involves group participation and student collaboration because the students will work together to create and perform their compositions; listening/viewing, because they will be experiencing each other’s compositions; and assessment, because both the students and the teacher will decide on the effectiveness of the performance as well as the musical composition itself. The students will need to use Orff or other classroom instruments to play their compositions, and they will use a music notation software, such as Finale or Sibelius, to help plan out and notate their compositions prior to their performance.

Piracy is Illegal, Even for Educational Purposes.

            Pirating is something that we all have either seen, and/or have done before. Whether it be music files or software, it will cost some amount of money to obtain, but we do not want to spend our hard earned money, so we try to take an easy way out. Although this may seem like the easiest and most sensible option, there are several disadvantages of pirating that I would like to note. First of all, if you purchase a piece of software, chances are it will come with lifetime free updates. When pirating software, there is no guarantee. It is possible that you may end up with older outdated software that is unresponsive, crashes frequently, and that you cannot upgrade. It is even possible that you may not end up with any software at all. In the worst case, you could end up downloading a virus or corrupted file. I do not know much about the method behind pirating software, but I know that it involves code cracking and risk taking.

            On the more obvious side of the spectrum, piracy is illegal. When you pirate software, you are infringing the copyright law, even if the software is to be used for educational purposes. The copyright law is already a touchy subject when it comes to music making and production, so combining this with the illegal acquisition of software could cause things to turn especially ugly. We must not forget that software companies depend upon our business to stay in function, and if we stop buying their products, they will be less and less able to serve us with those products as well as new products and product updates. According to FL Studio’s website, “We estimate that if 1 in 10 people using pirated copies purchased FL Studio we could double the number of free features we add each year.” One important thing to keep in mind is that some programs may have student offers. For example, Finale offers a student package where you can purchase a piece of software (that comes with several downloads) as a group, and everyone in the group gets one download. This seems like an excellent way of spreading the wealth to students who only need one copy of the program.

            So, next time you're considering piracy, remember some of the points in this post. You might  just reconsider your actions. Free is not always the best option. The option of piracy certainly has its advantages and disadvantages. Perhaps your decision may be easier now that you have an idea of how the pros and cons actually affect you and the other technology users out there. 

Assistive Technology is a Necessity in the Music Classroom

           Assistive technology refers to interactive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities.  Personally, it only seems right that everyone have the opportunity to somehow participate in music; it is a human right.  Also, federal laws such as IDEA 2004, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ensure that students with special needs have equal access to education. Therefore, it is no surprise that there is a wide range of resources available to increase the accessibility of music making.

            Based on the definition of assistive technology, one of the simplest examples that would help in music composition (or any context) is a pencil with a specialized grip for the student.  Another useful tool when teaching composition is a Velcro type board that allows students to physically place notes on a staff.  Musical instruments are an entire world of assistive technology.  These range from instruments such as the bells that are inherently accessible to students with motor skills issues to adaptations for existing instruments such as a trombone slide extender.  Further innovative examples include music reading devices that make music reading easier by magnifying and adjusting the brightness of scanned images.  These devices even include the ability to “write” on scores with a special stylus and have a foot pedal page turning option.  Another very interesting device in the Soundbeam, which maps body movement to sound production.  Regardless of how simple or advanced, assistive technology is a necessity in music education.

Cross Curriculum Canvas_Remix

First of all, the reason I chose to remix the original canvas on the "Importance of Learning Languages" was because I know music and language go hand and hand. I have had a few spanish teachers who actually had us do a number of activities that involved listening and even singing spanish music. I really enjoyed those classes and I still remember the stuff I learned in those lessons. Also, as musicians we sing and play all different cultures music, why not actually tie these two subjects together. Through music we can learn other cultures languages, traditions, and lifestyle in general. After choosing this canvas to remix I wanted to rearrange how the information was laid out on the canvas because some of the images got stretched and distorted on the original canvas. I also wanted our general information such as overview text widget and essential questions widget to be next to each other so that they could both be paid attention to equally. I chose Dora the Explorer to be an essential part of this unit because she is always trying to get students to learn another language through song and dance. I remember as a child I learned a lot of my spanish basics from watching the show. If there were "Dora's" for other languages I think children would be more interested in learning those languages. One thing that worked out very nicely were my cc standards for music, which fit perfectly with the unit. I liked a lot of the original video's and additional resources because it really opened my eyes to the education in other countries and cultures. I actually got the idea of teaching languages through music from one of the Japanese students in the video. After I thought about it I realized that it would be perfect. I hope you enjoy the canvas.

Canvas remix: http: //www.play.annenberginnovationlab.org/play2.0/challenge.php?idChallenge=2597&mode=view#network6    

Original canvas: http://www.play.annenberginnovationlab.org/play2.0/challenge.php?idChallenge=2450&mode=view#network6       

'SimCity' invades the classroom

         
         I encourage everyone to read this article I found on USA Today called "Video game invades classroom, scores education points". It talks about how educators and video game designers are getting together to design educational versions of popular over the counter video games such as 'SimCity'. This game not only teaches basic math and general knowledge skills, the new generation games go way beyond basic skills while being extremely creative. In the 'SimCity' game players act as the builder and mayor of a fictional town, essentially creating the place from the ground up: "They build infrastructure, industry and housing and try to attract residents. Once townspeople arrive, the mayor must scramble to keep them happy, productive and safe." 'SimCity' has even incorporated writing assignments such as asking students to prioritize public work projects and explain their reasoning in a series of drafts and revisions of an essay. It seems pretty evident that school is extremely boring to children, this is based on a study done by Indiana University's High School Survey of Student Engagement, which found that 65% of students are bored everyday in class. It seems that video games on the other hand are not boring to students, even though they challenge a student's intellect much like school does. The difference is the way that they are both presented. One being "old fashioned", "boring", and "out of date". The other "new", "creative", and something a student can take pride in, such as showing off their very own city which they designed from the ground up. I know when I was a student which one i'd prefer.
       The great thing about it is that 'SimCity' is just the tip of the iceberg. What's next? an educational versions of 'Call of Duty' and 'Grand Theft Auto'? Who knows what's possible. Now of course their are some that don't think video games are the way to go. "Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle, says he worries about sitting kids down for more screen time. 'I'm sure this thing they're going to do will be wonderful in many ways, but the ultimate state of learning, I believe, is when a child or an adult is using all or many of their senses at the same time,' he says." Perhaps Mr. Louv is correct, but I do think we could reach a good and productive balance. I agree that too much of anything is not a good thing, particularly staring at a computer screen for long periods of time while interacting with nothing more than a computer. Connie Yowell, education director for MacArthur and one of the originators of GlassLab in 2011, says "video games turn the centuries-old model of learning on its head. For generations, she says, education has worked in essentially the same way: 'People have a learning experience and the learning experience ends, and people take a test,' she says. With well-designed games, the test is built into the game: Win a game of Halo and no one asks you to take a test on the material — you've mastered it." That is perfectly said by Mrs. Yowell. The sense of accomplishment at the end of a task makes the whole thing worthwhile. After finishing a game you feel accomplished and yet sad that the experience is over. After finishing a unit in school a student doesn't experiences the sense accomplishment, they are only relieved that the unit is over and that they don't have to deal with the content anymore. If we could present to children education in the form that video games take we could change education in more effective ways than ever before.     

Link to USAToday article: 
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/04/video-games-education-simcity/1963239/

Unit Plan Canvas

         The first thing that I did when creating my canvas was making sure that my overview was clear, and not too wordy. The second the students have trouble reading just the preface, they will stop reading it all together and try to complete the canvas with little to none of the readings completed. I had issues uploading the pictures to my photo gallery, but after fooling around with the settings I was finally able to upload most of my pictures. Only images from the internet would upload, none of the pictures from my computer would upload, I was never able to figure out exactly why. I like that you can give your viewers a checklist to complete so that you can ensure that they are covering all the essential material that was provided by the creator of the canvas.

          My unit plan is intended to get students to see the connections between music and visual art. The main themes of this unit are musical texture and original intent. We will be analyzing both of these terms as well as their roles in musical compositions. We will compare and contrast the characteristics of the different Arts, and see how they are all different parts of the same entity. The activities in this unit will ensure that the students will be understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating to ensure their full comprehension of the content. 

Check out my canvas: 
http://www.play.annenberginnovationlab.org/play2.0/challenge.php?idChallenge=2481&mode=view#network6

Technology & Pedagogy

Find my speadsheet at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtOrJ9gLxqyudHdLN0lrY2c0RmVOZG5TM2VVRnE1U3c&usp=sharing

        I chose to work with this lesson plan because when you're working with a content area such as music, cross curriculum lesson plans are key to forming a solid education for the students. The students will use their prior knowledge from other subject areas to better understand the content in this lesson. After the lesson the students will have a broader understanding of the subject matter for both classes. Although the lesson plan seemed pretty solid, it is not seamless. I think that the goal of showing how visual art and music can inspire the others development was not satisfied by the strategy and procedure used. The lesson plan only has the students analyzing the artwork. The students never analyze the music nor do they cross analyze/compare visual art with music. After analyzing the artwork, they listen to a piece of music and are told to paint a reflection of what they heard. It would have been better to analyze the visual art and then come up with a list of descriptive words that reflect the artwork. Then listen to the music and analyze it. Then come up with a list of descriptive words that reflect the music. (This could have been done in groups) Then cross compare the lists and see their similarities and differences. After elaborating on your findings as to how and why these two art forms reflect one another, play another piece for the class and have the students paint an abstract reflection. The technologies used in this lesson plan were necessary for achieving the proposed goals. Although the lesson plan calls for CD's as opposed to mp3's or youtube, and doesn't particularly state how to show the visual images, I think using a computer with a projector or smartboard is the fastest and most efficient way to get this material to the students.





Lesson plan URL: (http://lessonplanspage.com/artmusicabstractartasavisualmetaphorformusick4-htm/)

Finale - A music dictation software.

Finale is a must have computer software for every music teacher out there. It allows you to be adaptive in whatever situation comes your way. It allows you to be adavite to students individual needs and abilities. And, it's fast and efficient. Finale is a computer software that allows you to dictate notation. It allows you to rearrange other pre-existing pieces to better fit both your ensembles strengths and weaknesses. It also allows you to compose personalized exercises for each students individual needs.

So imagine you're a middle school band teacher and to your surprise your incoming class consists of 13 clarinets, 8 flutes, 0 oboes, 0 English horns, 0 bassoons, 4 alto sax, 1 tenor sax, 0 baritone sax, 3 trombones, 6 trumpets, 0 French horns, 3 euphoniums, 3 tubas, and 4 percussionist. This is an incredibly off balanced ensemble considering 5 of the parts aren't even covered on one side, and on the other you have 14 clarinets. With finale you can take those parts that aren't being covered and write them into the parts of the extra clarinets, alto saxes, and tubas where necessary.

Now imagine you're in a band rehearsal and your first trumpet player keeps messing up syncopated rhythms in two of the pieces you're playing. During your prep period you go to your computer and compose a number of exercises to strengthen his/her's understanding and comfortability of syncopated rhythms. Then, later in the week when you see that student for their weekly lesson you can work on syncopated rhythms using the very personalized exercise sheet which afterwards he/her can take home to practice. As a musician I can't tell you how many times I've gotten "personalized" exercises from teachers and most of the time it was illegible. With the software everything is clean and neat just like it came from a publisher. This software is a perfect example of technology making education more adaptable for the students needs. For this reason I believe every music teacher should have access to this software.              

Technology at the Heart of Education Reform

 I agree with many of the points made in the article "National Ed Tech Plan Puts Technology at the Heart of Education Reform". My initial reaction to the idea of making technology the basic center of education was hesitant, and hostile. But, after reading the article I am able to see it from a different perspective, one which is open to the idea of really using technology to our full advantage, and to it's full potential. For this to work we need to overshoot potential downfalls of technology in the learning environment. We need to experiment with different types of technology bassed learning environments. We need to experiment with these new kinds of interactive/technology guided educational environments.  Technology is the future of education, between online learning communities, interactive educational websites, educational videos, scholarly sources and articles, and so many more. Education reform is a huge topic right now, technology should defiantly play a large role within it.  

 "Technology provides access to a much wider and more flexible set of learning resources than is available in classrooms and connections to a wider and more flexible set of “educators,” including teachers, parents, experts, and mentors outside the classroom. Engaging and effective learning experiences can be individualized or differentiated for particular learners (either paced or tailored to fit their learning needs) or personalized, which combines paced and tailored learning with flexibility in content or theme to fit the interests and prior experience of each learner." 
This is one of the most fascinating elements of this whole technology integration, it is individualized for each students needs and interests. This can get the students more enthusiastic and motivated about learning while being very efficient in the process. I recommend reading this article, it will surly open your mind to a higher level of technology possibilities regarding education. 


http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/11/09/national-ed-tech-plan-puts-technology-at-the-heart-of-education-reform.aspx 

History of Technology in Music education

             In the 1940's listening to records was a new way of encouraging critical listening which is essential for a musician, critically listening to recordings is still a central part of music education today.

Podcasting, A Reinforcing Educational Tool

                   Podcasting is and will continue to change the future of education. Weather related school closures such as snow days will be a thing of the past. Instead of losing that valuable school day, you can stream the class online. This will be particularly useful in areas up north where students have to stay late into the summer because of many snow related school closures. Also, if a student is sick for a few days, you can still get the student involved, as if they were in class. Podcasting can really change the future of education, it just needs to be done correctly. Students and teachers should be able to communicate with each other, as well as the students amongst themselves. In a subject area such as music podcasting can be used as a constructive practice tool. Students can play for each other and critique one another. They could also play together, and I the teacher can watch and give comments and other constructive feedback. With all this practice and constructive feedback the band will surely sound phenomenal. This type of experience can be duplicated in all subject areas and fortunately is not too complicated for the teacher to set up. It's even easier for the students to use and I feel that they will enjoy using this very versatile and educational tool. 
                   Some concerns that people have about podcasting is that if a student is streaming a podcast and has a question can they "raise" their hand and ask that question. And more importantly is that student likely to go out of their way to type a message in time and send it to the teacher before they continue on. For podcasting to be effective there needs to be a "raise hand" button where the teacher can see on their screen and just like in a classroom setting ask them what's their question through a one on one video chat. If the question proves to be a useful one it can be streamed to the rest of the class. When the teacher is in a one on one chat there could be a screen with notes and other helpful items. Podcasting can be extremely useful it just needs to be done correctly.          
                  Podcasting linked up with video chat, instant messaging , and social media is a good way to harvest what the students are interested in and really integrate it into our curriculum creatively and effectively. It's extremely efficient, and more and more schools are using it on a regular basis. Because of podcasting and other technologies that go along with it, many parents are turning to online schooling for their children. We will continue to see this trend grow and quite possibly one day much of our public schooling that takes place in the classroom will be transferred to the computer screen. 

Technology Autobiography

                   By far the number one most influential communications technology in my world is my laptop. With my laptop I have the world at my fingertips. I literally have access to endless information, no matter what it is, it can probably be found on the internet. I have a question, internet. I need to double check a spelling, internet. I need to fix something on my car/atv/phone/computer, internet. Instructional video's on just about anything really comes in handy when you're a "fix it yourself" kind of guy like myself. Video games? Yes please. Even though i'm all the way over here at school in nj, i'm still hanging out w/ my childhood friends who live in NY through both video games where we communicate via headset, and video chat. My laptop is small and sleek allowing me to bring it anywhere I go. School, work, vacation, no matter where i'm going there will most likely be wi-fi allowing me to connect to the world. I very rarely watch television on my tv these days. Because of hulu and other websites I can watch anything I want to and its on my schedule. Its also in most cases completely free meaning the days of watching scheduled programing is over. Theres one more thing, and considering my major it's the most important one to me, music. On my computer I'd say I have a respectable amount of music. But, quite frankly I don't need to have much music on my computer, and I don't need to spend money to listen to whatever music I want. With the amazing ability to share music with others through spotify and other softwares, I can find just about any piece of music. Also, writing, creating, and recording music has never been so easy. On my laptop I have a program called Finale which allows me to clearly, and legibly write out music. Being a musician one of the things that really grinds my gears is when I show up to a gig and i'm handed a piece of paper that has illegible handwritten music on it that sometimes represents what it's really suppose to look like. It's very frustrating guessing at what i'm suppose to be playing and it's just unnecessary. Unnecessary because Finale and other music writing programs are so easy to use and so much easier for the performer to understand and read.
              There are some negative aspects that come with computers. For one they tend to be expensive and not everyone can afford them. Especially because they seem to break often or get outdated rather quickly. Another con of computers is that it doesn't particularly help us become better spellers off the computer. With spellcheck if something is spelt incorrectly I just click on the word and it gives me the right spelling which might seem helpful. But what happens is that you just click the word without really looking at it and why it was spelt wrong. Also, your not writing out the word correctly so your brains not really correcting it for the next time you have to spell it.
              The second most influential technology is my smartphone. Just like my laptop, it always keeps me connected to the world. I can be up at my parents lake house on top of a mountain fishing on the lake and still have access to just about anything. Even possibly more with it's amazing GPS capability, it's amazing HD camera, HD video camera, and the ability to do video chat, regular calling, text, email, banking, basically anything. But, it too has it's negatives. Many people become what seems to be "addicted" to their phones. This is especially dangerous when people are so attached they need to use it while operating vehicles. I think its safe to say that the cellphone is quite possibly the most dangerous of all the communications technologies.
             The third most influential communications technology in my life is social media, particularly facebook. Although this technology is connected to both my other two technologies it's influenced my life so much that it needed to be listed as one. Just like most people I have a facebook which I use regularly every day. It allows me to stay in touch with old classmates, colleagues, and most importantly family. Plus it's free advertisement for yourself, and whatever interests you. Much like the other technologies it is very addicting. In the video it seemed like the cellphone was the number one pick over the other communications technologies. This is probably because it is so convenient with all those different technologies packed into one little compact device.