Past projects 5
Music for All: Using Technology for Inclusive Music Participation
Funded Jan 27, 2022Thank you so much for contributing to our SpecDrum Rings for our classroom! It meant so much to us that you considered our project worthy of your donation. The kids (and I) are always so blown away that people who are strangers to them care enough to contribute to their education.
The rings are a learning tool in progress. So far we have let students try it out and have submitted to the district approval to get its app pushed out to all of the ipads of the students in our AU and LifeSkills programs so they will be able to access it at any time. When the students tried it, however, they were blown away. Many students were eager to use it and I know we will incorporate it into their learning in a meaningful way going forward.
The most important thing I know these rings will do is open doors for more students to be able to participate in ensembles in a more meaningful, authentic way. It is my passion to expand access for students with disabilities in the arts, and this is one tool we are grateful to have in our arsenal to help achieve that goal.
Thank you again for caring so deeply for my students and their arts education. You are very much appreciated.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Joyner
Music Ensembles for Everyone!
Funded Nov 24, 2021Thank you so much for contributing to our Skoog for our classroom! It meant so much to us that you considered our project worthy of your donation. The kids (and I) are always so blown away that people who are strangers to them care enough to contribute to their education.
The Skoog is a learning tool in progress. So far we have let students try it out and have submitted to the district approval to get its app pushed out to all of the ipads of the students in our AU and LifeSkills programs so they will be able to access it at any time. When the students tried it, however, they were blown away. Many students were eager to use it and I know we will incorporate it into their learning in a meaningful way going forward.
The most important thing I know this Skoog will do is open doors for more students to be able to participate in ensembles in a more meaningful, authentic way. It is my passion to expand access for students with disabilities in the arts, and this is one tool we are grateful to have in our arsenal to help achieve that goal.
Thank you again for caring so deeply for my students and their arts education. You are very much appreciated.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Joyner
Drums Alive!
Funded Dec 1, 2020THANK YOU SO MUCH for your generous gifts to our classroom! You have no idea the positive impact they made on our class - so much more than I even anticipated! In an uncertain year like the one Covid gave us, your gift is even more meaningful. I know it was a sacrifice from the heart, and it did not go unappreciated.
This year was a tough year for everyone, but especially students with learning challenges. Their routines were disrupted, and learning online was difficult. When we got back to school, it was clear they needed to DO. They needed to experience and interact with music in a way that we'd been unable to do online. These drums became the most important part of our classroom.
This year we also had a lot of students with motor challenges and hearing sensitivity. These ball and bucket drumming systems were a perfect addition. The larger surface area helped hit more accurately. The muffled sounds allowed more students to participate without anguish. And because of this we discovered some kids with a talent for drumming that will continue on in their high school programs.
Again, thank you so much. Your generous gift made this all possible, and it made a hard year a little more wonderful and creative.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Joyner
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and 9 other donors.Let’s Drum!
Funded Sep 11, 2019Thank you SO much for your donations to this project. Your generosity and these drum heads have transformed our classroom! The day they all came in the kids helped me unbox, unwrap, and attach them, and you should've seen how their faces just lit up and how excited they were. My too-cool-for-school middle schoolers were acting like little kids just trying to get their hands on one to try out. We were able to do a drum circle that day!
One of the most exciting moments that happened as a result of the drum heads was watching one of my ESL kids come to life. He emigrated from an African country to the United States this summer and had really been struggling to effectively participate due to his language barrier and not having very many social connections. I even wondered if music just "wasn't his thing" because he often wasn't able to follow directions enough to produce the desired musical result. I thought he wasn't very interested in music. But when he popped the lid on the bucket and started drumming, this amazing and confident musician came out of him! He played complicated and beautiful rhythms. We were able to talk one-on-one later, and I discovered that he used to drum with a group in his home country. He's now one of my drumming leaders and is helping me teach (because he is so much better than I am!). Your donations didn't just give us equipment, they helped create a connection point and a place of familiarity and joy for a boy who was struggling to find where he fit in this new place.
Thank you again for caring about my students and giving of your resources to grow our classroom. What were once cracked, unusable plastic buckets that prohibited any rhythmic teaching have been transformed into gorgeous, realistic feeling/sounding drums. They've allowed ESL and kids with disabilities to participate fully in music class. And they've made our classroom a much more fun and much more musical learning environment for everyone. Your kindness and generosity are appreciated more than you know.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Joyner
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 22 other donors.Hey, Mr. DJ
Funded Nov 14, 2018Your contribution to our program has been invaluable. It would be too simple to just tell you that we don't have a budget for little things like copy paper, let alone any sort of technology, and leave it at that. In that sense your donations have already made a world of difference. But the impact you've made goes well beyond that.
One of the reasons students have such a hard time valuing their education at this age is that they have a difficult time connecting it to their world. Music especially can seem "less than" in an age of testing and so much emphasis on certain aspects of education only. This technology has helped them connect a subject they often see as archaic and irrelevant to their lives (I have heard that music is created by "old dead white guys") to what they hear in their world. Music is still alive and well even if it looks different today, and this technology has helped them connect what they hear now on the radio with the concepts taught in class. It's allowed them see themselves in their learning!
Eighth graders all have a final project to write a song. It seems really intimidating at first, but the students were SO EXCITED to do the project this term with the addition of this technology. "Miss, we have REAL DJ equipment!" They can write in any style, but they have to also create accompaniment to their lyrics and record a final product. I wish I could share them with you! I was blown away (even to tears) by the maturity and thoughtfulness I experienced from them. And the final music videos they recorded after using this technology in our makeshift recording studios to make a real "professional" song were just the best. I so wish each and every one of you could come see them. It's a beautiful thing to watch them let down their guards for 5 minutes, be kids, and just LOVE what they're experiencing and creating.
Middle school is such a tough time for so many kids, and especially so for mine. Beyond the normal lack of confidence and mean kids and changing lives they all experience, mine also are dealing with a lot of adult issues of trauma, poverty, hunger, instability, PTSD, and even abuse. Writing music is a way they can express themselves honestly, safely, and openly and learn how to deal with their world emotionally. It is so important that we don't just teach them academics but also how to be good people who connect with others emotionally appropriately and develop their creativity. This new equipment has given them motivation and excitement to do this well, and the finished products have been incredible. I'm learning so much about them, and they're learning so much about themselves. They're creating things they are proud of and gaining so much in the process.
Thank you. I cannot overstate the impact your gifts have made. It is beyond incredible, and I wish you could all experience them in person. I hope this at least serves as a small picture and conveys at least a fraction of our gratitude.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Joyner