Jordan Christoff

Inventive education and growing awareness

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Initial batch of free music apps/websites for music creation and practice

September 21, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Here are some useful music apps to help teachers and students integrate technology into music creation and theory.

Scale coding system reflective of John Coltrane’s “Circle of Tones”, the diagram is based on the circle of fifths which, in musical theory, is a geometric representation of the relationships between the 12 semitones of the chromatic scale, their notations (flat or sharp), and their relative shades. This free program utilizes colour coding to make links and transitions betweeen different scales, keys and modalities. The program allows users to input and understand the Keys/Chords in relation to the relative notes of previous and selected Keys/Chords. This tool will be useful for teachers and learners as they explore writing original compositions and find new modes of musical expression.

https://universalharmony.info/

Muse score is a free open source music notation software program. This program will be useful for upper level theory and AP students you wish to start writing their own music. It can also receive midi information for writing notation via keyboard.

https://musescore.org/en

Singscope is an app that tracks pitch as people sing. This will be useful for teachers and students in choir whether practicing alone or in a group harmonizing. It charts a pitch graph and allows you to listen back and zoom in on different areas to see if things are in harmony. The playback function is great to track progress and determine aspects of a piece that require more work.

http://www.singscope.com/en/

Playscore is a music sheet scanning app that transcribes sheet music into separate accompaniments and can also play back music for solo, choral and full band work. It allows educators or students to snap any music exercise to check pitch and rhythm in their own study time.

https://www.playscore.co/

The website www.musictheory.net provides free exercises and lessons. There are simple exercises around notes, key signatures, interval identification, scale identification, chord identification. It is a very simple visually based tool for students to test their knowledge. The website also has basic theory lessons for students to hone their skills on. The exercises and lessons would be great take home assignments for students, especially in the age of google classroom.

https://www.musictheory.net/

Most Likely to Succeed

September 16, 2019 / / 0 Comments

The Film Most Likely To Succeed, offers positive insights into the benefits of multi-modal and cross-curricular styles instead of traditionally segregated subject learning. The new BC curriculum also encourages cross-curricular collaboration for collaborative multi-disciplinary learning. The potential to nurture higher level learning through these fresh approaches is positive if integrated appropriately. However, the film does not truly grapple with the failures of neoliberal capitalism as workers become increasingly disposable through globalization dynamics. The desire of employers to have inventive learners is evident with the film interviewing tech CEO’s from Google that emphasize the importance of creative and collaborative labour. I am concerned about the constant push for flexible skilled labour, that reflects the capitalist desire to create a cheaper workforce that is constantly competing for jobs. I do agree that engineering an education system supportive of inquiry and collaboration is wonderful, but business also thrives on having modern workers that are flexible and dynamic under increasing income inequality. There are enourmous educational benefits for this type of learning but I am concerned about the power of business to manipulate labour. I did appreciate that the film showed how the power of collaboration has the potential to subvert destructive global systems of profit driven capitalism. The showcasing of work through public exhibition shown in the film, is a great idea to empower students and create excitement around their educational process. The growth mindset fostered through more in depth projects also reflects the new BC curriculum that has the potential to encourage learner engagement. Overall I thought the film provided positive pathways for increased engagement in education dynamics for both students and teachers.

Welcome and Introduction

September 11, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Hi human family my name is Jordan Christoff, I have always been passionate about nurturing creativity and cultivating the interests of those around me. In our rapidly changing world, youth need assistance in developing awareness, compassion and life skills that will help to unify humanity.  My deep desire is to foster knowledge and skills that will assist youth to reach their full potential and to claim their positive place in the world.  I have been blessed throughout my life by gifted teachers who honoured my creativity and encouraged me to develop strong academic skills. These excellent role models created an inspired space by being focused, clear, truthful, adaptable, gentle and strong. I appreciate the full commitment such individuals make every day and look forward to also contributing to my community by helping students to feel valued, validated and seen.

I am inspired by how visual arts offer students infinite potential for inventive modes of expression through multiple mediums. The range of possibilities within visual arts encourages students to share tangible representations of their passions, visions, ideas and inner worlds. The joy and wonder embodied by visual arts provides youth with alternate languages to express themselves in. Visual arts show students individuality in relation to their community, culture, politics and world views. Art has the opportunity to create bridges for understanding and relating to the human family through inventive outlets. I also look forward to fostering digital literacy and skills for students to interact with these mediums in a positive way.

I believe that holistic cross curricular education offers an opportunity to share inspiring knowledge that can activate the compassion, joy and creativity that provides solutions to global issues such as the climate crisis, racism, poverty and war. Education can share histories, creations and experiential engagements to develop empathy that nurtures each other and ourselves. Education has the potential to offer problem solving skills, flexibility, generosity and solutions that individuals will require to thrive in this world. Providing students and ourselves with an inspired heart centered multimodal skill set will create adaptability for the future.

I believe in collaborative group learning and projects that will help learners form strong interpersonal skills that translate to innovative healthy communities and individuals. Teaching students and ourselves about the power of family and community will be essential as humanity moves into the beautiful socially just future that we can create.

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