Scholarship Essay

            Music has been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember.  Every time I walked into the band or choir room at school, it was as if I was walking into my second home.  The music that was created with my peers stayed with me in all aspects of life.  Consequently, I decided I wanted to recreate the home that I had come to adore, and pursue a degree in Music Education to pass it along to future students.  Choosing the best university to learn the necessary skills was an absolute must if I wanted to become the best possible teacher.  Capital University has proven to be an incredibly valuable learning environment, as I had expected it to be when I first decided to attend. Its superior staff in the Conservatory of Music, modern and relatable classes, and the real-world experience it offers can not be emulated by any other school.

            Without a doubt, the university is only as good as the professors who work there.

The professors of music at Capital University each uphold the highest standards of music.  Both the instrumental and vocal staff have performed in countless countries around the world, many of them still doing so.  The music theory and history professors have either earned their doctorate degree or become composers.  The teacher education staff includes notable names, such as James Swearingen, who devote themselves to passing on as much wisdom about teaching as possible.  Most recently, Professor Bill Boggs won two Grammy Awards this past year!  The professors of this Conservatory are all extremely caring and intelligent individuals who have devoted themselves to their students.  I would not want to be taught by any other group of such highly-regarded professionals.

             Capital University also offers different types of classes that I could not find at other Conservatories.  "World Music Lab," for example, is a required course that teaches us about music and cultures in different parts of the world.  Japan, Brazil, and Africa are three of the countries that are covered in this course.  We actually are able to play the instruments from those countries, and therefore can have a better understanding of what music means to people around the world.  The "Middle School Methods" class requires us to take a "Technology" class.  We are given information about modern technology that can be used to improve the classroom, such as the SMARTboard.  These types of classes, along with the basic music education classes, work together to provide well-rounded knowledge about teaching in this century. 

            It is easy to take notes and read about teaching, but actually performing the task is one of great difficulty.  Capital University requires its Music Education students to partake in Field Experience starting in their second year.  I have had the rare privilege of working with elementary and middle school students and teachers very early in my college career.  I begin working with high school this upcoming fall. This gives each student a good idea of whether or not they are right for this field before their senior year.  In addition to field experience, Student Teaching is also required at Capital University. As a result, it provides the community with superb teachers from the beginning, because we began receiving real-world experience before we graduated.

            The Conservatory at Capital University is one that can not be compared to; I would never choose to learn at any other University.  Its first-rate staff, lessons, and experiences offer a unique opportunity to every devoted student.  Being able to take my passion and turn it into a career is a dream that Capital is helping me realize every day.  I consider it a great privilege being able to call myself a Capital Crusader!

This scholarship is sponsored by CenturyLinkQuote.com.

April 27 Reflection

Today, Professor Riley's wife came in to teach us about the SMARTboard.  This is definitely something that will be useful when I become a teacher (assuming that there is a smartboard in my classroom).  She taught us some of her favorite tricks as well as basic knowledge to help us get started with using the smartboard.  Our assignment was to create two games (one had to be interactive), record ourselves, and post it.

So here it is!

April 20 Reflection

Today's class was focused on podcasts.  This topic is actually slightly easier than video productions, but is still valuable to learn about.  Professor Riley showed us how to upload an audio (or video) file, make it a midi or wav file, and put it onto podomatic.com.  We were told to interview somebody about a composition that they created and put it onto podomatic.  

It's a fairly easy assignment.  All I had to do was record Sarah in garageband, import her composition into garageband, export that file into iTunes, and upload it on the website.  Quick and easy! My favorite kind of homework:) 

April 13th Reflection

Today was a very informative day. We filmed and edited a movie during class using iMovie (which is great, because now I know how to do it on my laptop!). I can now edit and delete footage, adjust equalizers, using the normailzing clip, among many other things. We were told to interview another student to prove our skills. So I talked to Brianna about her favorite composer. I had a lot of fun doing it! I can definitely use these skills in the classroom and just for fun:)

March 30 Reflection

Professor Riley was out of town for today's lesson, so Dr. Ryan stepped in to teach us about Smart Music. I had never heard of Smart Music before this class and I wish I had had the privilege to use it earlier in school! One of its features is an accompaniment feature. You can download a solo piece and the accompaniment will follow your tempo. Another feature is the assessment feature. You can sing or play the piece of music and it will show you which notes you get wrong and which notes you get right. For students, this software could be invaluable to learning. Sometimes, even if you can tell you aren't singing a passage correctly, you don't know where you're going wrong. Smart Music fixes that. If there is a song that is not in the Smart Music library, you can type it into finale and import it into Smart Music. As a teacher, you can make assignments for your students and then hear what they performed when they submit the finished product. I hope that when I become a teacher, I will be able to buy this software!

March 23 Reflection

Gamifying was a word that I had never even heard of before this class. When Professor Riley first said it, I thought he had made it up. It didn't sound real. But upon further information, it became clear that gamifying is a newly-found and uprising strategy used to enhance non-game contexts. Typically, gamification is utilized to encourage people to adopt non-game applications. For example, completing surveys, shopping, filling out tax forms, or reading web sites have all been gamified in the past. As a future teacher, the idea of turning boring concepts into a game is something that I should not forget! I could use gamification to help with music theory, audiation, memorizing songs, etc. I'm glad that I was introduced to gamification!

March 16 Reflection/Classroom Technology List

This day's class was pretty informative.  We learned about different kinds of mixers and speakers that can be used in the classroom! Professor Riley showed us how to set up a speaker that's hooked up to a microphone and a keyboard.  He then explained what all the different volume levels meant and how they affected the sound.  Another topic was the kinds of adaptors that are used for each piece of technology.  I didn't realize how much I didn't know before attending this class!

Our homework was to come up with a list of technology that we would be using in our future classroom, assuming the school has nothing for you to begin with.  As a future choir director, I figure I only need a keyboard, smartboard, microphones and speakers, and a mixer for shows. Here's what I came up with!