Technology has made the last 6 years of my life abroad so much easier.  Life without my Blackberry would cease to exist.  The network alone, picked up towers all over the world without me having to find a signal, and I was able to stay in touch with people back home through Internet and dialing.  The language applications on various electronic translators made my communication experience in China successful.  Music majors at my university did not speak English, and I had a translating program that allowed me to type in the sentence, and it would speak back to me so I could be understood.  Sibelius 6 allows me to write shows with specified orchestrations, convert them into PDF's, email them to someone I will never meet, and receive the satisfaction of knowing, their show topped ratings because of me.

"Your Personal Learning Network: Professional Development on Demand" is an excellent tour, and gave me a major jump start on how to keep up in technology class. My past experience with "tech" classes involved an instructor walking large class sizes through many steps, with people like me getting lost in the sauce. PLN gives me a chance to learn at my own pace and go over the directions as many times as I need to get it right.

Writing these blogs gives us a chance to learn by doing.  As we repeat these steps it becomes learned, and I'm definitely a person that forgets if I haven't practiced.   I was the Music and Movement as well as the computer teacher at a Montessori school.   I used programs like "Jumpstart", "Where is Carmen San Diego", and a few other tutorials amazed that children in diapers could use a mouse better than the average adult back then.

The article mentions a major point about technology, "When used appropriately" can maximize a learning environment.  I feel the reliance on this new age of technology has crippled our society as "feeling beings".  The fast pace in which we have become lovers of ourselves is evident in our technical use of music education.  I remember in elementary school when our teachers would play the listening example on an instrument instead of having a teaching supplement.  I also remember stories my ancestors told me about the times they had to play everything on the piano, because there was no radio.  Everyone made sure they had piano lessons from the neighbor down the street, and it's through that type of music education, people understood what it meant to appreciate music.

A major form of technology obviously came when Marconi invented the radio.  Who needs to learn how to play music, if a box in the living room makes the sound for you??  I am amazed of the music that is readily available at the touch of a button.  People already have learned through many methods of DVD's, podcasts, CD's, etc how to learn any discipline in music.  Yes, the sky is the limit in technological resources for music.  I need to raise a point...

My life in China showed me how a society survived 5000 years living traditionally, and progressively.  I had state of the art language and western studies labs at my university.  The university experienced drastic constructions changes in plumbing and electricity as 2000 year old buildings played catch up to the new technical advances.  There would be days where the labs were useless, because we had no electricity.

I had no technological aids to enhance the learning experience of my class.  I had a chalkboard, a smile, lots of running energy, versatility,  and lots of chocolate to reward students when the light came on.  I understand that technology allows schools from all over the world to communicate with each other, but what about the average child that cannot afford to buy a pencil?

I would like to close my response showing my appreciation for PLN and encourage all of us to remain a global village in our support of music education.
“A Conceptual Framework for Technology Assisted Music Learning”