Mr.+David+Grierson

Friday 10th October 9.55 am Decide what I am interested in. Realise it is nothing. Look at the diagram 10.00      Batteries are running low. Look for a plug 10.05 Chose something but cannot copy and paste details here for some reason. Will try again but forgotten where it was 10.10 Still won't copy. Have a coffee and find a bar of chocolate. 10.15  Determined that this exercise will be have more point to it than edublogs and edline. Given up trying to copy and paste. Going to investigate good websites for free downloading sheet music / free downloading useful recordings for extension listening / sites like Youtube etcetera etcetera etcetera (quote from King And I) 10.55-  Downloaded Firefox - thanks to David and Djorf. Doesn't seem anything special. No easy access to free download anyway. Will try something else. Slightly gratified that My Favorites (sic) is called Bookmarks though. Tried "Opera" - seems to be more of the same. I think I'll go back to Google. 11.10 Google doesn't seem to understand the concept of free download. Found something for Grade 8 and 9 next week though so time not wasted. 12.05 REgistered with Skype (thx Martin and Scott). My new window on the world 1.50 Received a rude message on i-chat. Skype going well though. Going to try something else now. 2.00 That was quick. Google Scholar. Not heard of it before. Useful maybe. 2.15 Sorted out some Grade 11 work with Wikipedia - sent it to them on Outlook 2.25 Garage Band from now on 3.20  Time to go home.

Saturday 11th October 8.30 Not sure that I am ready for this. Seem to be on the wrong table. Wonder i I can move surruptitiously (how do I spell it?) No time to check. 8.45 Thankyou Meg - I now have a photograph to work with. 8.46 Too late. We're doing something else now. Can't help thinking about the headline in the local paper when I first came to China. Full page article about me under the headline "New Life For Old Dog!" 8.50 Aha. Garage Band. At last. 8.55 Too late. We're onto something else. Will concentrate. 9.00 Wish I could have a cup of coffee 12.00 Pizza better than expected. Relieved that Melissa (Melinda?) decided that she didn't seem to want us all to hear my Garage Band debut piece. 12.30 Best foot forward. Aims for the afternoon: - how do I connect my Apple to the Internet at Zone of the Rich? (NUMBER 1 PRIORITY) - how to I incorporate recorded music into Garage Band pieces? - how can I transfer a finished piece into a podcast? - how can I alter the tempo of what I have recorded? - how do I delete things? - look at ali.apple.com - maybe useful.

1.10 Getting there. Should be able to get my Apple on line at the Zone (thx David C) and now know how to delete tracks thank the Lord (and Michael too). Melissa has missed her chance there. Working on the rest. 1.50 Getting better at incorporating pre-recorded music but the computer has developed a life of its own and plays pieces endlessly. Don't know where they came from either. Puzzling. Safari also denied me permssion to switch off! Shades of HAL in 2001. Scary. I haven't even got plug I an pull out. 2.00 Not finished the above but feeling pretty satisfied. Secondary music IT goals now. My personal goals are only to do those things that are either fun or remotely worthwhile. Intend to ensure the things Wang Ting and I decide to do will fit both criteria. 2.55 Here goes ... Become more familiar with Garage Band through use in class + personal use in free time. Use personal PD money to buy in an expert (not necessarily a school teacher) towards the end of this semester to work with us (maybe students?) and to answer our questions etc. Encourage some Year 10 MYP musicians to use Garage Band as a composing tool for one of their composing / arranging projects. (At the moment we only have 7 appropriate computers and matching MIDI keyboards which greatly restricts more general class use.) Grade 6 – 9 students ... EITHER Adapt one of their keyboard course performances using Garage Band Both of us will trial this ourselves over the coming weeks to test its effectiveness. OR Presentation on a project / unit using Podcast technology as opposed to PowerPoint or poster or lecture or performance etc. One of us to work with a single group of students (max 3 in a group) while the other works with the rest of the class. This will give us 3 extra pupil-teachers at the end of the project. OR One of the group composing projects to be Garage Band based. Similar teacher arrangements. 3.00 Zai jian Will try to get my Apple on line over a large whisky.