This morning, students across my school district got an enriching musical experience thanks to FaceTime. The high school band director connected the brass section of his band with one of my 4th grade classes to teach them more about brass instruments during our study of instrument families and Peter and the Wolf.
What Went Well?
All of the students, especially the 4th graders, were engaged. We got nice and cozy in our classroom so we were all within my iPad camera’s view. I set up a projection of my iPad screen using Reflector, but it froze when the conversation started, so I had to plug my speakers into the iPad and we all looked at the iPad screen. The 4th grade students were thrilled by the use of technology. As a matter of fact, one student with behavior issues who usually leaves music class five minutes in (if he even comes at all) stayed the whole time! The band director was able to demonstrate the baritone and tuba for the students and answer questions that the 4th grade students had. Throughout the conversation, the 4th graders had a chance to communicate with five different high school students, learn about their instruments, and really see how much fun high school band is.
What Didn’t Go So Well?
We found out that high school students get a little bit “camera happy.” Two of the five students thrived on entertaining the 4th graders instead of actually teaching them. The 4th graders certainly enjoyed it, but perhaps next time we collaborate like this, both groups of students will need some discussion beforehand of making it an educational experience. The band director and I did two test runs of the experience, but for some reason, the Reflector app did not work as it did when we tested it the day prior. Perhaps I should have had it running for a while before the students came in.
The band director and I are both working on our master’s degrees in educational technology, so this was a great experience for both of us as well as all of our students. Unfortunately, he has handed in his resignation effective at the end of this school year, but I hope that our new band director will have the same willingness to connect across the grade levels!
Emily Fitzpatrick 
Great idea! I applaud your use of technology to engage students.
Hi Emily,
Here’s a link to a recent post that I made that mentions our experience. http://j-connin.blogspot.com/2013/05/game-plan-part-3.html
I agree with your statements above whole-heartedly. I dropped the ball on preparing my students for their camera time, and the fact that we had just come in from an outside marching rehearsal probably didn’t help either. I guess that is why we call it a “learning experience.” Thank you for working with me on this experience!
Jeremy