Wk 4 Publishing_Leadership Project

Introduction:

I am planning on presenting this at the local school board meeting because I want to demonstrate the technology use in my classroom and show them some of the features of my website.  

Michigan Music Conference is held in January every year in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and I also plan on presenting here.  I would love the chance to share my creation with my peers.  I would also like to ask for help to take this project to the next level with more scales and higher levels of musicianship.

I completed a presentation at the Thursday (April 21, 2011) Wimba.  
My posts on this subject can be found by following these links
Part 1 of  2
Part 2 of  2


My presentation can be found by following this link:
Curt Isakson's Action Research Project Presentation
note:  this is Mac KeyNote presentation file.

Week4/Blog #4 What's Up?

Since this is my last blog entry for this class, I would like to thank all the participants in this great activity in which the instructor has got us to read, write, and discover others opinions.  I really enjoyed this activity this month.  I now have a better vision of many of my classmates and their lives and viewpoints on the issues we were subjected to.
Great discussions!

Week4/Blog Response to Ashley May

My brother and I

Ashley May wrote:

While reading “Art of Possibility” this week, I was able to take I a lot of what was being said.  I loved that their seems to be a personal connection or story to every principle that the Zanders try to implement in this book.  I was a bit overwhelmed by the stories this time, however.  It seemed like the reading this week was all stories and no meat. 

The point from this week’s reading that I liked the most was the “not taking no for an answer.”  It was disguised as “being a spark” but that was what I took it to mean.  It was basically a message of perseverance through any odds.  

Other than that point, everything else seemed to be a repeat of what he had previously said.  I actually found myself to be quite annoyed with the reading this week.  I put it down yesterday, and came back today to write the blog.  Amazingly, I find myself annoyed again while writing about it.  I’m not exactly sure what the source of my aggravation is, however I’m sure it can be attributed to my resistance to many New Age philosophies.  The excitement that I felt in the first 4 chapters is clearly over.  While I did take some things from this book as a whole, I don’t know that I would ever recommend it to anyone else to read.  For the sake of keeping my personal feelings to a minimum, and trying to remain as professional as possible, I’ll stop with that.   Too bad this isn’t a hard copy; I bet I could have recouped some of my money at Half Price Books!

My reply:

 

Ashley,
I know I've had my fill of self-help books from my wife who seems to haul one home about every week.  I try to stay far away from them.  However, I did really enjoy this book, but I will agree with you on the end chapters  It was a re-hash of some of the basic points of his philosophy, but I still think it was nice to step away from academia and ponder on the finer points of inspiration.
After reading your blog I was giggling.  I think it's great you speak your mind.  Keep it up!

Week4/Blog Response to Everett Jones

Everett Jones wrote:
What an interesting read again.  This book has potential as being effective.  I would suggest that it is a great starter book for motivation.
Wishful thinking, optimistic thinking about giving your spark to others and being receptive to others light and spark is awesome.  Not everyone has that spark that can be seen, so it is our job to show them our spark of kindness and maybe their spark will shine a little brighter for the next person.  We are all conduits of knowledge.  Chapter 9 is very much about this concept of feeding off of each others sparks.
Following chapters:
Keeping our minds open in difficult circumstances to the possibilities of new beginnings or closure may be more ideal.  Negative thinking only places us backwards on the game board.  Let's think positively and place ourselves in a better place forward on the board.
As I've stated in other blogs, everyone has something good about themselves whether it is apparent or not.  WE all possess qualities that can bring out the best in others or in situations.  Do WE always make the better decisions for us?  Not always.  However, when we do make the better decision, WE all benefit in some way.  If not, let's build up another and wait our turn to be built up ourselves.  WE should be in this together.

My Response:
Everett,
So true. I think (the authors) and you have put this whole book in perspective by discussing the WE factor at the conclusion of this book.
Everything we do in this world is WE related somehow, and we need to keep that in mind in we go we go about in the world.
Without getting too 'self-helpish,' - no, this may not be a word - we need to keep our eyes open, be for the bigger picture, and look beyond your nose.

Wk4 Publishing/Leadership Project Part 2 of 2

Art by Rebecca Isakson-Vandermolen

I would like to present my Action Research Project to my local school board.  The reason for this is simply I want to show them what I have been doing at Full Sail University, and what I am teaching our students.  Our school is in rural Michigan and is not on the cutting edge of technology.  I think this project along with the LMS (Schoology) I have been working with will show what can be done to connect the students to learning via the net.
I am also planning on proposing to present at the Michigan Music Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan next January.  This conference of over 1000 music directors is an excellent venue to demonstrate my project.  I will love to continue this project and make it bigger and better.
Some of the best ideas come out of necessity.  I think this is one of them.

Wk4 Publishing/Leadership project part 1 of 2

Art by Rebecca Isakson-Vandermolen

Final Project Presentation of my Action Research Project will be in the form of a Keynote presentation.  I decided on this format because of the venues I would like to bring this project to.  I plan on giving a presentation to the Shelby Public Schools Board of Director's meeting in July and the Michigan Music Conference next January.
I believe this project has created an important link in instruction of musical scales that is easy to follow and easy to teach.  After talking to many local directors, I also believe this concept and information will be useful to not only my students, but to students throughout Michigan and beyond.  It is important for me to continue to develop and enlarge this project to cover all the basic scales in middle and high music programs.

Week Four Reading - The Art of Possibilities 9-12

“A distinction is not a standard to live up to, but a framework of possibility to live into.”

The Art of Possibilities, Rosamund Zander, and Benjamin Zander, 2000.

Instead of commenting on just one part of the last chapters of this book, I would like to write down a few simple thoughts on the whole book:

This book has really got me thinking about I interact with the people around me, and how I react to the environment that surrounds me.

I have to remind myself that reality is simply my reality and the perspective I view it from can be so fluid from day to day and moment to moment.  I believe that it is up to me to create my world and to make sure that I try to tackle it from a positive and educated viewpoint and keep the WE factor in mind always.

I cannot say I have had a book that has stuck with me so well as the Art of Possibilities.