Technology In Dance Education

When it comes to incorporating technology into my content area, lets just say it is easier said that done. When teaching dance to a student, using technology as a method of instruction is a very challenging method for both the student as well as the teacher. If a student is learning how to dance for the first time, they have no understanding of alignment and proper technique. However, you can show the student every day on the laptop, projector, and you could even text them a picture of proper alignment every class period, but the student will not know how to translate that information until it is on their own body and they are able to receive corrections from the teacher. The student will be able to physicalize those corrections and their understanding of what proper alignment is will be practical because they can explain and demonstrate it using their own body. 

Please do not let this blog post paint the picture of me saying that all dance teachers should not use technology when teaching dance, because that is not true. I am saying, that when teaching young students dance, the teacher must use kinesthetic methods and be able to physicalize the lessons. It is simply more effective when teaching young impressionable students. Teachers must also realize that younger students need to have time expressing themselves through creative movement. There really is no way to have students express themselves with their body using technology. As the students education progresses, the student can use technology to research dance terminology, methods, and choreographic structures. I can see the benefit from having one day a month where teachers can explain dance using technology, however if a student did not use their bodies through repetition and daily excersizes, the student will be severely less technically strong. So more simply, dance education should use khinestetic methods with splashes of technology throughout. 

However if a student is considering a career as a professional dancer, than they are going to have to have a very clear understanding of how technology is incorporated into dance performances. Dancers must understand lighting, sound mixing, and staging. A common saying for dancers is “an smart dancer is a working dancer” That being said, a professional dancer has had a very kinesthetic early education where teachers corrected them and gave them physical feedback, followed by an extensive education of how technology in the performance world functions. Dance is the only subject in the world that can be taught in school, is considered an art form, and is also a sport. Therefore a teacher who is planning on teaching dance must be aware of all three aspects of dance, and cater to the needs of all three. Teachers must educate their students on the language and terminology of dance, as well as its history. Teachers must also inform students about the physical limitations of the sport and the injury prevention that must be addressed for the working dancer. Finally the teacher must understand how to teach students how to bring forth an emotional connection to what they are dancing. This is the most difficult aspect of dance education because it can not be taught in the classroom. A teacher just has to know what to say to their students in order to inspire them to become the artist they want to be.

Technology Autobiography

Like most others my number one most influential communication technology is my cell phone. I use it constantly to stay in contact with my family, friends, co-workers, and employers. Without my cell phone I am virtually cut off from my own network of people that I am in constant contact with…and that is not an ideal situation. I never had an opportunity to learn with a cell phone until my college years. Mostly because I did not receive a cell phone until my freshman year of high school, and that phone did not have any “smart phone” capabilities. After having my first smart phone in college I used it to look up basic information and research topics every now and then. However, I left most of the heavy research and learning for my computer.

As I grew up, every year I was introduced to more ways to learn using a computer. These lessons were conducted using the basic office applications such Miscrosoft Word, Powerpoint, Excell, and Publisher. As I grew older, learning material through the use of a computer involved researching various topics and writing longer documents, and presenting elaborate presentations. Finally as I progressed into my final stage of education, I found that the most important way that I learn using the computer is researching my craft. I research dance on a daily basis. I obviously find it quite interesting and strive to learn as much about it as possible. I watch videos of successful dancers, choreographers, and teachers. As well as read interviews on online forums and autobiographies. I also use the computer for my dance needs. These include making performance reels, cutting and editing videos and music, and many other aspects of dance. I never thought about it until now, but using the computer has influenced how I am able to teach myself certain tasks. In learning how to operate these complicated applications on the computer, I have taught myself that importance of following directions and teaching yourself a skill that will benefit you on more than one occation.

My third most influencial device would be my ipod and applications that are both on my ipod as well as my iphone. I use my ipod in two very different ways. One is simply based on entertainment value, such as listening to music and checking what my peers are up to using applications like instagram, twitter, and facebook. The other reason would be for work. I am a dancer/choreographer/ teacher who needs to have a constant supply of music for my students to dance to in class. Also when I am choreographing to a piece of music I am listening to the music and learning about different instruments and meters that can occur both in that song as well as in music in general.

 I was surprised when I thought about the fact that my most used technological device is the one device that I do not really learn a lot from. I learn much more from my laptop, however that is listed as my second most used device. Does that mean that I spend to much time using a device that doesn’t provide an educational benefit? I guess that the best answer for that question would be  asking another question, “how important is an educational benefit from your devices?”  Yes, I use my cell phone the most out of all of my devices, but when the time comes I put the phone down and teach myself or learn from others. Furthermore, are math, history, science, and English the only forms of education. There are so many more topics of education that are not covered in the classroom as well as found through research. Finding out information about others and how society operates is priceless material that anyone could benefit from learning about.  I found myself having a lot in common with the people in the video because it seemed as though they use their devices to support their interests and basic needs in life, which is exactly what I do. I may not use these devices as much as they do, because my learning is a physical lesson that is taught using physical movement as opposed to research on a computer. Although we may have different topics that we are researching, and are interested in, we all use our technological devices to help us continue to learn ever more information about our craft.