BP3_uTutti

I teach music in a PK-12 school – and I love it.  I do my best to bring my best self to my students, so that I can draw out the best in them.  If you have ever sat through a school music concert, then you can appreciate the difference when students are performing at their best – having a satisfactory process and performance is optimal (and less stressful) for everyone involved.

In addition to the regular administrative tasks that I share with my colleagues in other academic departments, there are several added tasks that remain somewhat “invisible” to the school community at large.  These tasks, while not difficult in and of themselves, eat away at time with the students.  Kuzmich proposes that the added “hats” that music teachers must wear contribute to the decline in retaining beginning educators.  He suggests that technology can help remediate that factor. (Kuzmich, 2009)

The market of services available has greatly expanded.  Angel, Blackboard, Pearson Education, SchoolNet, ThinkGate, and other comprehensive educational platforms offer a variety of tools for students, educators, and administrators to deliver everything from lessons to report cards. Each has its own features, functions, and foibles. (Academic Benchmarks, 2010)

The web-based program uTutti.com aims to specifically serve the many functions of a busy music teacher: student information, finances and inventory.  The name utilizes the Italian word/musical term “tutti,” meaning “all,” and “used as a direction in music.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)  True to its name, the features in uTutti attempt to do it “all,” and to push music education in that new direction.  A glance through the video tutorials (https://www.ututti.com/video) shows that this site is powerful and easy to use.

In my teaching day, I move through a series of computer applications to help with my work:  FirstClass, Blackboard, Work, Excel, SmartMusic, PowerPoint, and the school’s Senior Systems. With uTutti, most of those jobs can be taken care of here.  No additional software or importing of documents created in other programs is necessary – from grading to email it is all available on one convenient dashboard, ready for teacher use.

Another feature of this site is that it works to build a community of music teachers/uTutti users.  Through Facebook, Twitter, its own blog and numerous discussion forums available, it has the potential to connect music educators across the world wide web –      that is, if they can find the time!

Academic Benchmarks. (2010). Reports. Retrieved August 7, 2010, from Academic     Benchmarks: http://www.academicbenchmarks.com/partner/

Kuzmich, J. J. (2009, October 9). Juggling the Many Hats of a Music Educator.      Retrieved August 7, 2010, from http://www.sbomagazine.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=32D9FE71069E4700B72330CBE40C4E71&nm=Technology&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=289F2E9ABD684091A791E219698A2627

Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2010, from Merrian-Webster Online: http://mw3.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tutti