Week 10

The improvements I have made in this course are learning how to use imovie, which I constantly have needed to know, and I have learned (to the extent I can) about Web 2.0 or the cloud. This is very helpful for working and living in today's world. For instance, my daughter is going away to university for the summer (she's only 14 so there are a lot of concerns). She needed a way to communicate with me while away, plus a way to listen a lot to music because this is her area of study, a way to store and retrieve information as well as email. We decided on an ipod touch. How many gb's did she needed was the question. But I remembered Web 2.0 and I realized she could upload and store her performances there rather than on the ipod, so we got the 8GB. I also knew we could upload skype as a way to speak and visit, which I think is better than a phone, and we can email.  I love having just enough literacy with technology that I can make choices.

The biggest challenge for me was the excel spreadsheet. I couldn't figure it out and needed step by step instructions. But, shortly after that, a fellow began gardening for me and kept all his hours on a google spreadsheet -- and again, I was literate enough to manage it.

My learning style for new things is always following clearly written teaching steps that open up the new knowledge. There is little subjectivity when learning a program in the beginning steps, although I know creativity can kick in once the basics are learned.

I'm glad I took the course. I know much more.

MAudio Keystudio 49i

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/KeyStudio49i.html

The KeyStudio 49i is an interface that works together with Sibelius to make written music and it also functions as a recording studio. It is a USB keyboard with a built-in audio interface and piano sound. 

"Play the on-board piano as a stand-alone instrument—then plug the USB cable into your computer to play a total of 128 sounds and listen to them from the keyboard’s audio outputs. The built-in interface even lets you record vocals and instruments as well as listen to your sessions and mixes. The included Ableton Live Lite software seals the deal by providing an incredibly easy-to-use music production solution. The KeyStudio 49i instantly transforms your computer into a versatile music studio."